Soaps win at Stonewall awards

There were wins on the cards for EastEnders and Coronation Street at the annual Stonewall Awards on November 4th 2010, which gives nods to events having a positive impact on the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the UK.

John Partridge, better known as Christian Clarke whose on-screen relationship with strict Muslim Syed Masood (Marc Elliott) saw him pick up the award for Entertainer of the Year.

And ITV didn’t go home empty-handed either.

Coronation Street won Broadcast of the Year for its first ever lesbian plot, which saw teenage friends Sophie Webster (Brooke Vincent) and Sian Powers (Sacha Parkinson) fall in love.

’Emmerdale’ was also praised by Ben Summerskill, chief executive of Stonewall for featuring "compelling depictions" of lesbian and gay characters.

He added, "This has been a landmark year. All three major soaps have featured compelling depictions of lesbian and gay characters.

"All three main parties made gay equality a central, vote-winning election issue. We’re proud to have seen all these successes of modern Britain reflected at the Stonewall Awards ceremony."