Coronation Street to feature ‘homophobic B&B owner’ storyline
Coronation Street is to feature a storyline in which a homophobic hotel owner refuses to give a room to two gay men.
(Warning: spoilers)
The soap will feature the plot next week when Sean Tully (Antony Cotton) and gay vicar Billy (Daniel Brocklebank) look for a B&B to stop in while walking in the countryside.
However, the landlord refuses to let two men share a room – and tells them that they should leave.
The storyline will see the pair admit their feelings for each-other after challenging the landlord’s homophobia.
The plot bears a likeness to the real-life case of civil partners Martin Hall and Steven Preddy, who were turned away from the Chymorvah Hotel near Penzance in 2008, under Peter and Hazelmary Bull’s policy of not allowing unmarried couples to share rooms.
The Bulls were involved in a long-running legal battle following the incident, but the UK Supreme Court rejected their appeal in 2013.
Hazelmary Bull recently spoke at an official event at the UKIP party conference, claiming she was “punished” for “believing in marriage”.
Meanwhile, Welsh B&B owner Jeff Green, who refuses to let same-sex couples or unmarried couples share a bed, pledged to stand for Parliament next month in Cardiff North.
Anti-gay group the Christian Institute recently complained that the soap was “detached from reality” by introducing a gay vicar.
