I'm glad there's an online thirst-fest over Andrew Scott’s Fleabag character. It proves gay actors can play hetero heartthrobs

We’re constantly told viewers want to believe on-screen romances could be real off-screen. This is used to justify why gay actors are rarely cast in heterosexual roles – but Scott’s fantastic performance in Fleabag shatters this tired narrative

Do you watch Fleabag? If you don’t you really should, because it’s very good. Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the show’s star and creator, is a genius. As in, an actual genius, much more so than many of the old men we see in oil paintings but don’t know quite what they did to deserve such a fancy gold frame.

This month, the show returned for a second series. Expectations were even higher, given its incredible first series and the success of Killing Eve, which Waller-Bridge also wrote. Though again it has surpassed expectations. Part of the reason why Fleabag’s second series is delighting viewers is its roster of new cast members, such as Kristin Scott-Thomas.

But it is Andrew Scott, the Irish actor who plays a chaotic, seemingly alcohol-dependent Catholic priest, who has had by far the biggest impact. Not only is Scott an incredible actor but, to be blunt, viewers want to have a lot of sex with him. Lots and lots of forbidden, immoral, confession-worthy sex.

Without giving too much away, Twitter has been abuzz with people commenting on the sexual tension between Scott’s supposedly celibate priest and Waller-Bridge’s protagonist. It’s the ultimate forbidden love affair.

It’s safe to say many women are aroused. “Is anyone not in love with Andrew Scott?” asked one Twitter user, to which writer Caitlin Moran responded: “Valid question that I put to Britain”. Another said: “Never thought I’d be screaming f*** the priest at the tv but here we are.” Journalist Jo Elvin asked: “It’s not just me who now spends most minutes of the day thinking about the Fleabag priest. Right?” The Times called Scott’s character “God’s gift to women” – quite the accolade.

In many ways, Scott’s status as a heart-throb to women is predictable. He’s very handsome and the character he plays is not only firmly off limits but fixably flawed – a dangerous combination.

Yet the fact that in real life Scott is gay represents a deviation from the norm. As a gay man myself, I can’t recall a time when a man so open about his gayness, like Scott, has been lusted over in this way. People fancied Wentworth Miller from Prison Break, but he wasn’t openly gay at the time and the online thirst-fest over Scott is so much more widespread and overt.

To be clear, it’s not just women who are lusting over Scott. Gay men love him too, myself included. I even fancied him in Sherlock years ago, so really I’m a trend-setter. Though the fact that women are so easily able to look past Scott’s sexuality and form a genuine fantasy around a gay actor feels encouraging and new.

Perhaps this should be unsurprising. After all, Pornhub stats indicate women watch a lot of gay porn. But that’s a different dynamic and we’re constantly told that viewers want to feel able to fully believe on-screen romances and enjoy the idea they could be real off-screen. This is frequently used as a justification for why gay actors are rarely cast in heterosexual roles.

But Scott’s fantastic performance in Fleabag shatters this tired narrative. It thrives on the fact that he is the ultimate forbidden fruit, plucked straight from the Garden of Eden to tempt us. To gay viewers, he’s a heterosexual Catholic priest who they could possibly shag in real life because he’s gay. To women he’s a celibate Catholic priest who, even in real life, swings the other way. It’s maddening, hot and conflicting.

The dynamics of Scott’s performance, often based on cliché, are fascinating to unpick. It can also be uncomfortable. People have also expressed concerns over romanticising or fetishising priests, who some view as figures who’ve inflicted harm on them. Scott has been open about his own struggle with Catholicism, telling The Independent this month: “The damage the Catholic Church did to me is still within me”.

Ultimately, there is a legitimate debate about whether becoming a “sex symbol”, or an emphasis on sexual attractiveness that centres around restrictive norms, is really a force of emancipation within or outwith the entertainment industry.

Though seeing Scott, a proud gay man who’s played gay roles in iconic LGBT+ classics like Pride, become a hetero heart-throb does feel like a step forward.

Perhaps, amid the debate on straight actors playing LGBT+ roles and the lack of LGBT+ roles, this will encourage more directors and agents to give gay actors a chance? Because Scott’s incredible performance and sinful attractiveness has proved, once and for all, that gay actors can be thirsted over by a mass audience of people who are straight, gay and everything in between. Amen to that!