LGBTQ in Coronation Street 2017

Guest Blog Post by Steve Coats-Dennis, on twitter @BlondSteve

Today, July 27th marks the 50th anniversary of the Royal assent being given on Sexual Offences Act 1967.  What better time to consider how soaps, in particular Coronation Street, are representing LGBTQ lives and issues?

Continuing drama, with its unique ability to tell stories over weeks, months and even years, is perfectly placed to reflect the everyday experience of characters from a diverse background of sexualities, races, gender identifications and classes.

Earlier this month, I attended a Royal Television Society event at The Hospital Club in London which was discussing the intriguing topic of LGBTQ representation in soaps. Corrie star Daniel Brocklebank, who plays Billy Mayhew, suggested that “Soaps are incredibly powerful in terms of being able to get a message out and in changing people’s perceptions”. They are able to do this because of their intimate nature. Being in people’s living rooms, viewers feel like they know the characters. They can meet a gay vicar or a transsexual head teacher in a soap when they may not have in their own lives.

Daniel is the perfect person to assess how far soaps have come in presenting LGBTQ characters over the years as he was involved in Emmerdale’s first gay kiss back in late 2005 when he played bisexual binman, Ivan Jones. Asked how audience reaction has moved on in those twelve years, the actor suggested things have moved forward but not far enough.

At the RTS Event, former Coronation Street storyliner and current Executive Producer of Hollyoaks, Bryan Kirkwood acknowledged that there is a bigger negative reaction when gay couples move from the living room to the bedroom and humorously musing, “What did people think they were doing?”

This negativity was illustrated in September last year, when Corrie aired a scene of Todd Grimshaw and Billy kissing on a bed and discussing sex. According to Brocklebank, this provoked a “huge homophobic response” on social media. The actor revealed that he had been contacted by Michael Cashman, who famously gave the first gay kiss in British soaps back in 1987 as Colin Russell in EastEnders, saying “‘I can’t believe you’re having to put up with the same sh*t that I was putting up with 30 years ago.”

Ofcom, the broadcasting regulator, cleared Coronation Street over complaints about Todd and Billy’s kissing scene and rightly so, but I think it’s worth noting that this negative minority was anticipated and to an extent pandered to. Daniel revealed that the scene was originally meant to have both characters shirtless but the production team decided to keep them clothed to dial down the scene.

With five characters currently identifying as LGBTQ on the cobbles (Billy, Todd, Sophie, Kate and Sean), it’s easy to think job done and celebrate how far the show has come. It’s telling that former Coronation Street actor Charlie Condou felt he had to defend the number of gay characters on the show as recently as April this year when he was interviewed by Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain.

Considering recent research from Public Health England estimates that there are more than 1.3 million lesbian, gay or bisexual people in England, the majority living in major conurbations like London and Manchester, five characters in Weatherfield certainly doesn’t look excessive.

I think for the production teams of soaps, on the whole, inclusion of LGGTQ characters is no longer the issue. It would be unthinkable for ITV’s flagship soap not to represent such diversity within the Street.  The RTS panel discussed how bold Corrie was to present a trans character as early as 1998 at a time when the political climate was hostile and Section 28 was still in force.

Annie Wallace, who went on to become the first transgender actor to play a regular transgender character in a British soap (Sally St. Claire in Hollyoaks), was involved in shaping the character of Hayley by relating her own experiences of transition to the production team. She maintains that Corrie deserves a real pat on the back for Hayley, introducing a trans character even before they had a gay character on the show.

I think the challenge now for soaps is not having LGBTQ characters but in the stories they tell. One of EastEnders’ core scriptwriters Pete Lawson told the RTS audience: “We've got to a point where being gay isn't the story”. Bryan Kirkwood agreed saying it's not just about wheeling in a gay or trans character adding that their sexuality shouldn't be the most interesting thing: “their sexuality should be the fifth or sixth most interesting thing about them”.

So how should LGBTQ characters be presented? Oliver Kent, the head of continuing drama series on BBC, explained “If it feels like we ever look like we’re pushing an agenda, it will feel bogus and the audience can tell straight away”. I think there’s a real narrative cul-de-sac if LGBTQ characters are only ever role models

Recently I read a discussion on Digital Spy’s Soap forum where the poster was unhappy that gay characters currently were too anodyne: “There is also a tendency for any LGBT characters to be disproportionately good, kind and caring rather than devious and nasty”. Even when you think of a character like Caz Hammond, the negativity was limited to jealousy, faking an injury then her own murder and with a bit of webcam spying thrown in for good measure. I mean who of us hasn’t done that at some point? Oh. Anyway, moving on, the character lasted for less than a year. As long as there’s a balance among your LGBTQ characters, why couldn’t we have one who is as spiteful as a Tracy or as nasty and conniving as a Phelan?

