The British soap opera Emmerdale is gearing up for its first gay marriage civil partnership, as Actor Mathew Bose's character Paul is set to receive a proposal next week. Bose talks to The Sun about tackling the issue:
“Playing a character like Paul, I have responsibility not to misrepresent the portion of the gay community that I represent. Of course, there are lots of people not like Paul, but then there are other characters in Hollyoaks or Corrie that can represent the others. I think the entire idea for Emmerdale to tackle civil partnerships is great, I'm very happy about it. I think it's very complicated, because even the gay community is split over whether partnerships are a good thing or not. When I was brought on board, I think part of it was because I was very sure about how Paul should be played, and how best to work against stereotypes. This whole storyline wouldn't work if we'd played Paul from the beginning as someone who was defined by his sexuality. It would all be undermined if Paul was a professional gay, but we've given people the chance to get to know the character inside him. They now know he's a lad who's struggling with his mother, a father he didn't know he had, and all these other issues. He just happens to be gay, but it doesn't define him. [The role] brings home how the only useful thing about celebrity is raising awareness. To me, celebrity serves no other purpose than that.”
Gay wedding planned for Emmerdale [rte entertainment]
Matt's big gay responsibility [the sun]
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