It really is a milestone when you look back at how such characters have captured thr nations hearts. Back in 1960 when Coronation Street began, it was illegal to be gay, never mind feature a gay character. It took the show until 2003 to have an openly gay character on the show, with Todd. It has come a very long way since then however.
EastEnders is another example aswell, with Dot's homophobia back in the 80's. It's nice to see how soaps have changed with the times and you could argue they have even influenced these changes, to a certain extent.
Anyone remember Eastenders Tony and Simon from the 90s? They were quite good. Tony was with Tiffany and Simon was her sister! If I remember right they had a happy ending and went off together.
Corrie were dreadfully behind with the times. It took them 2003 for a gay character. Ridiculous really. But yet they were the first to do a trans character.
Ahh Yes Maya from B&B. The thing is with her is apart from being transgender, she is one of the least interesting characters on B&B. There really isn't much to her.
Ahh Yes Maya from B&B. The thing is with her is apart from being transgender, she is one of the least interesting characters on B&B. There really isn't much to her.
I think Maya used to be more interesting when she was scheming to win Rick away from Caroline, while seemingly being a gold digger. I find her parents to be more interesting characters.
Corrie were dreadfully behind with the times. It took them 2003 for a gay character. Ridiculous really. But yet they were the first to do a trans character.
Yes, it was a shame. Britain was a lot more homophobic back in 2003 than it is now however.
Marcus from Corrie for me, also Hayley if she counts as was suggested earlier!!
Must confess I hadn't really thought until this thread what LGBT stood for?
Given Hayley's inclusion I'm thinking Lesbian/Gay/Bi/Transexual, am I right?
I've never really thought about favourites. I have favourite characters, but have never really thought about this in terms of their sexuality, etc. I am loving EE Steven Beale at the moment, and Ben3. I quite liked Tosh as well, but only when she wasn't with Tina and being punchy. Hayley Cropper needs to be in there just for being Hayley really. I prefer characters that aren't defined by their sexuality but have a bit more substance about them.
I am however STUNNED that nobody has cited Sonia Fowler as a big fan favourite
Marcus from Corrie for me, also Hayley if she counts as was suggested earlier!!
Must confess I hadn't really thought until this thread what LGBT stood for?
Given Hayley's inclusion I'm thinking Lesbian/Gay/Bi/Transexual, am I right?
I also now like Todd in his current form!!
I heard someone on the radio say LGBTQ the other day. I thought the Q might stand for 'queer' - but the meaning of that is covered by the other letters isn't it, and isn't it considered impolite or offensive to use this word?
Aww I loved Jack from Dawson's Creek. I still remember when he read that poem in class revealing his sexuality in the process. Groundbreaking stuff at the time. As for soaps, I will always have a soft spot for Christian and syed. I thought this story was excellent and characters were interesting, pre kirkwood. Currently I've gotten into hollyoaks (something I never thought I'd say) and i think James is an interesting character.
I heard someone on the radio say LGBTQ the other day. I thought the Q might stand for 'queer' - but the meaning of that is covered by the other letters isn't it, and isn't it considered impolite or offensive to use this word?
The Q means Questioning.
I don't know about anyone else but Queer is still impolite or at least in my opinion it is.
I don't know about anyone else but Queer is still impolite or at least in my opinion it is.
Thankyou :):)
I kept meaning to google it but never remembered when I was online.
I'm embarrassed I thought it was 'queer' - I think it's offensive too and would never use it.
I work with a lot of Asian kids and a while back they kept saying 'the P word' and if anyone went to Pakistan, they were in 'Pakiland', and a Honda Civic was a '****-man's' car' One had a T shirt with 'Proud to be a ****' on it
I thought maybe something similar was happening with the word 'queer' - I'm sorry if anyone was offended by my ignorance
Thanks again little monster - it's so satisfying to find out something that's been puzzling you for a while
Dom in Holby is by far the best gay character, David Ames is brilliant and he steals the scenes he is in. Sometimes he doesn't need to say a thing but the look he will give says it all!
Steven Beale is a close second, Aaron Sidwell is amazing!
Other great gay characters:
Brendon (HO)
Ste (HO)
Syed (EE) Marc Elliott is great at gay roles his new character in Holby is also brilliant! (Is he gay in real life?)
Esther (HO)
Johnny (EE) he has potential and I liked his scenes with Ben, and when he finally gets with Steven there will be fireworks!
Not a fan of Todd (CS) but his coming out story was very well done, same with Aaron (ED)
Hollyoaks have had the best gay relationships with JP & Craig and Ste & Brendon.
I kept meaning to google it but never remembered when I was online.
I'm embarrassed I thought it was 'queer' - I think it's offensive too and would never use it.
I work with a lot of Asian kids and a while back they kept saying 'the P word' and if anyone went to Pakistan, they were in 'Pakiland', and a Honda Civic was a '****-man's' car' One had a T shirt with 'Proud to be a ****' on it
I thought maybe something similar was happening with the word 'queer' - I'm sorry if anyone was offended by my ignorance
Thanks again little monster - it's so satisfying to find out something that's been puzzling you for a while
In fairness, you were also correct, Some gay men prefer to be labelled as Queer.
So the Q actually stands for both queer and questioning depending on who you speak to.