Emmerdale’s series producer, Iain MacLeod, told the RTS audience that “Soap is about holding up mirror to modern life in Britain”. I think this is central to keeping our continuing dramas relevant and engaging.

One aspect of modern LGBTQ life I would like to see reflected in Coronation Street is homophobia, both explicit and tacit. Home Office data on hate crimes published early this year clearly demonstrated that the number of recorded homophobic hate crimes in England and Wales has surged. Over seven thousand hate crimes based on sexual orientation were recorded in the previous financial year. Summer’s grandmother Geraldine recently has given a rare depiction of bigotry with her homophobic attitude to Todd and Billy and their suitability to look after Drew’s daughter – but I suspect it will be a passing storyline.

Truly to reflect society, I believe the Street should have a regular character whose views are homophobic. When Les Battersby continued to “deadname” Hayley as Harold, her pre-transition identity, it reflected the ongoing challenge for acceptance LGBTQ people face in everyday life.
I think continuing dramas like Coronation Street and the other soaps work best if there’s a moral challenge at the heart of their storylines. By putting such arguments and uncomfortable issues onto the screen, soaps have the power to highlight subjects their audiences might not have experienced personally.  When stories such Hayley and Roy Cropper’s loving relationship is played out in people’s living rooms week in and week out, it allows viewers to become habituated with issues and characters they might have instinctively disagreed with.

I think Corrie should be proud how well and entertainingly they have depicted their LGBTQ characters and I would encourage the production team and the writers to be bold in continuing to explore broader and even stronger diversity in their stories of Weatherfield lives.

See also: Guest Blog from Laura Marlow
Review of RTS Event: "LGBTQ In Soap: Job Done?"

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Let's talk about sex on Coronation Street

Nearly all Coronation Street characters can be separated by six degrees of copulation. 

The cobbles play host to one big swingers' party and it has pretty much always been that way.

Jean Alexander might have had a point back in 2012 when she claimed Corrie had 'sold its soul to sex and scandal.' The Street hasn't necessarily lost its soul but I'm sure there was a collective sigh of 'well that was inevitable' when it was suggested that Nick and Carla were to bump uglies. The two sexy, successful, but unlucky in love neighbours started to spend more time together some time ago and were clearly gagging for it, but cautious Carla kept things friendly and platonic until she got to grips with her feelings. Just as things were about to go to the next level, Erica returned, complete with a bun in the oven. 

On Monday we saw Leanne involve herself in the Nick-Carla, Nick-Erica scenario, suggesting Carla should tell a certain someone about her feelings before it's too late. She should know, Nick's also 'been' there too. In fact, add to that list Maria, Eva, Kylie and that almost snog with Todd, and our Casanova Nick's certainly done the rounds. The dirty dog. No wonder he's got brain damage.

Soaps are stories about relationships, and more often than not, about the implications that arise from sexual interaction between characters. Look at other recent storylines for example - Faye and her teen pregnancy, Tracy getting her claws into Tony behind Liz's back, even Sally and Tim's 'come to bed eyes' over their drinks in the Rovers. It's all going on under that metaphorical duvet that is the Greater Manchester sky.

There are so many storylines based around sex from the last few years. I've selected a few to highlight how Coronation Street covers this important subject. So let's talk about sex...

GOOD SEX

Liz McDonald. In her underwear. On a balcony. Ena Sharples would have been spinning in her grave. The scenes were hilarious but also showed us the pain Liz felt yet again at being continuously unlucky in love.

It's a common theme in soap operas. Liz has bags of sex appeal but perhaps is just a little too obvious with it and it doesn't help that she often falls for men who are already taken.

We've followed Liz's bed hopping over many years, with that ever present cleavage glaring at us like a fissure into the bowels of Hell, but Liz is the ultimate tart with a heart.

