Queer As Folk alum Thea Gill is headed to the desert on April 2 for the Dinah Shore Weekend—and she’s not afraid to bust out some new moves!

by Jocelyn Loren

Queer As Folk first hit American airwaves in 2000, effectively bringing gay discussion into the most rural of neighborhoods, and making LGBT issues part of your regularly scheduled program. After the series aired its fifth and final season in 2005, QAF alum Thea Gill slipped into the scantily-clad cast of Dante’s Cove, and most recently joined actress Cathy DeBuono on the set of Slate and Kelly. Though married, Gill remains an outspoken supporter and heroine of the LGBT community. In 2003, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force awarded Gill its National Leadership Award and just three years later, Gill received PFLAG’s Spotlight Award. We caught up with the Canadian-born blonde bombshell as part of our Countdown to Dinah Shore Weekend. We listened to her talk toenails, breasts and gyrating her “tight” ass. It was just another hard day at the office.

You’ll be at Dinah Shore Weekend, which you attended last year, so I’m sure you know what to expect. What are you looking most forward to?

[Last year] was beautiful! I had a really good time. [This year], I’m going to be in the fashion show. You know, I’ve been working out [to get] an ass that’s tight and rock hard! I want to show it off on the runway. When you work on your body like that, you start to appreciate your body, number one. And then you want to actually share your body, number two! [Laughs] What better, innocent way to share you body than to go down the runway?

What is your most memorable moment from last year?

I remember dancing with Tracy Scoggins and just dancing like out of control. There was nothing holding me back. We just gyrated and just ... [Laughs]. When you’re dancing, it’s all about sex! That’s what I love about dance. It’s another way of honoring the body. You know, that’s why I was always scared to dance. I remember shooting QAF and we would be at Babylon—Michelle Clunie and I—and we would be dancing and I would always feel so awkward and so uncomfortable. It was like “this is ridiculous!” [Laughs]

Since Queer As Folk first aired in 2000, do you think there has been a shift in attitudes towards LGBT issues?

I think there’s definitely been progress. I see more people talking. There’s more public awareness with television and all the brilliant films. There’s definitely more discussion. It doesn’t mean the hate is less, but it means there are more people to stand against—and fight against—the hate.

Do you have advice for young LGBT folk out there?

Be true to yourself. Listen to yourself. It seems so simple, [but] it’s a difficult challenge. If we could just master that, life would be so much better.

OK, speed round. Just shoot off the first answer that pops into your head.

Oh, I hate these! I always second-guess myself.

Blondes or brunettes?

Blondes.

Two-piece bathing suit or nude?

Two-piece.

Pajamas or nude?

Pajamas. [Laughs]

Sexiest human body part?

Breasts.

Nice! Ugliest?

Toenails! [Laughs]