Coronatn Street is not too gay for televisn | Charlie Condou | The Guardian

Contents:

• DAN BROCKLEBANK ‘HONOURED’ BY CORONATN STREET’S FIRST EVER SUCCSFUL GAY WEDDG
• CORONATN STREET'S FIVE GAY CHARACTERS 'NOT A HUGE AMOUNT', SAYS CHARLIE CONDOU
• CORONATN STREET'S GAY FOOTBALLER STORYLE CHANGG NVERSATN ON HOMOPHOBIA
• 'CORONATN STREET' ANDREW LANCEL NI "TOO MANY GAY" CHARACTERS MENT
• CORONATN STREET STAR ROB MALLARD REVEALS HE’S GAY AS CHARACTER DANIEL OSBOURNE ROMPS ON THE FACTORY FLOOR WH SEAD TKER
• CORONATN STREET IS NOT TOO GAY FOR TELEVISN
• CORONATN STREET STAR SPEAKS OUT ON HER PRI AS A GAY WOMAN – AND PRAIS ASHA AND NA STORY
• CORONATN STREET'S DANIEL BROCKLEBANK REVEALS G OUT AS GAY AT 18 HRED HIS HOLLYWOOD REER

DAN BROCKLEBANK ‘HONOURED’ BY CORONATN STREET’S FIRST EVER SUCCSFUL GAY WEDDG

Coronatn Street is gearg up for s first gay marriage storyle, wh weddg bells store for Weatherfield uple Pl Foreman and Billy week, viewers are set to see the two s down for a ser nversatn, where the two discs their future as Pl's Motor Nrone Disease (MND) ntu to uple's chat about after Pl's nversatn wh fellow MND patient Shelly at the support group, who enurag Pl to take ntrol and do somethg he has always wanted to believ Pl is gog to propose to him and pulls out all the stops, but turns out Pl has somethg big to ask of Billy before he asks him to bee his hband. "It's not the first time a gay weddg day on the bbl has occurred, but 's hopefully the first that succsfully go ahead.

ITVRelated: Coronatn Street's Pla Wilx wds up fans over Elae and Stephen storyActor Daniel Brocklebank adms he feels "slightly honoured" to help brg the first Corrie gay weddg to screens. "I mean, obvly there's been long nng gay characters the show, prr to Billy wh Todd and Sean and also Sophie.

Todd Grimshaw was a nfed teen when he filmed Coronatn Street’s first ever gay kiss. Todd beme the show’s first regular gay character and his g out storyle was creded wh brgg the show to the 21st century.

CORONATN STREET'S FIVE GAY CHARACTERS 'NOT A HUGE AMOUNT', SAYS CHARLIE CONDOU

Had they got married however, would have end disaster bee Ted was gay. Marc was gay then straight then gay aga (Cred: YouTube/ITV). Marc then started a relatnship wh Maria Connor, but Todd Grimshaw was termed to prove Marc was still gay and sced him.

Former Coronatn Street actor Charlie Condou has weled the number of gay characters on the actor, 44, ma a dramatic ex om the show when his midwife character Marc Dent fell love wh Todd Grimshaw, played by Bno Langley, three years ago.

CORONATN STREET'S GAY FOOTBALLER STORYLE CHANGG NVERSATN ON HOMOPHOBIA

Charlie Condou (Ian Wt/PA)Asked by Good Morng Bra -host Piers Man about havg five gay characters on the show, Charlie said: “A few years ago even, there would have only been your token gay character, jt like there was probably your token black character and I thk we have moved on om that.

“There have always been gay parents, but people tend to be more open about the days. Jam received support when he me out as gay to his mum and brother last year, but after tellg his dad Ed Febary, the reactn was far om posive. A social media slip-up then saw mours beg to circulate around the County fanbase, leadg to Jam flectg awkward qutns om the club's manager and prs the soap havg been stretched longer across the schl due to the panmic, Jam' difficulti have been prolonged - and last Friday, a nontatn on the bbl wh a supporter who was makg homophobic tnts threatened to turn vlent.

