SHARAN DHALIWAL & SOPHIE DUKER

Things moved fast for Sharan Dhaliwal, 35, the bisexual editor of Burnt Roti magazine, and queer comedian Sophie Duker, 29, as they puckered up 24 hours after meeting

To be clear, you’ve only just met? Sh: I knew of Sophie through a friend and I’d been following her online for a while. That same friend said, “Sophie is performing, do you want to come?” I replied: “Yes, but first ask her if she wants to get off with me [ for Attitude] ” .

So: I thought: “This sounds like an innovative DM slide. Absolutely yes.” What do you most admire about each other?

Sh: Sophie is unapologetic and hilarious. She talks about her heritage, being bisexual, so many different things. A lot of people talk about sexuality and identity, but it’s usually based around trauma, which is a worthwhile conversation but there needs to be positivity as well.

So: Sharan has great taste in comedy [ laughs]. No, she’s very visible as a young, queer, brown woman, and having those role models is important and inspiring. Can you remember your first fully fledged queer kiss?

Sh: I was 15. I came out publicly a year ago in an article in my magazine. I wrote about this girl, I changed her name, and how we used to hide in the library and do stuff.

So: Mine was at university when I was 18. I had a long smooch with a girl on the quad in full view of these other teenagers. At the time I thought it was sophisticated to be fully horizontal on someone at 7pm. It’s a shame we can’t recreate that… So: It would have to be a landscape magazine. You’d open it like a calendar. How did your family react to the article? Sh: My dad used to be really problematic, but I’ve been going to the pub with him for the past three years, telling him stuff. He was like, “Sexuality is fluid, Sharan,” and I said, “Don’t quote me!” My mum thinks that there is a 50 per cent chance that I will marry a man and 50 per cent a woman — 100 per cent I won’t marry anyone. Can you single out a moment where the queer community has lifted you up?

Sh: When I publicly came out. I received so many messages from the LGBTQ community telling me to meet up, and they’d take me on nights out.

So: Two years ago at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. There were a lot of unfriendly, mainly macho straight men who I had to gig with. As if by magic, a group of queer angels appeared to help me through.