Chris Kenna Interview

“Sky’s not the limit for TV’S Chris”

Chris Kenna is a 25-year-old model, TV presenter and actor. Currently he is a presenter and producer of The Chris Kenna Show which is on satellite TV screens until mid June.

Filming is currently taking place across Manchester and features celebrity guests and new unsigned artists plus comedy from people Chris meets on the streets. With an upcoming BBC drama also under his belt, this young, married, ex army guy tells Pink Paper about his coming out journey and why he loves Manchester.

Chris served for five years in the British Army in Iraq and was based in Germany with his wife and two children. During their marriage Chris confessed to his wife that he was gay and the marriage broke down.

“I was in the army from age 17 – 23. I told my wife I was gay and she outed me to everyone so I left the armed forces pretty quickly after that.” Chris says.

“For years I didn’t deal with my sexuality but now I think if people don’t like it they don’t have to talk to me. It was seeing Queer as Folk when I was younger that made we want to move to Manchester. When I first came here I’d just got back from serving in Iraq, I was waiting for my wife to come over from Germany with our kids, we lived in Hereford but she called to say she wasn’t coming for another three days so I stayed in Manchester while I waited for her to get to Manchester Airport and I thought I’d go out with some of my army mates while I was here.”

It was then that the queer as folk experience became a reality for Chris.
“I stayed in a hotel near the village and when I saw Canal Street everything just clicked. I walked up and down for about eight hours trying to pluck up the courage to go into the bars. Because they all have names like ‘Queer’ and ‘Manto’ it was just too ‘gay’! I knew that by walking through the door I was accepting the fact that I was gay. It took me literally a whole day and into the night just to get through the door. I don’t know how I did it but I actually met the guy that I ended up leaving my wife for that night.”

This all happened just over a year ago and since then Chris’s career has taken off so is he settled now?
“I should be living in London for work but I love Manchester - It’s the gayest city on earth.”

So how and when did the career break happen?
“I was walking down the street in Manchester and I was asked to do a photo shoot and then I got a commercial and then Price Drop TV came along and it snowballed from there. Now my main focus is my show apart from NangTingz, the urban music show which is going onto Channel 4 and an upcoming BBC drama Soldier Boy where I play a young soldier returning to civilian life after becoming injured.”

It seems Chris’s personal life is finally coming together too…
“I was born in the Isle of Man and lived there until I was about 12 then I was put into a children’s home in the UK until I was 15 then back to Isle of Man until I joined the army when I was 17. I found my real sister about a week ago and it’s the first time I have met a black person from my family. She knew about me and I found her through facebook!”

So what does Chris make of his new found fame?
“We have an eight week run at the moment and we’re only one show ahead with filming so it takes up every waking hour. I have had a lot of feedback, I love people stopping me on Canal Street and telling me their ideas. We’re going to put the show on You Tube. Hopefully we’ll become popular on Sky and then it might cross over to one of the mainstream channels and we’ll get bigger budgets!”