NEW WAVE

Dean McCullough is on top of the world, in both senses, when we meet on the roof terrace of one of London’s swishest private members’ clubs on a chilly October afternoon.

There are few people with a more infectious air of positivity — as anyone who previously listened to the DJ during his years on Gaydio or who follows this crazily effervescent young man on Instagram will know. And today he’s got even more to smile about, as the 29-year-old Irish broadcaster has just begun presenting his own weekly show on BBC Radio 1. Bagging a gig on the UK’s biggest radio station is the holy grail for any broadcaster, but it’s also a landmark for British radio, for Dean is the first gay male DJ on the station to have been out from the get-go.

I first met Dean a few years ago when I was promoting my book about LGBTQ+ mental health, Straight Jacket. In common with his colleague and this year’s Broadcast Attitude Award-winner Adele Roberts, Dean is refreshingly down to earth — what you see is what you get. As we catch up today, I tell him he’s giving off a vibe like he’s won the lottery.

“That’s how I feel! I’m really enjoying myself,” he says, a huge smile lighting up his face. “After I’ve finished my show, on a Sunday night I go to bed really disappointed that I’ve got to wait a whole week to do it again. People keep saying, ‘You must be overwhelmed; this is all so new and exciting,’ and it is all of that, but I’ve been preparing