Gay Soap Wars

Actor John Partridge,  who plays Christian, one of two gay guys in BBC TV's Eastenders soap opera in the UK is hitting out at another gay character in rival UK soap Coronation Street.    According to today's Sun newspaper  this month's gay lads rag man Attitude features an interview with John  who slated  Antony Cotton's camp Sean Tully on the ITV show.     

"What I didn't want as a stereotype was what I call a tea-time gay. The Sean Tully type of character!"   said the 39 year old actor,  he also claims that the BBC  told him the wanted a butch more masculine gay character and not a mincing effeminate one.

The Beeb actor goes on to say  "I've worked in theatre for 20 years and there are lots of queens in the West End that look and act like that.    I'm not going to diss his performance or his style, or say 'Who does he think he's representing?' because he is representing one of those shades of gay.  It may not be your taste, but if that character hadn't happened and been so successful, I don't think the BBC would have gone, 'Right, we need a gay character.'

John's way of not playing it so camp and so gay is -  ermm choosing to wear tight fitting vest tops  "The vest thing was my idea. It was my way of saying, 'I'm here, I'm gay.'"     so not a bit stereotypical then!

Meanwhile in today's other common British daily,  The Mirror was the following news item about the lovely Antony -     ""Corrie favourite Antony Cotton has exchanged rings with his gay partner in a DIY "marriage".

And to celebrate their relationship Antony and Peter Eccleston - a nephew of former Dr Who Christopher Eccleston - have splashed out on a luxury home overlooking farmland on the edge of Rochdale"     The report goes on to say -  "A source close to the actor said : "He and Peter are so much in love. They have exchanged rings to show they are as good as a married couple, although they haven't had a civil ceremony."

But,  the story is pretty much a load of old bollocks -  for top telly actor Antony told us     "The story about me in today's Mirror is totally untrue! I have not got married! What they don't know, they make up"

Mr Cotton,   shot to TV fame playing the lovely Alexander in the ground braking and utterly amazing English and original version of Queer As Folk! back in 1999 and 2000.  He is also a keen supporter of gay rights groups and charities and also completed the 10k Stonewall Equality Walk here in Brighton a couple of years back.      He recently told the Lesbian and Gay Foundation said: "What's so nice about playing Sean, is that he makes no apologies for who he is. Here is a gay character living his life. This is refreshing and new."

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