The 37-year-old Bailey, currently starring as Fiyero in the upcoming musical film Wicked: For Good, reacted to the announcement: “It’s completely absurd,” he laughs. “I mean, I giggle.” On The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, he added: “Thank you, Jimmy, for turning it down so I could be here.” When asked if he thinks people will treat him differently now, he jokingly replied: “I f---ing hope so!”

Bailey rose to worldwide fame as the charming Lord Anthony Bridgerton in the popular Netflix series Bridgerton. His role in the miniseries Fellow Travelers, in which he portrays a character involved in a closeted relationship with a colleague played by Matt Bomer in 1950s America, earned him critical acclaim, a Critics’ Choice Award, and an Emmy nomination.

People’s choice of Bailey this year makes the 40th anniversary of the title particularly special. Bailey makes history as the first openly gay actor to receive the title. Since the first winner – Mel Gibson in 1985 – Hollywood stars such as Chris Evans, Patrick Dempsey, Idris Elba, and Michael B. Jordan have held the honour.

Bailey has never hidden his sexuality, speaking previously about the importance of visibility. In a 2021 interview with The Standard, he said: “I’d say I’m not ‘openly gay’, I’m just gay… I knew that I wanted to be visible about my sexuality, … in all the territories that Netflix goes out in, there might be a boy somewhere that goes, ‘Wait, what?’ Which is what I didn’t have when I was young.”