‘Corrie’s gay vicar storyline criticised by Christian charity
By Ryan Love
Coronation Street
‘s decision to introduce a gay vicar has come under fire from a Christian charity.
Soap bosses announced last month (September) that Shakespeare In Love actor Daniel Brocklebank has been cast on the show as gay vicar Billy, who will embark on a romantic relationship with Weatherfield barman Sean Tully (played by Antony Cotton).
However, The Christian Institute has already expressed disappointment in the decision to introduce a homosexual vicar.
“Coronation Street never seem to put churchmen like those you and I know on the show,” said spokesperson Simon Calvert in a statement on the charity’s official website.
“They go out of their way to squeeze LGBT storylines in, but how often do we have an evangelical minister sympathetically portrayed?
“Sadly this is more evidence of soaps getting ever more detached from reality,” he added.
Coronation Street producer Start Blackburn has previously said that Sean and Billy’s storyline portrays a “very modern relationship,” while Antony Cotton told attitude.co.uk earlier this year (June) that he fully expected the plot to “wind a lot of people up”.
The Christian Institute is a registered charity dedicated to “the furtherance and promotion of the Christian religion in the United Kingdom” and “the advancement of education”.
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