NEIL PATRICK HARRIS TOPS HOT 100 LIST

Openly gay actor Neil Patrick Harris has surprisingly been voted the hottest male celebrity by almost 30,000 gay men in an online poll in the US.

Harris (36), perhaps best known for his role as the womanising Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother, came out in 2006 and is in a relationship with actor David Burtka (who came in at number 98 on the list).

He scooped the top spot on AfterElton.com’s Hot 100 annual poll which this year is notable for the fact that the top seven positions are all occupied by out gay men.

Scott Evans took the number two position in the poll. Evans, who is Fantastic Four star Chris Evan’s brother, made headlines for his groundbreaking gay role in the US daytime soap series One Life to Live.

In third place is John Barrowman, who plays the bisexual lead character in the UK sci-fi series Torchwood and has recently appeared in a guest role as a villain on Desperate Housewives.

He was followed by Luke Macfarlane from Brothers & Sisters in fourth place and American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert at number five. Recently out Latino star Ricky Martin took the sixth place and Broadway and TV hunk Cheyenne Jackson is at number seven.

“There is nothing hotter than a gay or bisexual man with the courage to be open and honest about himself. And how great is it that we live in an era where that’s increasingly becoming the norm?,” said the site about the results of the poll.

Confirming the fact that the poll represents a new era in celebrity favourites among gay men, AfterElton.com noted that out of nearly 30,000 votes registered, Tom Cruise got a grand total of four votes.