Will EastEnrs fans fall for Walford's gay Mlim? | EastEnrs | The Guardian

Contents:

• EASTENRS' GAY UPLE SYED AND CHRISTIAN TO LEAVE SHOW
• EASTENRS' GAY UPLE SYED AND CHRISTIAN TO LEAVE SHOW
• 'ENRS SYED FOR GAY LOVE PLOT
• EASTENRS NFIRM GAY LOVERS CHRISTIAN AND SYED ARE LEAVG ALBERT SQUARE
• EASTENRS SPARKS UPROAR WH GAY BEDROOM SCENE BEFORE THE WATERSHED
• EXPLOSIVE EASTENRS EX: GAY LOVERS SYED AND CHRISTIAN LEAVG ALBERT SQUARE MASSIVE SHAKE-UP
• EASTENRS: MLIM CHARACTER TO HAVE GAY LOVE AFFAIR
• WILL EASTENRS FANS FALL FOR WALFORD'S GAY MLIM?

EASTENRS' GAY UPLE SYED AND CHRISTIAN TO LEAVE SHOW

Image ptn, Elltt (right) said he was lookg forward to "new challeng"EastEnrs st members Marc Elltt and John Partridge, who play gay lovers Syed Masood and Christian Clarke, are to be wrten out of the BBC One soap.

Elltt said his time on the seri had been "brilliant", addg he was pleased at how had addrsed "the sensive subject matter of beg a gay Mlim". Gay EastEnrs character Syed Masood will be outed hours before his weddg on New Year’s Day.

Syed, played by actor Marc Ellt, is due to marry Amira Shah but his mother Zaab will see him talkg to another gay character, Christian, and assume he has proposned her son. But when she nonts Christian about the exchange, he adms that Syed is gay.

EASTENRS' GAY UPLE SYED AND CHRISTIAN TO LEAVE SHOW

EastEnrs newer Syed Masood is to embark on a gay love affair wh terer Christian Clarke. Pennils Mlim property veloper Syed, played by actor Marc Elltt, will fd himself torn between his feelgs and fah after sharg a gay screen kiss wh Jane Beale's (Lrie Brett) brother Christian (John Partridge).

'ENRS SYED FOR GAY LOVE PLOT

Durg the extensive rearch perd, Universy of Nottgham soclogy profsor Dr Andrew Kam-Tuck Yip and Adnan Ali, head of Al-Fatiha, an ternatnal anisatn for gay Mlims, were among those nsulted.

Meanwhile, a Gallup poll nducted earlier this month revealed that none of the 500 Mlims terviewed believe that homosexualy is morally acceptable.

At the end of last year, Of received nearly 150 plats over a gay kiss (above) between Christian and his then-boyiend Lee Thompson (Carl Fergon).

EASTENRS NFIRM GAY LOVERS CHRISTIAN AND SYED ARE LEAVG ALBERT SQUARE

The BBC has rpond to plats om some EastEnrs viewers who felt that a scene showg a popular gay uple bed together was "appropriate". "We approach our portrayal of homosexual relatnships exactly the same way as we do heterosexual relatnships, ensurg pictns of affectn or sexualy between upl are suable for pre-watershed viewg.

EASTENRS SPARKS UPROAR WH GAY BEDROOM SCENE BEFORE THE WATERSHED

"The BBC's statement ntued: "We would also pot out that same-sex civil partnerships beme law December 2005, givg equal rights to gay upl the UK.

The BBC nnot discrimate by treatg gay characters differently to heterosexual characters.

> David Cameron ni TV gay kissg ban. On his weddg day, Syed adms to Christian that he is gay and love wh him, but feels unable to e out bee of his fay and fah.

EXPLOSIVE EASTENRS EX: GAY LOVERS SYED AND CHRISTIAN LEAVG ALBERT SQUARE MASSIVE SHAKE-UP

Syed fally reveals the tth to Amira kd of by accint and ultimately adms that he is gay.

Syed begs attendg therapy which he believ will cure him of his homosexualy, though prov unsuccsful. The followg day, Syed tells Christian he choos him and needs his help, and that he is both gay and Mlim.

Christian's lleague at Masala Queen, Syed Masood, argu wh him over his sexualy, sayg that homosexualy go agast his God's will, but then unexpectedly kiss and has sex wh Christian. Syed ref him although they ntue wh their affair, Syed eventually ni that he is gay and propos to his girliend Amira Shah.

EASTENRS: MLIM CHARACTER TO HAVE GAY LOVE AFFAIR

On the day of Syed and Amira's engagement party, Christian tak a man lled Le back to his flat, but Le beats Christian up after revealg he is not gay and hat gay men ttagg public plac.

On the weddg day, Syed adms to Christian that he is gay but nnot e out bee he is not jt gay, but a son, a brother and a Mlim. Christian starts workg at the lol boxg club, and whilst there, fifteen year old Ben Mchell nfis to him that he is gay. Christian li that he was the victim of a homophobic attack, and ref to give Syed any tails.

WILL EASTENRS FANS FALL FOR WALFORD'S GAY MLIM?

Her name is shabnamIs Christian om EastEnrs gay? He is also gay real is Honey's real name EastEnrs? When perfect mlim son Syed Masood appeared on our screens noone thought for one send he would wd up volved a love affair wh rint proud openly gay man christian clarke but thats what we got.

He's gay but don't adm this out loud for fear that his parents would disown him sce as he says 's agast god's will but if we look closely, we n see that... Whether be the first gay kiss broadst on mastream televisn, the troductn of PoC gay rol, or the stg trans actors trans storyl, soaps have been leadg the charge when to reprentatn for s. That first kiss, for example, aired 1989, one year after the troductn of Sectn 28, a homophobic piece of legislatn that outlawed the “promotg the teachg of the acceptabily of homosexualy as a pretend fay relatnship.

Brooksi's Gordon Colls Be The First Gay Character In A UK Soap Opera, 1985Portrayed by Nigel Crowley (and later Mark Burgs), Gordon Colls was first troduced to Channel 4's Brooksi 1982 and later me out 1985, beg the first openly gay character on a Brish soap opera. Through Gordon, Brooksi explored the topic of homophobia, wh his fay beg subject to harassment as a rult of him g out. It's now wily believed that Gordon and the Brooksi wrers paved the way for other soap operas and popular TV dramas to troduce their own gay characters.