Wilson publically announced she is gay because of her new book

Wilson explained why she publically announced she is gay earlier this year, saying: “I knew that if I wrote a book about a girl falling in love with another girl, and particularly because I write in the first person, a lot of people would think, “Is Jacqueline gay herself?’

“And a lot of people in the book world knew because I’d been with Trish, my partner, for 18 years and she was in the book world too and we’d go to parties and conferences and things together. And all my friends and family knew…

“But I hadn’t actually ever literally stood up and made a statement because I didn’t really think that was necessary, particularly at my age. I thought, ‘Yeah there is going to be a lot of interest in this and people are going to feel it’s autobiographical, which it isn’t.

“But I thought I will [be] reiterating the fact that I’m not appropriating anyone else’s lifestyle or experiences…

“I think I’ve always been quite open0minded and basically for me it’s more a question of who I fall in love with. I’ve never had a particular ‘type’ of person and it doesn’t matter to me what someone looks like or what sex they are.”

Jacqueline Wilson fans will want to catch up with this podcast episode