The actor says trans community is being ‘demonised’ and compares it to Margaret Thatcher banning gay rights under Section 28 in 1988

David Tennant is tearful by the end of his interrogation by the neurodivergent group, as they treat him to a song

David Tennant has called on JK Rowling to “let people be” and says the row over the rights of transgender people is as “medieval and absurd” as Margaret Thatcher’s divisive Section 28 of 1988. Speaking on ITV’s new interview show The Assembly, the actor is asked why he has become an outspoken ally for the trans community.

He explained: “When I was a teenager there was this thing that Mrs Thatcher’s government introduced called Section 28 which was about stopping the ‘promotion’ of homosexuality in schools – which was basically saying it was illegal to talk about being gay in schools, or to suggest that that might be a normal way of behaving.

“We look back on that now as a medieval, absurd thing to try and say and I think the way the trans community is being demonised is exactly the same.” – Tennant has worked with JK Rowling having appeared in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as Barty Crouch Jr. Asked how he felt after she publicly criticised his views, he explained: “Listen, J K Rowling is a wonderful author who’s created brilliant stories and I wish her no ill will but I hope that we can all, as a society, let people be. Just get out of people’s way.”

The actor performed Shakespeare scenes with one of the group, and listed the Doctor Who actors with another

The pair sparred publicly last year after Rowling claimed the Doctor Who star, 53, was part of a “Gender Taliban” when he criticised legal plans to ban trans women from certain spaces, which have recently been passed.

While accepting the Celebrity Ally award at the British LGBT Awards, Tennant argued that “everyone has the right to be who they want to be”. He also branded Rowling and those who share her views on protected spaces for biological women as “a tiny bunch of little whinging f***ers who are on the wrong side of history”.

Tennant’s latest comments were part of an interview conducted by ITV’s The Assembly, which is made up of autistic, neurodivergent and learning disabled people.

Having pledged to answer honestly and openly, another tricky moment comes when he is quizzed over Good Omens author Neil Gaiman being “cancelled” following allegations of sexual misconduct, which the author has denied.

Tennant is also given a ribbing for wearing a jumper with the word ‘College’ across it, despite being 53

Gaiman, previously an executive producer on the Amazon Prime series in which Tennant has a leading role alongside Michael Sheen, is no longer involved in the upcoming third and final series.

The actor said: “We’re doing Good Omens again, we’re doing a finale – there’s been a slight rejig with the personnel. But we still get to tell that story, it would have been very difficult to leave it on a cliffhanger I think, so I’m glad that’s been worked out.”

Asked if he’s ever suffered from anxiety, Tennant says he once had a bout so crippling he nearly didn’t make it on stage for the opening night of Hamlet in 2008.

Crediting the RSC’s then Head of Voice Lyn Darnley for getting him through it, he explained: “The very first public performance is probably the most scared I’ve ever been.

“I was on the floor of my dressing room in the foetal position when a wonderful woman called Lyn Darnley came in to wish me luck – she talked me through it, made me calm, helped me, gave me some breathing exercises. But for her, I may never have gone on stage that night and the rest of my life might have been very different.”

The Assembly airs at 10pm on Sunday on ITV1 and ITVX.