'EastEnrs' actor reveals he is gay

Contents:

• HOW MICHAEL CASHMAN CHANGED THE WORLD: OM EASTENRS' FIRST GAY KISS TO STONEWALL
• BBC EASTENRS FANS MAND A 'GAY FAY WH REGULAR PROBLEMS' AS EVERY LGBTQ+ CHARACTER HAS 'THE SAME STORYLE'FANS OF THE SHOW WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOME DIFFERENT STORYL GIVEN TO S LGBTQ+ CHARACTERSGETWTLONDONBOOKMARKSHARECOMMENTSNEWSBYELLEN JENNESENR WHAT'S ON, SHOWBIZ AND TV WRER11:56, 4 MAY 2022UPDATED12:28, 4 MAY 2022BOOKMARKEASTENRS FANS SAY THEY WANT TO SEE LGBTQ+ FAI WH 'REGULAR PROBLEMS' (IMAGE: BBC/KIERON MCCARRON/JACK BARN)GET FREE EMAIL UPDAT FOR EASTENRSMORE NEWSLETTERS SUBSCRIBEINVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.MORE NEWSLETTERSWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!WE HAVE MORE NEWSLETTERSSHOW ME SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE&TIM;GROUP 28 GET FREE EMAIL UPDAT FOR EASTENRSINVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.SIGN UPNO THANKS, CLOSEWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE &TIM;GROUP 28THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!
• EASTENRS GAY STORYLE PUTS SOAP BACK ON TRACK SAY FANS
• 'EASTENRS' ACTOR REVEALS HE IS GAY
• EASTENRS' GARY HAIL SAYS BBC CUT 1987 GAY STORYLE BEE OF TORY LEGISLATN
• EASTENRS: MLIM CHARACTER TO HAVE GAY LOVE AFFAIR
• EASTENRS' BEN MCHELL TO E OUT AS GAY
• 'EASTENRS' NEEDS MORE GAY CHARACTERS, SAYS JOHN PARTRIDGE
• EASTENRS’ HISTORIC FIRST GAY KISS TO BE BROADST AS PART OF BBC FOUR’S PRI SEASON
• POPULAR GAY CHARACTER CHRISTIAN RETURNG TO EASTENRS

HOW MICHAEL CASHMAN CHANGED THE WORLD: OM EASTENRS' FIRST GAY KISS TO STONEWALL

Memorable LGBTQ moments EastEnrs historyEastEnrs has been on our screens for more than 35 years – that time, the Walford-based soap has bee one of Bra’s most inic TV s but 1985, EastEnrs has never shied away om hard-htg storyl and has been at the foreont of LGBTQ reprentatn on Bize tak a look at some of the most memorable LGBTQ moments om the BBC One show’s gay kiss on a Brish soapCol Rsell was the first gay character on EastEnrs, appearg Albert Square jt over a year after the show’s first by Michael Cashman, there was ntroversy at the time when Col kissed boyiend Barry Clark (Gary Hail) 1987 – even though was jt a peck on the (Michael Cashman) and Barry (Gary Hall) were EastEnrs' first gay years later, Col and new character Guido Smh (Nicholas Donovan) shared the first mouth-to-mouth kiss on a Brish soap – an timated 17 ln people tuned to watch the uple’s beme one of the most ground-breakg scen soap history – but was emed so ntroversial that some MPs lled for the soap to be pulled om the air. Syed tells Christian he is gay and love wh him – but unr prsure om his fay, gets married to feelgs for Christian prove too strong – so Syed out. Mick held his teenage son his arms to liver a tear-jerkg speech, tellg Johnny that he loved him and there was nothg bad about beg gay, supportg him to e out through both of their stifled Carter (played by Sam Strike, send om left) and dad Mick (Danny Dyer, centre) both ma their first appearanc the soap December ’s mother Lda (Kellie Bright) ially stggled wh his sexualy – but the pair eventually make up as she tak him to his first Pri event where he meets new boyiend Gianlu Cavallo (Gabriele Lombardo) transgenr character played by transgenr actorKyle Slater’s arrival Albert Square was a landmark moment for marked the first time Brish soap history that a transgenr character had been played by a transgenr actor, wh Riley Carter Millgton takg on the historic ’s first appearanc showed him followg Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) before he later reveals he is her long-lost half-brother and the pair ultimately sharg his story wh Stacey, Kyle reveals that his mother Alison (Denise Welch) has never seen him as a man.