One big and rather pleasant development in Coronation Street over the past year has been the blossoming relationship between Sally and Tim. Since Tim came on the scene, he has won many of our hearts, which is no mean feat, especially as he is effectively filling the shoes of Kevin Webster. After years referring to Kevin and Sally as if they were one person, it's difficult to get used to big changes like this, but it has been cleverly written, with them all becoming one big family. The relationship between Kevin and Tim is lovely, and a refreshing approach to the ex and the new man scenario. And as we've seen recently, Sally and Tim's night time, and sometimes day time bedroom activity, proves that this might be a relationship that lasts. Let's hope so.

For a while it felt like Corrie writers were trying to shove gays down our throat. If you'll pardon the expression. But Sophie Webster, recently telling us it's ok to say 'lesbian' out loud, was funny but also reflected the attitudes still present in British society about homosexuality. I think we've all got used to girls kissing girls and boys kissing boys now, and of course girls who used to be boys kissing boys, thanks to the much-missed Hayley Cropper, but I think a bit more modest messaging might be needed before some viewers see these things as 'normal'. It's important that we see gay characters with proper storylines too, not just about their sexuality. It's not ALL about sex when you're gay. I'm told.

BAD SEX

Carla's rape storyline gave actress Alison King some of her best but ultimately most harrowing scenes on the show. It showed a strong woman, reduced to a nervous wreck after Frank assaulted her in her own home. Such storylines are delicately approached and are often unpleasant to watch, particularly when a prominent character is involved, but rape happens and Coronation Street produced some very emotional scenes surrounding this storyline, whilst offering support to any viewers who had been raped themselves. 

Let's move on to the somewhat familiar tale of teen pregnancy. It's hard to believe so many years have passed since Sarah-Lou gave birth to Bethany. What's even harder to fathom is why there hasn't been more interaction between Sarah and Faye considering the young Windass has just had to endure the same life changing experience herself. Nonetheless this is another example of Corrie approaching a subject that has proven problematic throughout UK society - sex education and teen pregnancy. It hasn't been The Street's most emotive storyline this time round, and had a lot to live up to considering last time they approached it the issue was discussed in parliament. It's still a problem though so Corrie was probably right to bring it into the consciousness of a new audience. 

Now for the issue of selling sex. The Anna & Phelan storyline was upsetting and difficult to watch. Debbie Rush portrays torment and sadness brilliantly and these were some of her best performances. Feeling she had to sleep with Phelan in order settle Owen's debts was new territory for Corrie, who have touched on prostitution and escorting in the past, but this new, emotional twist was excellent, if somewhat depressing.

And what about the steamy affair between Tina and Peter? The less said about that the better.

DON'T WANT TO KNOW SEX

Tug, tug, tug. Went the tug boat. Ken's dalliances with Martha, on what was actually a canal barge, were part of a lovely time in Corrie's recent history. We were lucky enough to still have Blanche and Deirdre with us, played by true Coronation Street greats Maggie Jones and Anne Kirkbride. Not long after, there were some very public discussions about the goings on in the Barlow family, care of Alcoholics Anonymous, but who knows what really went on down in that galley between Ken and Martha...

Now an unlikely coupling. Even though it never actually happened, the idea of Roy and Tracy getting it on was planted in our consciousness some years ago, in a bizarre storyline that involved numerous Street residents. Thankfully it turned out to be one of Tracy's evil schemes to milk Roy and Hayley for all she could, and I'm sure we all breathed a sigh of relief when we were let in on the secret. It didn't happen. 

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So let's all have a stiff one and raise our glasses to all the great Coronation Street sex over the years. And plenty more to come. Keep it up, Corrie. 

Twitter: @StevieDawson

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Coronation Street featured on Independent's Pink List

The Independent on Sunday feature their Pink List today - and Coronation Street makes its mark in a few different ways.

At No. 1 is Olympian Nicola Adams.
"But what's she got to do with Coronation Street?", I can hear you say.
"Well, read this" I answer.

At No. 15 is the fab Charlie Condou, who plays Marcus Dent. 
The Indy says: "As well as playing TV's most swoonsome gay character, the Corrie star is an impassioned gay-rights advocate, speaking and writing across a range of topics. A father of two, he recently branded fellow thespian Rupert Everett "a dinosaur" for his critical views on gay parenting."

At No. 25 is Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, who penned Corrie's 50th anniversary poem.

