Freddy McConnell

In 2023, Freddy is now nominated as a Top 10 Outstanding Contributor to LGBT+ Life in the British LGBT+ Awards.

Freddy holds a degree in Arabic and has spent extended periods in Yemen, Syria and the West Bank. He has travelled extensively overland, keeping online written and visual accounts of his travels. As a student, he journeyed alone overland from Delhi to Dover, via Tibet and Siberia, as well as opting to get to the Middle East by rail and sea, rather than fly. He taught skateboarding in Afghanistan before embarking on a “proper” career in journalism in 2013. He joined The Guardian with no formal journalism training and stayed on staff for six years as a multimedia news journalist, based in London and Sydney. During his time there, Freddy wrote a diverse range of articles, from the challenges of immigration on the Kent coast, to the diverse experiences of trans people, to the best Sports Documentaries and dissecting TV show reviews in the Guardian’s Token podcast.

Wanting to tell more stories of queer parenthood as an independent journalist and presenter, he hosted Pride & Joy for BBC Sounds and wrote a parenting column for Vice called Dad Bod. For Vice World News, he hosted an episode of the groundbreaking, global documentary series, Transnational, which went on to win Peabody and GLAAD Media awards in 2021. His episode for series two is forthcoming. In 2022, he wrote his first children’s book for Puffin, about a solo-parent family, called Little Seahorse and the Big Question

Freddy has become a committed campaigner for LGBT+ equality, in particular the rights of trans people and their families.

Having developed an engaged online audience, Freddy works with brands to highlight carefully-selected initiatives and products. Brand Partners have included Audible, Merrell, Dove and Tommee Tippee, as well as Yoto, Close Parent and the Positive Birth Company. He also works as a consultant for organisations wanting to be more inclusive of LGBTQ+ families, and for creative teams looking to tell more accurate and resonant LGBTQ+ stories. As a speaker, he takes part in events for organisations including universities, non-profits, law firms and FTSE 100 companies, tackling topics from queer family creation, to improvised overland travel, to trans representation in the media.