Russell T Davies (pictured), the man behind Queer as Folk, is creating a five-part dramatic series about AIDS in the 80s.

 

And now we know some of the performers who will be taking part in the production. Olly Alexander, Neil Patrick Harris and Stephen Fry have agreed to star in Boys, which will follow a small group of young gay friends in London as the AIDS crisis hits the city.

 

Alexander, best known as the lead singer for Years & Years, will play 18-year-old Ritchie Tozer, described as "the family’s golden boy, though he’s determined to keep his secrets from them."

 

"I feel like the luckiest boy in the world to be a part of this project," Alexander said. "I’ve been a fan of Russell T Davies ever since I watched Queer As Folk in secret at 14 years old."

 

He added: "[Davies'] work helped shape my identity as a gay person so I’m absolutely over the moon we’ll be working together. The script was amazing to read, I laughed and I cried a lot, it’s a privilege to be helping to tell this story and I’m so excited."

 

 Harris will play a character named Henry Coltrane, and Fry is a Member of Parliament called Arthur Garrison.

 

"I’m so pleased, and incredibly proud, to be a part of Russell T Davies’ new series," Harris gushed. "This drama, Boys, is two things: it is an irresistible, funny, jubilant story of young people discovering their true identities and the unalloyed joy of living life to the fullest, it is also a deeply resonant exploration of a decade when so many of these lives were cut short by the devastating effects of the nascent AIDS pandemic.

 

"Russell’s scripts chart the highs and lows of this time so beautifully and deftly, it’s an honor to help tell this story."

 

Boys will premiere in 2020 on Channel 4 in the UK, before being released internationally.