“Logical family” means differently to different people, but for many LGBTQ+ people, it has never been defined solely by blood. Sometimes it is built through friendship, acceptance, and the people who choose to love you exactly as you are. Russell Tovey recently summed up that experience in a way that immediately resonated with queer audiences everywhere.
While discussing his debut Audible Original Starlings with Andrew Scott, Tovey reflected on one of the story’s central themes.
“You have your biological family,” he said. “But if you’re a queer person, you have your logical family.”
Scott’s response was immediate. “That’s gorgeous.”
It is difficult to think of a simpler phrase that captures such a complex experience.
The Family You Find Along the Way
Tovey went on to explain that the characters in Starlings become a “logical family” for one another, creating a safe space where they can truly belong.
Then, someone from the protagonist’s biological family unexpectedly returns.
“And then this guy comes in from the outside who is your biological family,” Tovey explained, “and actually, it disrupts everything because you’ve created this whole fantastical family for yourself and to make you feel safe.”
Although he was describing the emotional core of his novel, countless LGBTQ+ people know exactly what he means.
For many queer people, home is not always the place they were born. It is the place where they are accepted without conditions, where pronouns are respected, identities are celebrated, and love is never treated as something that must be earned.
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More Than a Story
Starlings stars Andrew Scott as Donald, a man in his forties who dreams of becoming a drag queen while carrying emotional wounds from decades earlier. After his father discovered him wearing women’s clothes, Donald was driven away from his northern hometown and spent years avoiding the painful memories of his past.
Instead, he built a life in London’s Clapham neighborhood, surrounding himself with a lively, unconventional circle of friends who became the support system he never had growing up.
Andrew Scott leads the voice cast alongside George MacKay, bringing Tovey’s deeply personal story to life in an Audible Original that explores family estrangement, queer identity, and the courage it takes to face the past.
READ: Russell Tovey’s Daddy Top Era: Steamy Moment in ‘Plainclothes’
Chosen Family Is Real Family
Not every LGBTQ+ person experiences rejection from their biological relatives. Many are fortunate enough to be embraced exactly as they are. But for others, distance from family is not simply a choice. Sometimes it is an act of survival.
That is why the idea of chosen family continues to resonate so deeply across queer communities.
The people who cheer your victories, comfort you after heartbreak, celebrate your milestones, and remind you that you belong become family in every way that truly matters.
Russell Tovey’s words are a touching reminder that while biology may shape where our stories begin, it does not have to decide where they end. Sometimes the “logical family” that saves you is the one you create for yourself, and that kind of love is every bit as real.