Jam was terpted while talkg to Tim Metlfe and reacted aggrsively when the fan ed homophobic abe. "Graham is speakg to Sky Sports to mark the Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, an annual awarens day that has been observed for over 15 years. In the absence of a visible gay or bi role mol men's profsnal football the UK, the story will be havg a particularly signifint impact on anyone who se themselv reflected Jam.

'CORONATN STREET' ANDREW LANCEL NI "TOO MANY GAY" CHARACTERS MENT

"If starts to create nversatns wh different muni or areas of the football world, and if young kids are watchg who play football and who might be gay themselv, shows 's important to she a light on this subject.

'Rpect for gay player would help'. He's now the Diversy and Incln Officer at the Football Associatn and has been playg as a forward for Stonewall FC - the UK's first gay football club, currently playg at Step 7 of the non-League pyramid - for several years.

"I didn't know anybody who looked like me who may or may not have been gay.

CORONATN STREET STAR ROB MALLARD REVEALS HE’S GAY AS CHARACTER DANIEL OSBOURNE ROMPS ON THE FACTORY FLOOR WH SEAD TKER

"A lot of my difficulti were tryg to fd a sense of belongg the football muny whilst knowg that beg gay was this element of my inty that didn't rencile, " says Lemoni.

The tertwg of both homophobia and racism the Fashanu story has ma him a totemic figure the fight agast discrimatn; a charable foundatn Jt's name was recently lnched by his niece Amal. Somebody uld be watchg the show and see a mirror of themselv, pecially if they're a young black man who's gay. Jam' father Ed has prevly told his son he should hi his sexualy orr to avoid homophobia, makg the ntrast between how neher of them n hi their race and so have to al wh racism.

CORONATN STREET IS NOT TOO GAY FOR TELEVISN

"Unfortunately, homophobic and racist abe still happen, but a footballer like Jam shouldn't have to feel they're alone experiencg that, " says Graham. "As I've e out and navigated that journey, I've always felt more nsc of beg black before beg gay, particularly LGBT spac.

"Welg cultur, wng mentaliTo help Graham learn more about the experience of beg a sportsman who's gay, the gby league player Keegan Hirst - who me out publicly 2015 - talked him through some of the parallels between his own journey and that of Jam.

CORONATN STREET STAR SPEAKS OUT ON HER PRI AS A GAY WOMAN – AND PRAIS ASHA AND NA STORY

"The sle of the two sports is obvly very different, " says Graham, "but om what Keegan said, sounds like the RFL has a zero tolerance towards homophobia wh their sport, which ma him feel like the environment was safe for him to e out.

"There n be a victimls mentaly - a feelg that 'we n't be homophobic, bee there aren't actually any gay, bi or qutng players on the pch to be homophobic towards'. It means that for someone experiencg a microaggrsn or smaller form of homophobia that's more vert, the chanc they're gog to report or speak out about are que slim.

Particularly when I liver trag at amy level, I fd the players are ed to havg gay, bi and trans people their schools and they're gettg tn that's clive now as well. Coronatn Street actor Andrew Lancel has nied that he agreed that there are too many gay characters the Mail cric Brian Sewell slammed the ITV serial for havg too many male st members earlier this week, sayg that they are "showered, prked and perfumed". Charlie Condou, who plays Marc Dent, later h back at the "barely-veiled homophobia".

CORONATN STREET'S DANIEL BROCKLEBANK REVEALS G OUT AS GAY AT 18 HRED HIS HOLLYWOOD REER

"Sewell seems to suggt there's somethg morally reprehensible beg gay, and that there's some kd of promotn of a gay agenda at work (led by a sister-soundg 'mafia'). "The Daily Star claimed that Condou's -star Lancel - who portrays Unrworld boss Frank Foster - brand the number of gay characters the show "disproportnal", durg a speech at Stonyhurst College Lanshire.

"I believe there are too many gay people on Coronatn Street, " the 40-year-old actor is quoted as sayg by the tabloid. (sic)"> 'Coronatn Street' gay plots divi opn> 'EastEnrs' boss fends Christian, Syed bedroom scene.