Walford’s first Gay PriIn July 2019, Walford threw s first-ever Gay Pri event, wh an episo tacklg a number of LGBTQ ahead of London’s Gay Pri event, the episo was seen as celebratory, diverse and tnal, but also clud moments that remd the dience of the prejudice and discrimatn still faced by the LGBTQ muny to this the inic episo, Bernatte Taylor (Clair Norris) embrac her sexualy while celebratg her first Pri, havg e out as a lbian to her mother six months earlier, while Callum Highway (Tony Clay) stggl to e to terms wh his new, also known as Halfway, was engaged to Whney Dean (Shona McGarty) at the time of Pri and was helpg to get everythg anised for the big event. But he was mortified when brother Stuart (Ricky Champ) turned up and told him he saw him kissg Ben Mchell (Max Bown) the night 's been que the journey for Ben Mchell (Max Bown, pictured) and Callum Highway (Tony Clay), who recently got engaged the the urse of te love didn’t always n smoothly for Callum and Ben – Stuart beat up Ben later the Pri episo - the fan favoure duo went on to bee a uple, wh the pair eventually proposg to each other on the balny of lol gay bar The Prce Albert. In 1985, he had been approached by the creators of EastEnrs, Julia Smh and Tony Holland, to play Col Rsell – the Brish soap’s first gay character.

The News of the World ran a double-page spread, headled “Secret Gay Love of Aids Sre EastEnr”, which outed his partner and prted the uple’s photos and was even an attempt to orchtrate “sister” stori about him.

BBC EASTENRS FANS MAND A 'GAY FAY WH REGULAR PROBLEMS' AS EVERY LGBTQ+ CHARACTER HAS 'THE SAME STORYLE'FANS OF THE SHOW WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOME DIFFERENT STORYL GIVEN TO S LGBTQ+ CHARACTERSGETWTLONDONBOOKMARKSHARECOMMENTSNEWSBYELLEN JENNESENR WHAT'S ON, SHOWBIZ AND TV WRER11:56, 4 MAY 2022UPDATED12:28, 4 MAY 2022BOOKMARKEASTENRS FANS SAY THEY WANT TO SEE LGBTQ+ FAI WH 'REGULAR PROBLEMS' (IMAGE: BBC/KIERON MCCARRON/JACK BARN)GET FREE EMAIL UPDAT FOR EASTENRSMORE NEWSLETTERS SUBSCRIBEINVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.MORE NEWSLETTERSWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!WE HAVE MORE NEWSLETTERSSHOW ME SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE&TIM;GROUP 28 GET FREE EMAIL UPDAT FOR EASTENRSINVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.SIGN UPNO THANKS, CLOSEWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE &TIM;GROUP 28THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!

Through his varied, high-profile reer and life-changg relatnship wh his hband, Pl Cottgham (an actor and mpaigner who died of ncer 2014), tells not jt the story of his life, but also the battle for LGBT equaly the the Sun vered the story of the EastEnrs gay kiss 1989When news broke that Cashman’s character would share the first gay kiss a Brish soap (a peck on the forehead), the backlash only tensified. By parison, his next on-screen kiss – Brish soap’s first gay kiss on the lips – passed worth ? “Somebody said to me: ‘When you were on I ed to watch om behd the sofa bee I didn’t want my parents to know I was gay.

In the 60s, gog to the police wasn’t really an optn for gay men, he says.

“That this is what happened to gay men. In May 1988, the Thatcher ernment had brought the Lol Government Act and s notor sectn 28, which prohibed the tentnal promotn of homosexualy by lol thori and schools. ”Throughout the 80s and 90s, gay people were often portrayed as predators by media anisatns supportive of sectn 28.