The ones for me that really stand out are John Paul (the first time round) and Craig in HO - the first gay couple that really captured my imagination. It's a shame that I can't stand JP these days but back then he was brilliant. I loved Ste and Brendan together; both absolutely fantastic characters in their own right who set the screen alight when they were together. It's a shame that they've ground Ste down so much since that relationship because he was probably my all time favourite gay character up until the last year or so. I also had a soft spot for Doug as well during that era. HO also deserves mentions for occasionally producing decent lesbian characters like Tilly (who I really miss) and Esther.
In EE, Johnny is my obvious favourite although even I can admit that the writing for him is pretty unimaginative and he's in desperate need of development. It's his potential that really interests me. I also love Steven this time around (from what I saw of Aaron Sidwell's first stint it was pretty cringeworthy) - probably the only true bisexual character I've invested in - and Ben has moments of absolute brilliance although he needs to be moved on from this Angry Gay routine he's fallen into. I did think Danny Pennant had potential as a bisexual character too and I thought it was a shame he was written out.
Transsexual characters are more problematic for me in terms of their portrayal but the most successful IMO has been Sally St Clare who is a character first and foremost rather than a plot device like Kyle in EE. I was also very fond of Jason Costello, especially as we saw the 'start' of his journey through the eyes of Jasmine, and I thought it was a shame he was written out.
Comments
Zoe Tate - Emmerdale
Aaron Dingle - Emmerdale
EastEnders is another example aswell, with Dot's homophobia back in the 80's. It's nice to see how soaps have changed with the times and you could argue they have even influenced these changes, to a certain extent.
I also have a bit of a soft spot for Finn Barton.
ED's Robert Sugdan and EE's Steven Beale are also great.
Not on UK screens, but I think Maya Avant from The Bold and the Beautiful deserves a mention for being the first transgendered character on US soaps.
Some past characters:
Chris Pappas - Neighbours
Lana Crawford - Neighbours
Nate Kinski - Neighbours
Syed Masood - EastEnders
Zoe Tate - Emmerdale
Jasmine Thomas - Emmerdale
Shannon Reed - Home & Away
Yes, it was a shame. Britain was a lot more homophobic back in 2003 than it is now however.
Must confess I hadn't really thought until this thread what LGBT stood for?
Given Hayley's inclusion I'm thinking Lesbian/Gay/Bi/Transexual, am I right?
I also now like Todd in his current form!!
To be honest nowadays it shouldn't really matter so long as the character is believable and we can relate to them?
I am however STUNNED that nobody has cited Sonia Fowler as a big fan favourite
I heard someone on the radio say LGBTQ the other day. I thought the Q might stand for 'queer' - but the meaning of that is covered by the other letters isn't it, and isn't it considered impolite or offensive to use this word?
Aww I loved Jack from Dawson's Creek. I still remember when he read that poem in class revealing his sexuality in the process. Groundbreaking stuff at the time. As for soaps, I will always have a soft spot for Christian and syed. I thought this story was excellent and characters were interesting, pre kirkwood. Currently I've gotten into hollyoaks (something I never thought I'd say) and i think James is an interesting character.
Like Finn Barton on ED, but as he hasn't had a story for about 2 years, he's a bit meh really.
Ronnie Hale is good, but more of a guest character.
Out of characters who've left:
Brendan Brady (HO)
Zoe Tate (ED)
Ruby from ED (RIP
The Q means Questioning.
I don't know about anyone else but Queer is still impolite or at least in my opinion it is.
Thankyou
I kept meaning to google it but never remembered when I was online.
I'm embarrassed I thought it was 'queer' - I think it's offensive too and would never use it.
I work with a lot of Asian kids and a while back they kept saying 'the P word' and if anyone went to Pakistan, they were in 'Pakiland', and a Honda Civic was a '****-man's' car' One had a T shirt with 'Proud to be a ****' on it
I thought maybe something similar was happening with the word 'queer' - I'm sorry if anyone was offended by my ignorance
Thanks again little monster - it's so satisfying to find out something that's been puzzling you for a while
Steven Beale is a close second, Aaron Sidwell is amazing!
Other great gay characters:
Brendon (HO)
Ste (HO)
Syed (EE) Marc Elliott is great at gay roles his new character in Holby is also brilliant! (Is he gay in real life?)
Esther (HO)
Johnny (EE) he has potential and I liked his scenes with Ben, and when he finally gets with Steven there will be fireworks!
Not a fan of Todd (CS) but his coming out story was very well done, same with Aaron (ED)
Hollyoaks have had the best gay relationships with JP & Craig and Ste & Brendon.
In fairness, you were also correct, Some gay men prefer to be labelled as Queer.
So the Q actually stands for both queer and questioning depending on who you speak to.
In EE, Johnny is my obvious favourite although even I can admit that the writing for him is pretty unimaginative and he's in desperate need of development. It's his potential that really interests me. I also love Steven this time around (from what I saw of Aaron Sidwell's first stint it was pretty cringeworthy) - probably the only true bisexual character I've invested in - and Ben has moments of absolute brilliance although he needs to be moved on from this Angry Gay routine he's fallen into. I did think Danny Pennant had potential as a bisexual character too and I thought it was a shame he was written out.
Transsexual characters are more problematic for me in terms of their portrayal but the most successful IMO has been Sally St Clare who is a character first and foremost rather than a plot device like Kyle in EE. I was also very fond of Jason Costello, especially as we saw the 'start' of his journey through the eyes of Jasmine, and I thought it was a shame he was written out.