Jonathan Bailey felt "scared and alone" growing up gay in school

Jonathan, 37, told Sky News: "I felt scared and I felt alone and I felt entirely limited at various points in my life."

The star is the patron of Just Like Us, a charity that works with LGBT+ pupils in school.

Speaking about his work with Just Like Us, Jonathan said: "That's something that I would have really benefited from when I was young."

The charity surveyed thousands of UK pupils, and it found that LGBT participants aged 11 to 18 are twice as likely to suffer from anxiety, depression and bullying.

And the findings also showed that only half of those surveyed felt safe at school every day.

Jonathan said: "I experienced all of that. It became clear quite early on that something that was very specific and clear to me about who I was, it wasn't safe, and it wasn't celebrated."

In Wicked and its sequel Wicked: For Good, Jonathan plays Winkie Prince Fiyero, the love-interest of Glinda (Ariana Grande) and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo).

But Jonathan did not think he could play these sorts of characters because of his sexuality.

He explained: "I thought not only was I not going to be able to play these sorts of parts because of my sexuality, but that I wouldn't be able to do Shakespeare because I didn't go to drama school.

"They're the sort of stories that we need to be reminded of is that actually standing up and being safe enough to be able to say who you really are, and to be vulnerable at that age ... these formative years, is inspiring to everyone in the classroom."

But the star is "thrilled to be living in a time where I can play the Winkie Prince and where Just Like Us is doing the extraordinary work that they're doing".

Jonathan, Cynthia, 38, and Bowen Yang, 35, are some of Wicked's LGBT cast, and gay actor Colman Domingo, 55, joins the trio as the voice of the Cowardly Lion in Wicked: For Good.