#but the way james looks at him when he so vehmently says it wouldn't matter to him if his son was gay..

[hermitmoss]

ok in life born of fire, the inspector lewis episode, james at first tells robbie he didn't know if will was gay, just that he suspected he was.

then robbie says "if my boy was... it just wouldn't matter" to james.

and james then tells robbie explicitly "will was gay."

then robbie tells james "we all have to have our little secrets."

then james tells robbie that reverend king, who ran the conversion therapy group, "was too hang-'em-and-flog-em for me".

then robbie asks him "is there anything i ought to know about you and will mcewan?"

then james says faith "can make things difficult sometimes" and robbie almost asks why he left the priesthood but they agree it's none of his business.

then robbie asks james "did something happen between" him and will when james left the priesthood, and james lies and says it didn't.

and then there's THAT exchange. robbie says "are you... no." and james says "no, go on. ask." and robbie says "no. it's... doesn't matter." and james says "you've been dying to ask." and robbie says "it's none of my business." "but you really want to know." "well, ok." "what?" "are you?" "what?" "are you gay?" "what does that mean?" "you know what that means." "what, that there's boys and girls and a nice, neat line down the middle? gays like shoes and musicals and straights read loaded and eat yorkies?" "no, no." "find a definition, then, sir." "loaded and yorkies? how stupid do you think i am, man? i just... ah, it's none of my business. you're right."

and then james gets told again and again and again "there's nothing wrong with you" while he makes out with a queer person and then at the end he's reading loaded and gives robbie a yorkie to eat.