Luke Alsford
Published December 1, 2025 6:00am
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Jonathan has ‘no idea’ how he survived when so many didn’t (Picture: Katie Ingham)
In October 1982, Jonathan Blake was told he would be dead in three months.
He had just been diagnosed with HIV, and was one of the very first people in Britain to be given the diagnosis.
‘I was told I had a virus and there was no cure,’ Jonathan, now 76, told Metro. ‘It was a death sentence.’
But as scores of his friends died around him and years went by without a treatment in sight, he survived.
Over the next four decades, Jonathan battled the homophobia and stigma surrounding the disease, all while a medical revolution in how to treat it was taking hold.
While marking this year’s World AIDS Day, December 1, the trailblazing campaigner has warned that society has forgotten about the HIV epidemic, which is putting many others at risk.
Jonathan has lived with HIV for over 40 years (Picture: Katie Ingham)
Two months after his diagnosis, when Jonathan was just 33, he tried to take his own life.
He said: ‘But I couldn’t do it. So I realised I’ve got to get on and live.’
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And that’s exactly what he did – for the last 43 years.
He met his lifelong partner Nigel Young and moved into a unique housing co-operative in Brixton.
The pair began campaigning and had leading roles in Lesbian and Gays Support the Miners in the 1980s, helping a south Wales community protest Margaret Thatcher’s decision to close their coal pit.
That effort was later depicted in the hit 2014 film Pride, where Jonathan was portrayed by actor Dominic West.
But in all that time, HIV continued to live inside his body without any known treatment available.
Jonathan (right) with his life partner Nigel
The infection was spreading rapidly among gay men and had only been officially identified in 1984.
At the end of 1984, the UK had recorded 108 cases of Aids and 46 deaths, while thousands of deaths were being reported in the US.
Jonathan said his generation of peers were ‘decimated’ by the disease.
Speaking as part of Skittles’ 2025 Pride campaign, he said: ‘It was really grim. It was like being a solider in the trenches in World War I. It is difficult to speak about it.’
When asked how he stayed alive when so many hadn’t, Jonathan replied: ‘I have no idea.’
‘You’re just someone who’s fortunate,’ his consultant once told him.
As awareness of the virus was spreading, so was homophobic sentiment. One infamous 1985 headline from The Sun read: ‘I’d shoot my son if he had Aids, says vicar.’
Then in 1987 the UK government launched their infamous nationwide health education campaign to raise awareness about infection.
They purchased television spots, billboards and a leaflet for every household.
Their famous TV advert etched fear into millions with the warning: ‘if you ignore Aids, it could be the death of you. Don’t die of ignorance.’
The government’s ‘don’t die of ignorance’ campaign helped reduce infections but also stoked fear around the virus (Picture: SSPL/Getty Images)
Jonathan recalls: ‘People still seem to know about the ad and the fear that was induced by it. Those tentacles are still there.
‘There’s still so much misunderstanding about the virus and what it does.
‘The press weaponised it. Gay liberation had gotten too close to comfort for them. It was a virus that could affect everybody, but the press kept banging on that this was a gay virus.’
He teetered on the brink of Aids, which is the late stage of HIV infection that occurs when the body’s immune system is badly damaged by HIV, until 1996 when his health gave in.
But by then, medication had significantly improved for the virus and his doctor insisted that he start treatment.
He started taking pills twice daily. Before he knew it, he was full of energy he hadn’t known for decades.
Terrible side effects followed soon after, but he had little choice but to stick to the medication.
Jonathan only takes one pill a day now for treating HIV, but is left needing other medication due to side effects from the virus (Picture: Katie Ingham)
The ‘real game-changer’ entered the scene in 1997 when viral load testing was introduced, allowing medics to assess the effectiveness of early antiretroviral therapy.
Jonathan is astounded by the speed at which medicine has improved during the course of his lifetime, which now means he only takes one pill a day and has an undetectable viral load.
One of Jonathan’s primary support systems was the LGBT housing co-op in Brixton, which has been his home for more than 40 years.
Queer Britain and Skittles have partnered to uncover historic examples of this kind of ‘chosen family’, who gave Johnathan the security and confidence to pursue work and hobbies while he battled HIV.
On World Aids Day 2025, Johnathan has one main fear – the steadily growing rates of HIV infections.
Rates of diagnosing had been falling since 2005, but in 2021 the trend reversed.
In 2023 there were 3,169 new cases, but that fell slightly to 3,043 in 2024
The rise has been fuelled by heterosexual men and women, who saw 36% and 30% rises in cases respectively from 2022 to 2023.
It is particular concerning among ethnic minority heterosexuals, who faced a 45% rise in that same period.
While the 2021 miniseries It’s A Sin sparked a wave of new tests, Jonathan said interest soon died down again.
Jonathan’s support system has been a ‘chosen family’ at his Brixton co-op (Picture: Katie Ingham)
He said: ‘There’s a complacency because I think young gay people aren’t thinking about it, don’t know the history of it and people aren’t telling them.
‘HIV is this forgotten epidemic. People think nothing happened since the Spanish flu and Covid coming along.
‘We just have to keep reminding ourselves that it isn’t over.
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‘There still is no cure, they’re working on amazing ways but there is still no vaccine.’
Jonathan, who was the figurehead of HIV charity Terrance Higgins Trust’s safer sex campaign, hopes new HIV patients stay hopeful about their diagnosis.
‘I live with it and I am completely reconciled to it,’ he explained.
‘My advice to people is do not get angry with your diagnosis. Just go with it. Listen to your consultants because they will help you.’
Do you need support?
Samaritans are here to listen, day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123, email [email protected] or visit samaritans.org for more information.
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