Elly’s feelings for Chloe resurface on the eve of her wedding
Ever since Anna Friel’s character, Beth, kissed Margaret on legendary British soap Brookside in 1994, we have looked to television serial dramas to provide the rarest of the rare: positive representation and visibility of LGBTQI characters in a mainstream setting. Something about the verisimilitude of soap operas, and their ability to intersect with a diverse spectrum of audiences, creates a perfect storm for normalising LGBTQI characters on TV.
UK soaps such as Corrie, East- Enders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks have advanced representation by finally increasing both the quality and quantity of LGBTQI storylines. Executive producers have also gone some way towards casting out actors, with Luisa Bradshaw-White, Alicya Eyo and Riley Carter-Millington playing regular long-term characters. Storylines have also referenced major events in the LGBTQI calendar, such as Pride. Perhaps things have genuinely changed.