LGBT Depictions on British television

This is a list of depictions of lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans characters, storylines and related issues on UK television. Please feel free to add to it.

Bad Girls
The female prison drama has shown a variety of lesbian relationships. The Helen Stewart/Nikki Wade relationship makes up a large portion of the first three seasons. A more butch relationship is shown between Denny Blood and Shaz Wiley, and is played somewhat for laughs when Denny Blood "glams up" and comes on to Al MacKenzie in order to get information. In later seasons, there is the Roisin Connor and Cassie Tyler relationship, the Selena/Kris storyline and the introduction of bisexual prisoner Pat Kerrigan.

The character of Arun Palmer showed the difficulty that trans prisoners face.

The Governing Governor, Neil Grayling, becomes the centre of the gay male storyline: attempting to seduce the straight officer Jim Fenner, entering a marriage of convenience with Di Barker, who later impregnates herself with Grayling's sperm, having a miscarriage but continuing to fake the pregnancy, before divorcing Grayling and joining Jim Fenner in a crusade against Grayling. Grayling hooks up with and develops a relationship with Bobby Darin, son of arch-traditionalist officer Sylvia Hollamby. The last episode of season eight uses Bobby Darin's sexuality as part of a campy modern take on "A Christmas Carol" where Sylvia is confronted in her sleep with her intolerance.

Brookside
The Channel 4 soap Brookside was the first UK TV show to show a lesbian kiss before the watershed (9pm, after which the regulators allow more mature content as children are presumed to not be watching). The scene showing Beth Jordache (played by Anna Friel) kissing Margaret Clemence (Nicola Stephenson) caused controversy when it aired in 1994. Six million people tuned into watch and it has been dubbed by some as a moment that changed British television history.

Casualty
The medical drama Casualty has had a series of gay and trans characters and situations.

In 2013, a new character, student nurse Jamie Collier (played by Daniel Anthony) came out as gay. In the same episode, he helped a trans character undergoing transition from male to female while in a young offenders institute, as well as their boyfriend. In the next episode, he comforts an elderly gay couple.

Coronation Street
Coronation Street has had a number of gay characters including Sophie Webster (played by Brooke Vincent) and Sean Tully (played by Anthony Cotton).

EastEnders
The soap has had a number of gay characters throughout its history. In 1989, it showed the first gay male kissing scene between the characters Colin Russell and Guido Smith. Russell was played by the gay actor Michael Cashman, and the depiction of an openly gay, non-sensationalised character earned both praise from the gay community and attacks from the homophobic tabloid press.

Since then, EastEnders has had a number of other LGBT characters including the short-lived bisexual character Tony Hills and his same-sex partner Simon Raymond, the Muslim gay character Syed Masood (Marc Elliott), and the muscled Christian Clarke (John Partridge).

Emmerdale
Since 1993, the rural soap has had a lesbian character, the veterinarian Zoe Tate (played by Leah Bracknell). In 2003, the character of Aaron Livesy (Danny Miller) was added.

The Bill
The police procedural contained a number of long-running story arcs involving gay characters and homophobic violence. The character of Luke Ashton (played by Scott Neal) struggled to come to terms with his sexuality, dating and eventually marrying female officer Kerry Young (played by Beth Cordingly). During their engagement, Luke has an affair with out gay Sergeant Craig Gilmore (played by Hywel Simons). A scene showing Luke and Craig kissing in uniform caused 160 complaints to the Independent Television Commission, but the complaints were rejected. Following the kiss scene, Luke and Craig are depicted hooking up on Luke's wedding night before being discovered by Inspector Gina Gold.

Kerry eventually miscarries and the two divorce. Luke comes out, and then leaves the show.

The Craig Gilmore character is also shown investigating homophobic hate crime.

The Bill has also had a number of other gay, lesbian and bisexual characters: Lance Powell (Ofo Uhiara) and Mark Rollins (Stefan Booth), who got married, Kerry Holmes (Joy Brook), Gemma Osbourne (Jane Danson), Juliet Becker (Rae Baker), Amber Johannsen (Myfanwy Waring) and Jo Masters (Sally Rogers).

Waterloo Road
The BBC school drama Waterloo Road has featured a number of gay characters and storylines. Characters include Josh Stevenson, Nate Gurney, and Matt Wilding.