Post by Urban Sprawl on May 17, 2012 16:38:57 GMT -5
How did I miss this sub-forum until now??
Out of all the UK soaps, Emmerdale has by far the best record in terms of lesbian characters, the best and most beloved of whom was village vet Zoe Tate, who appeared on the show from 1989 – 2005. Zoe’s storylines included marrying & dumping her girlfriend in one day, having an affair with her brother’s fiancé, Charity (yes, the very same Charity Dingle) as well as long running battles with mental illness. She also set up a veterinary practice in Emmerdale with Paddy (friend of all gays in the dales!) after he arrived in the village as her locum.
Zoe was clever and passionate and all kinds of crazy. She left the village in a spectacular exit after blowing up Home Farm but the door has always been left open for her return. I would love to see her back!
The show hasn’t always got it right, though. Debbie Dingle’s teenage romance with best mate Jasmine, was pretty awful, although any storyline that features Cain seducing his estranged daughter's girlfriend to spite her can't be all bad...
Right now Emmerdale has yet another lesbian couple with Ali, a separated mother of two, and her girlfriend Ruby, a carer. Ali and Ruby are very affectionate and demonstrative and their sexuality is largely irrelevant to their storylines.
Emmerdale showrunners were often accused of homophobia during the Aaron Livesy storyline by online viewers who might not have been aware that there was also a physically affectionate lesbian couple on the show at the same time. Personally I think a lot of that criticism was unfair and would place any blame squarely on the shoulders of the actor in question who made repeatedly clear his discomfort at playing a gay role.
Ali is played by Kelli Hollis, who was brilliant as Yvonne Karib on Shameless. Yvonne’s husband Kash Karib (who was cheating on her with an underage Ian Gallagher) was played by Chris Bisson, who now plays Jai Sharma on Emmerdale. It is a very small world!
Out of all the UK soaps, Emmerdale has by far the best record in terms of lesbian characters, the best and most beloved of whom was village vet Zoe Tate, who appeared on the show from 1989 – 2005. Zoe’s storylines included marrying & dumping her girlfriend in one day, having an affair with her brother’s fiancé, Charity (yes, the very same Charity Dingle) as well as long running battles with mental illness. She also set up a veterinary practice in Emmerdale with Paddy (friend of all gays in the dales!) after he arrived in the village as her locum.
Zoe was clever and passionate and all kinds of crazy. She left the village in a spectacular exit after blowing up Home Farm but the door has always been left open for her return. I would love to see her back!
The show hasn’t always got it right, though. Debbie Dingle’s teenage romance with best mate Jasmine, was pretty awful, although any storyline that features Cain seducing his estranged daughter's girlfriend to spite her can't be all bad...
Right now Emmerdale has yet another lesbian couple with Ali, a separated mother of two, and her girlfriend Ruby, a carer. Ali and Ruby are very affectionate and demonstrative and their sexuality is largely irrelevant to their storylines.
Emmerdale showrunners were often accused of homophobia during the Aaron Livesy storyline by online viewers who might not have been aware that there was also a physically affectionate lesbian couple on the show at the same time. Personally I think a lot of that criticism was unfair and would place any blame squarely on the shoulders of the actor in question who made repeatedly clear his discomfort at playing a gay role.
Ali is played by Kelli Hollis, who was brilliant as Yvonne Karib on Shameless. Yvonne’s husband Kash Karib (who was cheating on her with an underage Ian Gallagher) was played by Chris Bisson, who now plays Jai Sharma on Emmerdale. It is a very small world!