Sir Sir Ian McKellen, Stephen Fry, Alec Baldwin, Kenneth Cranham, and Dame Sheila Hancock have offered their support to the Joe Orton Statue Appeal, a fundraising campaign to erect a statue of the British playwright in his hometown, Leicester.

Orton, behind comedies including Loot, Entertaining Mr Sloane and What the Butler Saw, is considered one of the UK's LGBTQ+ 'icons', and Fry said 'Joe Orton has always been a hero to me, both in his work and in the authenticity, wit and wonder of his life. A statue is a wonderful idea'.