At No. 33, Antony Cotton will be fewmin' as the Indy spells his name wrong as Anthony. 
The Indy says: Cotton rose to fame in Queer as Folk before his role as Corrie's Sean Tully made him a star. He is an active supporter of LGBT charities including the Terrence Higgins Trust, while his place in the public's affection was confirmed by his appearance in 2011's I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!

At No. 47 is Coronation Street writer Jonathan Harvey.
The Indy says: From plays such as Beautiful Thing and Boom Bang-A-Bang to his scripts on Coronation Street, and comedy to drama, the 44-year-old has become one of the UK's premier chroniclers of contemporary gay experience. His recent debut novel, All She Wants, was warmly received.

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Glad To Be Gay?

Have a look down the end of the sofa.  What would make you trade in your pretty, delicate girlfriend for a big hairy man?  What would turn you off the strong arms of your husband and onto the weedy limbs of a girlie?

I'm asking because apparently, Maria has turned Marcus heterosexual.  This is a bit surprising for those of us who've watched Corrie over the years, because it's difficult enough for us to work out why men go for her.  Yes, she's pretty, but once she's told you the difference between L'Oreal's Coral Surprise and L'Oreal's Coral Smash for the eighteenth time, you realise that celibacy is a not unattractive option.

Sexuality is a continuum.  I'm a gay man, but if Mrs Peel from The Avengers or Holly Goodhead from Moonraker knocked on my door, I'd have to have quite a long thought before I said no.  Their awesomeness is beyond gender.

The current storyline asks us to put Maria in the same category as these titans of phenomenalness, and she just doesn't cut it.  It is sadly undercutting what could be an interesting storyline.

Weirdly, if it was the other way round, none of us would be blinking an eyelid.  If, say, Steve MacDonald suddenly took up with Sean, we'd find it hard to believe, but we'd accept it.  We're conditioned to understand that homosexuals can repress it for years.  Even though Sean is, fundamentally, a horrible person, we can see that a repressed gay man might still fall for him.  As a culture we see "coming out" as the end of the line.

The Marcus/Maria storyline hints that it's not the end of the line, which becomes confusing for us as an audience.  We like binaries; we like simple yes/no answers.  Tracy Barlow's evil: yes.  Kirk is thick: yes.  Mary could beat Jessica Ennis in the 800m: no.  Characters in nice simple boxes where they don't move from.  It's true of all soap operas - it's a necessary part of a show that churns out so many hours of drama.  Certain characters are always needed - the matriach, the bitch, the stud.  Marcus is "gay", and now he isn't, and we don't know what to do with him.  It's confused by the producers and the actors stating he's not bisexual (like Sonny, who was, like most tv bisexuals, a duplicitous scumbag).  How can Marcus be gay, and with a woman?  It doesn't seem right.  It doesn't fit the boxes.

There's a political element to all this too.  At a time when there are rallies against gay marriage in this country, and homophobic attacks continue, and many countries inflict horrific punishments on homosexuals, the idea of a gay man turning straight carries with it a political strength out of proportion to the storyline.  Remember, in the 80s, there was a widely held belief that you could "promote" homosexuality; that it was some kind of club you could convert people to.  Gay rights campaigners have fought to underline that homosexuality isn't a choice.  A storyline in which Marcus passes up Fish Lips Aidan in favour of Luscious Lips Maria plays right into conservative hands - "see?  It just takes the right girl!"

Coronation Street is one of the gayest programmes on television - even if you strike out Sean and Marcus and Sophie, you still have Norris, and Mary, and Julie, and Gloria, camping it up beyond all boundaries.  Corrie was created by a gay man, is produced by a gay man, is written by gay men; we can trust that they understand the politics.  And it's undeniable that this sort of thing happens.  Russell T Davies's excellent Bob & Rose dealt with just such an issue.  The lesbian comic Jackie Clunes is now married to a man; the composer of Glad to be Gay, Tom Robinson, has a wife and kids.  Things change.

It's an interesting storyline, an interesting question.  I'm curious.  My partner Dave is horrified by it; he sees it as a nasty right-wing plot.  Of course, he also hates Maria, because she is going out with Chris the builder in real life, so there's a certain amount of bitterness.  How it develops is the question.  Personally, so long as Aidan and his weird mouth are out of the picture, I think I'd be happy.

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What A Gay Day!

