It's been 40 years since Brookside first filled our screens with over-the-top drama, gun-touting gangsters, death and humour.
The truly ground-breaking soap opera included shocking moments such as Mandy hiding her husband’s body under the patio or the killer plague that brought the neighbourhood close to anarchy, both of which are still widely remembered.
However, one particular storyline between Beth Jordache and Margaret Clemence moved mountains for LGBTQ+ representation on TV as the plot involved a first of its kind.
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Beth, played by Anna Friel, and Margaret, depicted by Nicola Stephenson, shared a kiss and it became the first lesbian kiss to be broadcasted before the 9pm watershed on Channel 4.
Beth had been subjected to sexual abuse by her own father from a young age so when the storyline of a romance between two young women was suggested, Anna was adamant that it must be made clear Beth’s sexual orientation wasn’t a reaction to her past.
Previously speaking to Radio Times, Anna said: “I am proud we took on such controversial storylines and it was new and innovative. I am proud that we got it in the contract that Beth would always stay gay; it wasn’t because of her sexual abuse.”
Off-screen Anna became somewhat of a lesbian pin-up with her fan mail shooting up from 20 letters a week to 100.
Around the same time, she told the Independent : “Being a gay icon is no different to being a straight icon.
“50% of them (fan mail) were from gay people. Most were supportive and positive about Beth and I had lots of letters from people saying they were confused and that Beth had helped them to come out.
“So I'm glad I'm doing something to help. Kissing a man is just as hard as kissing a woman.”
Anna, who is not gay herself, was dating actor Darren Day at the time but had to get used to female attention.
In one instance, she recalled being at a restaurant when a man approached her with a rose. He said his friend wanted her to have it and when she turned around, she saw that the friend was a woman.
It’s hardly surprising that Anna was seen as a LGBT+ icon given that the kiss was shown to 6 million viewers.
Whereas for Nicola Stephenson, who played Margaret, the relationship was just another in a long line of romances for her character.
Margaret’s first notable relationship was with the Catholic priest, Derek O’Farrell, played by Cliv Moore. The story prompted both complaints and praise from various religious and casual viewers.
However, undeterred by the controversy, Margaret went on to befriend and develop feelings for Beth. The pair eventually kissed and in doing so set the standard for other shows to follow.
The kiss was shown again later to thousands of people when it was included in the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
It had screened, without censorship, in 76 countries where same-sex relationships remained illegal meaning the low definition footage was the first televised lesbian kiss many viewers had ever seen.
Brookside’s famous kiss was pre-dated by the one shared between two women on BBC drama, Girl, 20 years before. The programme was shown on BBC2 in 1974, but the difference is it was aired after the 9pm watershed.
BBC was also the first to televise a screen kiss between two men in another one of their dramas, Coming Out, in 1979.
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