New Gay Character to Join Emmerdale

March 04, 2010

The soap Emmerdale is set to unveil a new gay character to its cast.

The Wool Pack

The new character is Jackson Walsh, played by Marc Silcock from Hollyoaks. Jackson will be Aaron Livesy’s (played by Danny Miller) new love interest.

After trying to kiss his friend Adam Barton (Adam Thomas) in December, Aaron began to question his sexuality. In an attempt to cover up swirling rumours, Aaron dated Adam’s sister Holly, who is now set to end the romance.

Enter Jackson. After Aaron’s relationship ends, he musters up the courage to visit a gay bar where Jackson shows interest.

Emmerdale series producer Gavin Blyth, speaking to the entertainment website Digital Spy, says:

“Like Aaron, Jackson’s a very contemporary gay character – he’s not a stereotype. He’s someone who exists in his own right in the world because of who he is – not what he is in terms of his sexuality.

We’ve got to realise that for everything that Aaron’s fighting, if he’s ever going to let anyone in, it’s going to be someone he can relate to.

“I also stated from the outset that I wanted Aaron’s tale to be a very modern story of someone not only wrestling with their sexuality but also loathing himself at times for it and (wrongly) fearing other people judging him. If we’re to play a relationship of any sense as Aaron moves forward, I want it to be a very real one, not based on clichés or stereotypes.”

Silcock is reportedly “thrilled” to be joining the show.

Over on Coronation Street, it has been revealed that the show will soon stage its first lesbian storyline involving Sophie Webster (Brooke Vincent) and Sian Power (Sacha Parkinson).

Image Source: Mark Anderson (geograph.org.uk)