It's World Pride Day, a day when gays take over the streets of That London in the name of equality.  That's the theory, anyway; what usually happens is about four people hold up a placard while behind them 13,000 homos are recreating the last days of Rome while knocking back blue WKDs.  Still, fifty years ago they'd have all been arrested as perverts, so in a way it's progress.

Despite being created by a gay man, and home to some of the campest humanoids ever to grace the screen (I'll just say "Bet Lynch and Raquel get drunk on cocktails" and leave it there), it took until the turn of the millennium before Corrie got a regular gay character.  A long-standing character came out of the closet in 2003; much to everyone's surprise, it wasn't Norris, but was instead that nice Todd at number eleven.

After a failed attempt to snog Adam Rickett, Todd hooked up with a nurse, Karl.  He introduced him to Manchester's Sodom, the glory that is Canal Street.  At that time, the Gay Village was at its height, filled with tiny waisted men in shiny shirts trying to look like Stuart from Queer as Folk.  Nowadays it's a lot less interesting, having been colonised by hen nights who just want a laugh and a drink and who all love The Gays, 'cos they're so funny, aren't they?  Most right thinking homosexuals now avoid it like the plague, leaving only the tattiest of drag queens and the rent boys.

Todd was entranced, and soon became friends with another of Anal Treet's residents, Sean Tully.  When Todd went off to That London Sean swiftly moved into his vacant bedroom, bonding with Eileen Grimshaw over their romantic misadventures and the knowledge that all men are swines.  Eileen's the perfect fag hag; a little overweight, razor sharp, and mucked about by fellas on a regular basis.

Soon Sean was working at the knicker factory, sewing gussets by day and thrilling the girls with saucy chat.  Danny Baldwin nicknamed him "Mincemeat", in direct contravention of the Equal Opportunities Act; he also called Kelly "Legs", leaving us all to be thankful that he never met Izzy.  The politically incorrect nickname would probably have made your toes curl.  Sean also flounced his way behind the bar of the Rovers, resurrecting Bet's nickname of "cock" for the punters; coming from an out gay man it acquired a level of innuendo ranking a solid 8 on the Sid James Scale.

Some gay groups have criticised Sean, saying that his mincing, fake tanned presence sets the cause back to the days of Mr Humphries.  One glance at the men working in Manchester's Harvey Nicks will tell you that Sean is a toned down version of some of the homos in the city.  Instead of criticising him for having more mince than Fred Elliot, they should instead be criticising him for being possibly the most self-centred man in the Street.  And remember, this is a street that also contains Dev.

Sean's commitment to doing whatever Sean wants saw him copping off with Sonny, one of those token bisexuals who turn up in soaps to make things interesting.  At the time Sonny was engaged to Michelle, who was allegedly Sean's friend; loyalty meant nothing to Mr Tully though, and soon they were having a bunk up in a bomb scare.  You'll be surprised to learn that the wedding didn't go ahead.

Despite his many, many flaws, the girls of Corrie seem to love Sean, so much so that The Lovely Violet asked to borrow some of his semen.  Violet was the loveliest character to ever grace the cobbles; she was pretty, funny, intelligent, and worked in a place that served alcohol.  Women like that find it notoriously hard to get boyfriends.  Even though she had in the past ensnared Jason and Jamie, neither of whom would look out of place in an Abercrombie & Fitch layout, Violet decided she was never going to get a decent man who could knock her up.  She turned to her GBF, and soon she was fertilised.  The producers were intentionally vague about the specifics of the conception, as they were aware that some viewers liked to watch the show while they ate their dinners.  A scene involving Sean nipping upstairs with a jam jar and a DVD of Brokeback Mountain was cut and condemned to Granada's Black Museum, never to be seen again.

Once again, Sean's selfishness came to the fore when he flirted with the sonographer at The Lovely Violet's scan.  While she went through the indignities of having her jersey hoisted up and ice cold petroleum jelly smeared all over her, Sean was making doe-eyes and ensuring that Marcus knew that there was no penetration involved in the creation of the foetus.  Marcus, unbelievably, fell for it, and soon the two were a couple.

Violet finally gave birth in one of the booths in the Rovers; in fact, on hot days, you can still detect a whiff of placenta.  By this point she'd hooked up with Jamie, and the two of them realised that bringing up a child is hard enough without a needy homosexual hammering on the door every ten minutes with a new pair of fabulous booties.  They upped sticks and headed south, leaving Sean as a very distant father to little Dylan.  He occasionally goes down to visit, usually when Antony Cotton has to appear on I'm A Celebrity or host another horrific chat show.