EASTENRS GAY STORYLE PUTS SOAP BACK ON TRACK SAY FANS

And he is ncerned that some lbian, gay and bisexual people are jog . “The fact that lbian and gay people are willg to sacrifice trans people …we’re rollg back the clock. In 1999, he beme the untry’s first openly gay Labour MEP and went on to be print of the European Parliament’s tergroup on gay and lbian issu, while also helpg nvce Tony Blair’s ernment to troduce same-sex civil partnerships.

He was ma a Labour peer 2014 and has champned issu such as pulsory LGBT-clive sex and relatnships year, he rigned om the Labour party after endorsg the pro-rema Liberal a gay rights march 1988 wh Ian McKellen. EastEnrs aired the first ever gay kiss a soap 1989. Prev LGBTQ+ storyl on EastEnrs have clud the very first gay kiss on a Brish soap, shared between characters Col Rsell and Guido Smh (played by Michael Cashman and Nicholas Donovan, rpectively) 1989.

The homosexual love scene between yuppie poofs was screened the early eveng when lns of children were watchg. ” The article also tailed how “homosexual actor” Michal Cashman lived wh his “real-life boyiend”. ” Piers told PkNews: “I’m ashamed of some of the appropriate language I ed The Sun 30 years ago about gay stars.

'EASTENRS' ACTOR REVEALS HE IS GAY

EastEnrs actor Jake Maskall has revealed that he is gay and has a boyiend. Jake plays womanizg Danny Moon on the soap, currently havg an affair wh Sam Mchell (Kim Medlf), but he told Now magaze: "I'm gay and I've been wh my boyiend for 12 years. EastEnrs' first gay uple – Barry Clark and Col Rsell – were star-crossed lovers bee of Tory legislatn, acrdg to one of the actorsVio LoadgVio UnavailableEastEnrs viewers crge as Jean tri to sce Phil after Shirley's advice blunrIt’s not often that EastEnrs is pared to Shakpeare.

But the BBC soap’s first gay uple – Barry Clark and Col Rsell – were star-crossed lovers bee of Tory legislatn, acrdg to one of the actors.

In May 1988, the Tory ernment enacted the ntroversial Sectn 28 clse prohibg “the promotn of homosexualy” by uncils and schools.

EASTENRS' GARY HAIL SAYS BBC CUT 1987 GAY STORYLE BEE OF TORY LEGISLATN

Gary Hail reckons his on-screen gay relatnship was cut short December 1987 by worried BBC boss. ” In 1989, Col – played by Lord Michael Cashman, 69 – and a new boyiend shared Brish soap’s first gay kiss.

In her latt storyle, she is nonted by a homophobe who tak issue wh a Mlim prayer room beg next to a gay bar. I didn’t even know beg gay was a thg until I turned 10.

EASTENRS: MLIM CHARACTER TO HAVE GAY LOVE AFFAIR

I was school and one of my classmat said ‘you’re so gay’ to my iend.

EASTENRS' BEN MCHELL TO E OUT AS GAY

EastEnrs was actually the first place I me across the ncept of beg gay and Mlim, when I was around 14. At one pot, he overdosed and woke to hear his mother Zaab tell him would be better if he were ad than be gay. Iqra was surprised at how readily her grandparents accepted her girliend, Ash – the realy for other queer Mlims may not be the same (Picture: BBC /Jack Barn)Due to what I had been raised and socialised to believe, I was certaly unwillg to accept that beg gay and Mlim was possible when the storyle was first troduced.

I was nvced that beg gay was a choice. I knew that some Mlim-majory untri was a crime to be gay, punishable by ath.

'EASTENRS' NEEDS MORE GAY CHARACTERS, SAYS JOHN PARTRIDGE

The prayer room beg next to a gay bar reprents the abily for Mlim and queer inti to exist alongsi each other harmony.

MORE: Willie Garson’s Stanford Sex and the Cy felt monumental for a closeted gay teen like me.

