Ian McKellen congratulates gay couple who got engaged at Perthshire Pride
Danny Mitchell (left) and Josh Ogilvie, who got engaged at Perthshire Pride at the weekend. (Courtesy of Danny Mitchell)
Legendary actor Ian McKellen congratulated a couple on their engagement at Perthshire Pride at the weekend.
McKellen led Perthshire’s first-ever Pride parade on Saturday (August 10), making it his second such march this year after Pride in London.
At the event, couple Danny Mitchell, 22, and Josh Ogilvie, 20, proposed to one another, with dozens of rainbow-clad onlookers there to celebrate their love for one another.
The proposal at Perthshire Pride. (Courtesy of Danny Mitchell)
Speaking to PinkNews, Mitchell, who is a board member for Perthshire Pride, explained that McKellen congratulated the couple backstage before publicly expressing his joy at their engagement on stage.
In a video on Facebook, McKellen can be heard telling the cheering crowd: “Isn’t it wonderful? Congratulations Danny and Josh.”
Mitchell and Ogilvie, who have lived in Perth for most of their lives, knew each other through friends at secondary school but got together after a “fateful Tinder match” last year.
“After the proposal I felt not only a wave of relief as I was so nervous, but [I was also] just so proud that I got to show off the man I love and prove to the world that this is who my life is devoted to,” explained Mitchell.
“It was amazing to have a talk with Ian backstage and get his congratulations, to have us mentioned by such a huge LGBT icon and activist really did put stars in my eyes, I’m very grateful for his kind words.”
The couple had decided to get engaged ahead of the event and bought rings for one another.
It was amazing to have a talk with Ian backstage and get his congratulations
Ian McKellen leading Perthshire’s first-ever Pride parade on Saturday. (Courtesy of Danny Mitchell)
Elsewhere in his speech, McKellen said: “I’ve been on Pride marches all over the world, but, I tell you, there is not a more beautiful Pride march than from where we started in the park along the River Tay– so you’ve got it all Perth, well done.
“This is a day, of course, to be happy. It’s the day to be yourself and to be proud to be yourself.”
