Out and proud

The front page of the current issue of "the UK's bestselling celebrity magazine" boasts of having the first official photos of Julia Roberts' twins and a 16-page awards special from the Brits, Baftas and Grammys.

Just the sort of thing you'd expect from a star-struck publication like Now and the other celebrity magazines filling the newsagents' shelves.

Surprisingly, there's no mention that, on page 27, one of the newest stars of EastEnders comes out in what's billed as the first interview with the actors, Joel Beckett and Jake Maskall, who play the recently-arrived Moon brothers.

While Joel Beckett, who plays Jake Moon, refuses to say if he's seeing anyone or not, co-star Jake Maskall takes the opportunity to talk about his boyfriend. "I'm gay and I've been with my boyfriend for 12 years," he tells Now. "It's not a secret. But my relationship's part of my private life and I hope everyone respects my privacy."

As if. The low-key revelation was probably part of a plan to get EastEnders' viewers used to the idea that the actor who plays a ladies' man, busy bedding every available Walford female, actually prefers men.

This follows former Byker Grove and CBBC presenter Andrew Hayden-Smith announcing he's gay in a recent edition of Attitude magazine under the headline TYNE AND QUEER.

Now a regular on BBC children's TV, he's moved from his native Newcastle to London and has been with his boyfriend for a year. He'd never made any secret of his sexuality, but had not broadcast it either. "I told three of my friends who I knew would be fine about it but I didn't really tell anyone on Byker," he says. "I probably wasn't happy about it myself at the time. It was when I moved to London that I got more comfortable."

He doesn't see being gay as any sort of handicap in television. "Not nowadays, no," he says. "You've got loads, haven't you? We're everywhere."

More tellingly, he mentions that he was never into one-night stands, partly because of the fear of people selling their stories to the tabloids. This problem isn't restricted to gays. Anyone in the public eye seems fair game to be taken to bed and then to the cleaners by someone with an eye on making a bit of money by kissing and telling to the tabloids.

Maskall and Hayden-Smith must feel easier about revealing their sexual preferences in the current climate where being gay is no longer a bar to being taken seriously on TV. Coronation Street may only have acknowledged homosexuals exist in the past year, with the troubled Todd storyline and the introduction of an openly gay character, but other areas of TV have been more accepting.

Just because an actor is gay doesn't bar him from playing heterosexual characters. Rock Hudson made a career out of being a romantic movie leading man. When he finally came out it confirmed what a good actor he'd been all along. And being straight doesn't stop actors playing homosexuals, as happened with the three male leads in Queer As Folk.

Soap stars know they live under the glare of the flashlight. The price for being famous is to have their personal lives exposed. Those who think they can keep their private life private are deluding themselves, although a few manage. North-East born actress Gina McKee is famous for refusing to answer personal questions. Lesley Sharp is another actress who likes to keep herself to herself, only happy to talk about her work.

Occasionally, some use the high profile of being in a soap to promote causes in which they believe. Michael Cashman played fictional gay Colin Russell in EastEnders and is a gay rights campaigner - and now MEP - in real life.

Maskall's confession was no chance remark, but part of a carefully co-ordinated scheme. Actors have been known to make pre-emptive strikes by choosing to tell their story because they know one of the Sundays is going to do it anyway. Boyzone's Stephen Gateley came clean when it became clear he was going to be outed by the papers.

It doesn't always end so happily. Another EastEnders actor, Christopher Parker, was unhappy when a girl claimed in a Sunday newspaper that she'd pretended to be his girlfriend to stop stories circulating that he was gay. Following rumours of a suicide bid, he left the soap and pulled out of the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special.

The Street's senior publicist Alison Sinclair sees her job as promoting the soap and protecting the actors. EastEnders' publicity office works along the same lines. Press officers are fiercely protective, sitting in on interviews to ensure actors don't give away plot secrets or reporters ask questions they don't want answered.

Sinclair tells Radio Times this week that every new cast member on the Street is warned how their lives will change with the mass exposure of being in the country's top-rated series.

"I encourage them to advise me about anything from their past that might prove problematic," she says. "I never tell another soul, but I'm forearmed if anything reaches the papers. I can't tell you the number of deep, dark secrets I'll be taking to my grave."

Soap stars and celebs who overdo the drugs, drink and sexual shenanigans are commonplace items in the press. The public loves reading about their antics, no matter how much they may tut-tut about them.

Admitting you're gay is less common. It never was a problem for comics like Julian Clary or Graham Norton. Actors have been less willing to stand up and be counted for fear their sexuality would bar them from playing a full range of roles.

Things have changed. Big Brother has produced two people who've broken the mould - gay Brian Dowling has transformed into a fully-fledged TV presenter, and the latest winner, Nadia, a transsexual, has shown the ability to outlast her allotted 15 minutes of fame.

How different to the days when Larry Grayson's cry of "what a gay day" was considered outrageous.

Published: ??/??/2004