Marcus and Sean split up for a while, after Sean tried to cop off with Liam's cousin Tom; yes he was good looking, yes he was a bit camp, but Tom was definitely on the heterosexual bus and he refused to be converted.  A chance encounter with Marcus at Violet's house reignited the flame, and they became a couple again.

Although Charlie Condou is utterly lovely, both physically and personality-wise, Marcus is a bit of a dull old stick.  Only Maria seems to find him fascinating, but that's largely because Maria has the brain of a freshly squeezed dishcloth; she normally spends her evenings with Kirk and a three year old, so she's just glad to be talking to someone who doesn't have mashed swede down their jumper.  Marcus wanted children, which explained why he was willing to be in a relationship with Sean; he spent most of his time following him around, cleaning up his messes after him and acting like the grown up.  This allowed Sean to become even more infantile, until Marcus could stand it no more.  Sean became jealous over Marcus's friendship with Aiden; he viewed him as a threat, even though he had the mouth of a freshly-caught guppy, and that was it; the affair was over.

Now Marcus is living across the street, and Sean is bashing about filled with self-pity.  We've reached the point where the gay couples can be as annoying as the heterosexual ones; that's true equality, if you ask me.

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The Gay Question

It’s a road of less than twenty households, but, if rumours are true, Coronation Street’s about to get its third lesbian resident.  Is this an example of the “gay agenda”?  Is this political correctness gone mad?  Is it a desperate rush for ratings?

Or is it the problem with soap operas?

Here’s the thing: soap operas - or continuing dramas, to give them their Bafta-worthy title - are an art form based around relationships.  Specifically, love matches.  Oh yes, we love to see battles and conflicts, but it’s the love that we tune into.  It’s the couplings and the decouplings that make a soap worth watching.

All British soaps operate in a disturbingly hermetic environment.  They have one set, one load of characters, and one world to play with.  How else do you explain the fact that Deirdre Barlow is the only person in the Street who can’t walk to work?  Think about that for a second.  How realistic is it that every single resident of Coronation Street can leave for work at 8:58 and still arrive on time?  How preposterous is it that Gail Platt couldn’t find a job - in Manchester, the third largest city in the UK - until she started scrubbing Nick’s toilets?

More to the point, think of the twisted relationships that exist in that street.  Let’s start at Number One.  Deirdre and Tracy both slept with Dev, who slept with Sunita.  Sunita was engaged to Ciaran, who is currently shacked up with Michelle, who used to be engaged to Steve.  Steve is currently married to Becky, who was engaged to Jason for a while, after he split up from Sarah-Louise.  Sarah-Louise is the sister of David, who’s currently married to Becky’s sister Kylie, but who used to go out with Tina, who also lived with Jason for a while, but is currently going out with Graham, even though he’s married to Xin.

That’s one paragraph, and a whole load of interpersonal relations and intimate shenanigans.  But where are Sean, Sophie and Sian in all this?  Not mentioned.  You know why?  Gay characters are cul-de-sacs.  Gay characters are a dramatic dead end.

There just aren’t enough of them.  In terms of drama, they’re a big no-no.  It’s easy to set up a love triangle with unlikely heterosexuals in one street - look at Kevin and Molly.  Even though it seemed strange, they did, at least, have all the right parts and desires to indicate that a relationship would be possible.  There was never any suggestion that Kevin would turn to Sean, or that Molly would suddenly become Sapphic.  

In the world of intermingling relations that is the soap opera, gay characters have the disadvantage of being only compatible with a small percentage of other cast mates.  It’s why the bisexual character is far more common in soaps than in real life - Sean’s relationship with Sonny wasn’t about the two of them, it was about creating conflict with Michelle in a very traditional menage-a-trois format.  It’s notable that Sonny disappeared as soon as his storyline was done.