EASTENRS’ HISTORIC FIRST GAY KISS TO BE BROADST AS PART OF BBC FOUR’S PRI SEASON

MORE: I’m a queer bra fter and I’m tired of ctomers’ homophobic ‘jok’. EastEnrs is to tackle one of the last taboos left soap, wh a storyle featurg a Mlim character embarkg on a gay love n reveal that the plot, which will h screens mid-June, will see Syed Masood, a Mlim property veloper wh a girliend who arrived Albert Square six weeks ago, fall for openly gay Christian Clarke. The pair will share an on-screen BBC has billed the storyle as a "tradnal love affair, albe wh a morn multicultural twist" BBC1 soap's productn team rearched the plot, which is bound to prove ntroversial wh some viewers, ntactg amics, gay Mlim support groups and members of the Mlim Council of Great the storyle, the 24-year-old Masood, played by Marc Elltt, fds his "relign and sexual feelgs nflict" character is currently datg Amira Shah as well as tryg to work his way back to his fay's good books followg his flight after losg money om the fay bs.

"Although the storyle will foc on Masood's stggle wh his sexualy, Santer said there would be a "balance of opns" cludg that of his more nservative mother Zaab as well as Clarke and his fay and BBC nsulted Dr Andrew Kam-Tuck Yip, associate profsor and rear the school of soclogy and social policy at the Universy of Nottgham, who has led rearch to the area, and Adnan Ali, head of Al-Fatiha, an ternatnal anisatn for gay Mlims. A Gallup survey earlier this month found that Brish Mlims hold more nservative opns towards homosexualy than European unterparts, wh none of the 500 people qutned believg that homosexual acts were morally plot is the latt a number of ntroversial storyl, wh the soap last year tacklg paedophilia.

POPULAR GAY CHARACTER CHRISTIAN RETURNG TO EASTENRS

Almost 25 years after EastEnrs broke a TV taboo by screeng the first homosexual kiss a Brish soap, BBC producers are planng to troduce a third gay character to Walford to ph the boundari a ltle further – and add dramatic tensn – they have cid the new gay character will be part of the square's rint crimal fay, the guy Phil Mchell will learn his son is gay after the teenager is spotted a clch wh another boy. The scen, filmed earlier this week, will show Ben Mchell, played by Joshua Pase, kissg EastEnrs character Dunn, although will be many months before his father, who is stgglg wh a former crack e hab, fds regular fans will e no surprise, as Ben was a source of nstant disappotment to his dad, chewg pastim like football and boxg for dancg and Wt End mils as a young "g out" three years after EastEnrs drew more than 100 plats for screeng a gay kiss volvg one of s two ma gay characters, Christian Clarke, and 24 years after Col Rsell, played by actor Michael Cashman, planted a kiss on his young boyiend's 1987, was a highly ntroversial storyle bee gay characters were rarely portrayed as part of normal everyday life TV dramas. And took another eight years before another homosexual taboo was broken by Channel 4's Brooksi wh the first lbian kiss a Brish soap, an event that tapulted actrs Anna Friel to, soap fans are more acctomed to gay characters – there have been 15 EastEnrs s 26-year history.

But three years ago the BBC1 soap went one step further when troduced s first Mlim gay character, tablishg a long-nng storyle signed to tackle latt storyle is also a perfect foundatn for years of dramatic nflict. Ben – whose screen mother was Kath Mchell – has ltle mon wh his father, played by long-servg EastEnrs actor Steve McFadn, and his g out will no doubt tt the filial relatnship to the Kirkwood, EastEnrs' executive producer, said: "For EastEnrs viewers, was never a qutn of if, but more like when Ben Mchell was gog to e out as gay. "To see a man like Phil learn to al wh, and ultimately accept, his gay son, is a valid story for a drama like EastEnrs to embark on.

EastEnrs actor John Partridge has said that the soap needs to have more gay characters. Partridge played gay personal traer Christian Clarke for almost five years until he left the soap November wh hband Syed Masood (Marc Elltt) actor has spoken of his hop that the uple's populary will spire wrers to brg more homosexual characters.