Last week ‘Criminally Queer: The Bolton 7’ won Gold at the Audio and Radio Industry Awards (ARIAS) in the Best Social Impact category.
Released in February 2025 to overwhelmingly positive responses from listeners, the five-part BBC Sounds docuseries explores a landmark legal case in the late 90s that changed the lives of seven gay and bisexual men from Bolton forever, and how the case played a significant role in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights.
Hugh Sheehan created, presented and produced the multi-award-winning podcast as part of the BBC Sounds Audio Lab scheme. Through extensive research and interviews, Sheehan’s podcast recalls the stories of seven gay and bisexual men from the former mill town of Bolton, who were convicted of offences of gross indecency under the Sexual Offences Act 1967 in January 1998.
The case has been described as one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in recent British LGBTQ+ history, with the series exposing the prejudicial actions of both the Crown Prosecution Service and Greater Manchester Police at the time.
Interviewees featured in the podcast include former Home Secretary Jack Straw, Booker Prize-winning author Douglas Stuart, activist Peter Tatchell, queer historian Justin Bengry, lawyers that represented the Bolton 7, and members of Bolton’s LGBTQ+ community.
Since its release last year, ‘Criminally Queer’ has garnered unprecedented recognition for a podcast about an LGBTQ+ story set in the north west of England.
Alongside its win at the ARIAS, the podcast has also won Gold at the British Podcast Awards 2025 in the sex and relationships category, won specialist podcast of the year at the Press Gazette’s Future of Media Awards, and was highly commended at the British Journalism Awards.
Moreover, Sheehan won a Darkus Magazine Award, in addition to picking up two bronze awards at AudioUK’s APAs and being shortlisted at this year’s Amnesty Media Awards 2026.
Dr Maurice Naughton, an academic from The University of Manchester, said: “I’ve researched and studied LGBT+ culture for the best part of 20 years. I was however entirely naïve about ‘The Bolton 7’.”
“The ways in which Hugh integrated the personal stories of these men, history, and academic theory was as accessible as it was rigorous,” he continued.“It tells us so much about how quickly modern injustices fade from memory, but it also offers us important insights into how these injustices can so easily occur.”
‘Criminally Queer: The Bolton 7’ is now available on BBC Sounds, and wherever else you listen to your podcasts.