Going back to my original point: if Eva is indeed a lesbian, I suspect the true cause of discomfort isn’t her sexuality, but that we can see the strings.  Sian and Sophie are a happy gay partnership.  That’s pretty dull for dramatic purposes.  As Jane Rossington once said about her character in Crossroads, “there’s only one way for a soap opera marriage to end - divorce.”  Happy ever after just doesn’t work.  For there to be conflict between our lesbian heroines, we need a third party, and so another lesbian character needs to arrive into the Street.  Similarly, with Sean: it would be unlikely for Jason or Tyrone to suddenly turn gay, so a new character has to be introduced for him to have a love interest - hence the return of Marcus.  Eva’s homosexuality is already boring to us because we can see that she’s there purely to create conflict for Sophie and Sian.  If she were a young, attractive, heterosexual character, she’d have the pick of the men on the street: Tommy, Tyrone, Jason, Gary, and so on.  Making her gay means we can see a plotline from a mile off.

It’s a problem that all soap operas have to deal with at some point.  Emmerdale, for example, turned into a hotbed of lesbianism once Zoe Tate came out, something that seems to have disappeared entirely now she’s not in the show.  Similarly, poor Christian in EastEnders is forced to have a turgid affair with every slightly camp man who shows up in the Square, whether he likes them or not.

In the “real world” Sean would have met the man of his dreams via Gaydar, and Sophie and Sian would be on Canal Street.  That’s not only uninteresting to us as a viewer, it’s expensive to film.  Would you care if Sean suddenly announced he was going out with “Brian”, any more than you would care if Gary Windass suddenly started an affair with “Susan”, a woman he’d met on his latest job?  Wouldn’t it be far more interesting to you if Gary started an affair with, say, Julie?

There’s a choice: all or nothing.  Either you introduce gay characters, and deal with the dramatic complications that arise, or you don’t put them in the show in the first place.  I would argue that Corrie’s gay characters are neither tokenist or boring.  Sean has been a great foil to a number of characters, a classic comedian, and has a number of valuable relationships (Eileen and Julie would both be lesser characters without him).  Sophie has grown up on the Street, and so her lesbianism is an interesting twist that has thrown new angles on existing characters - I can’t be the only person who thinks Rosie Webster’s unequivocal support for her sister adorable.  They’re interesting characters who deserve their place in the fabric of our favourite drama (far more so than, say, Cheryl).  

I guess I’m saying that the producers need a little bit of slack when it comes to gay and lesbian relationships in Coronation Street.  They need to work outside our dramatic comfort zone, and while that may seem unusual, it ultimately leads to a better, more interesting drama for all of us to enjoy.  It’s a contrivance we need to accept to make sure Corrie remains our number one soap.

Celebration of Corrie's LGBT portrayal

The LGF’s bi-monthly magazine outnorthwest (out today) is something of a Corrie special.

Brooke & Sacha are their cover stars and there are exclusive interviews with Brooke, Sacha, Phil Collinson, Tony Warren, Sally Dyvenor, Michael LeVelle, Julie Hesmondhalgh and David Nielson (and an archive interview with Antony Cotton).

It’s a celebration of Corrie’s LGBT portrayal and camp moments. It’s a cracking read and you can view it online here...
http://www.lgf.org.uk/outnorthwest-issue-101/

Church backlash to Sian and Sophie's relationship coming up

Sophie and Sian are in for more heartbreak in November. The Sun reports that once the teens return home (you didn't think they were gone for good, did you?), the pastor at their church finds out about their relationship. He's not best pleased and lectures them with the standard church doctrine of "unnatural". Sian and Sophie argue that everyone is equal in God's eyes and whatever it says in the Bible, they're sure that God would admit his mistake. Even Emily Bishop can't disagree with the pastor though she's a lot more likely to be understanding but her opinion still stings the girls.

Will the pressure split up the girls? Will Sophie turn her back on the church? Will Sophie pretend to be something she's not? My guesses are yes, yes and no. I hope Sophie stays true to herself and I've always felt that Sian really isn't gay at heart. As for the church, maybe Sophie will find a church that does accept her. Whatever happens, it is sure to be handled well. This really is the kind of thing that happens to gay couples and other couples that don't fit the standard mold. Just look at the opposition Roy and Hayley have had to deal with for all these years and how people still make jokes about Hayley behind her back.

Antony Cotton says Enough is Enough

Antony Cotton, who plays Coronation Street's Sean Tully, has been on GMTV this morning to launch the Lesbian and Gay Foundation's new Enough is Enough! Action Against Homophobia campaign. He was talking to Ben Shepard live from the Corrie cobbles. You can see that here.

Antony also stars in the Enough is Enough! Action Against Homophobia video, featuring Sir Ian McKellen (Corrie's Mel Hutchwright) too. Watch the YouTube here.