By Andrew Georgiou

Hi again Margaret. Where are you just now?
I'm at home; I'm in Los Angeles.

I've had the privilege of seeing your new reality programme, The Cho Show, on DVD and think it's fantastic. Your first foray into TV well over a decade ago didn't go that well, so how did you feel about jumping back on the horse?
Well this was so different to what I had done before and I felt very much in control of what was going on. I'm a creator and also the star so it was a very big deal for me.

What is your opinion on reality TV in general?
I enjoy it. I mean, I love Kathy Griffin's show, and I love LA Ink. A lot of the TV shows I watch are reality - it's sort of the way things are nowadays on television.

The Advocate described the show as 'faux reality', where the players are obviously real friends of yours but the characters have been specifically created for the show. Is that what makes The Cho Show work?
I think so. I mean, it's a sitcom starring real people and it's very scripted and utilises these really funny people who also are able to write themselves their own characters, which is actually really fun. And obviously they are close friends, so working with them doesn't seem like work most of the time.

Would you ever sign on for anything where you wouldn't have as much control in the process?
I could never do anything like a contest show or anything like that. That would really freak me out. It would be weird just because I'm so used to controlling my work and controlling my image. It would be very disconcerting to give that out.

For years we've heard you talk about your parents. Now we finally get to meet them and they're so cute!
Oh, they're fun. They're like everybody's parents too, because they really worked a lot around queer people. They got into the habit of adopting queers. I think queers create their own families and so my parents sort of became surrogate parents to my glam squad.

How have they coped with the exposure?
They just love people fawning over them and laughing at all their jokes. They think it's amazing.

You've kept us laughing for years and years, but in The Cho Show there are moments where it seems quite personal and more insightful than it is funny.
It's a new [approach] but I think it's important to talk about things that are true. Things in life aren't necessarily pleasant, but I love that about doing The Cho Show. We can do a lot of stuff about the family - a very functional, very queer, very loving family.

Have there been any cringe-worthy moments when you've watched the show back and thought, "I can't look at that!"
No - not even the scene where I undergo anal bleaching. I was unfazed by that - I really laughed.

Dealing with networks before has not been a great experience for you. How has it been this time round?
Great. I'm actually doing a lot of political work with Jeff Olde, who is the head of VH1. He and I are both members of Political Equality in California, which is the main political organisation that works for American equality and making sure we get to have gay marriages again in the state. He and I are friends, so when I'm talking about executives at the network, I'm talking about this political, amazing person I work side-by-side with on issues.

It sounds like things have moved in the industry so that queers can come out and say "this is who I am, and this is what I do".
Exactly. I think there were a lot of queers in the industry but they couldn't come out. The only difference is that people are out now.

We hear that you're returning to television in a sitcom format later in the year.
It's a 'dramedy' called Drop Dead Diva and it's great. It's a very exciting show. It will be starting on Lifetime Television in June. I get to do some acting, which will be fun.

It's Mardi Gras time again here and last year you made a huge impact when you were the sexy Chief of Parade. Did you have a good experience overall?
I had a great experience; I hung out a lot with Cyndi Lauper and got to see her shows. I felt bad because a couple of days before there was a big drugs bust and I think that's a hate crime, because how are you going to make gay men stay up all night without no drugs? That's a true hate crime!

It is indeed.
So I was really, 'oh no, I don't know if I can stay up.' Mardi Gras was so huge, I've been to a lot of gay parties and this was the biggest one I've ever seen.

Are you planning on touring again soon?
Yes, very soon. I think I'm going to come hopefully in September or October.

The Cho Show is released on DVD on 4 Mar by FQ Films.