The League of Gentleman, Dr Carlton (charecter inspiration / Dr J Randall & Julia Grant RIP)

Mike Hunt
Mike Hunt
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Published 2019-01-28
The League of Gentleman's
Dr Carlton" , inspired the Leauge by The 1979 TV documentary , A Change of Sex Dr John Randall who was a psychiatrist at London's Transgender clinic , Charing Cross Hospital was a total unsympathetic Dr and at the time thought of Trans / pre op patients as people who needed to be cured of their desire to change sex . (Julia Grant ), Born George Roberts ( RIP 1954-2019) Julia Grant went on to have the operation and was in many ways a role model for years to come helping other trans people . At one point Julia's name can be heard off Barbara , The local taxi driver , (" My friend Julia who went to Casablanca ") her character as well as Dr Carlton who is based on Dr John Randall is a favourite show of The LOG and inspired these two characters ,,,, RIP Julia Grant
All Comments (5)
  • @Sheehan3b48
    Fantastic. Showed my psychology student a clip of 'A Change of Sex' recently when covering gender dysphoria (mainly to show the changes in attitudes, cultural norms etc.). The 'Sit down as usual' put me in mind of a line from LOG Christmas Special, the Victorian 'Chinnery' / Vet's curse / Monkey Balls scene includes this line. "Sit down, as usual", seemed a deliciously strange, and pompous way to address someone; I think I suspected at the time it was based on a real example. Thanks for this.
  • @glamdolly30
    I'd seen this 'League of Gents' scene but hadn't connected it with Julia Grant before - it's so obvious now! Brilliantly edited video, bravo! I recently re-visited the groundbreaking BBC2 documentary series 'A Change of Sex' which launched in 1979, and Julia Grant's story which inspired this brilliant skit. I was shocked anew at the cold, hard indifference and arrogance that psychiatrist John Randell showed toward Julia and so I've read, ALL the male and female trans people under his dubious 'care'. What a horrible man! He sat there lecturing Julia like he was God, and had ultimate power over her life and body. He was obviously drunk with power at being able to green light sex change surgery, and loved having people dangling on a string, desperate for him to bequeath this 'privilege' on them. It's puzzling he agreed to feature in the BBC documentary. Though he did so on the condition he was not shown or named, his voice and brusque manner were unmistakable, and anyone who'd had dealings with him immediately knew exactly who he was! Julia was admirably strong and single minded in following her dream. After watching the series again, many years after first seeing it, I was full of admiration. I was sad to hear her marriage didn't work out and she wound up alone for the last part of her life. However, it cheered me on Googling John Randell, to learn he died of a heart attack in 1982 soon after that famous scene was filmed, aged 63. I doubt he was missed by many trans people! One thing I will say in his favour having read up on him, is he was steadfast in his view that human beings cannot actually change sex, and cautioned the trans people he dealt with that gender reassignment surgery (as it's now known), wouldn't transform their lives in any dramatic way. If they were depressed or had other psychological issues, changing their sexual characteristics through surgery wouldn't change it. Julia herself agreed with this, and spoke from experience. She fell out with many hardline trans activists for her, in my view very sensible, views. God bless her - this is a very fitting tribute to a courageous human being, who lived her life her way.