Nicola Stephenson’s article rightly applauds Brookside’s lesbian kiss in 1994 as a marvellous moment for lesbians (I kissed a woman on Brookside 30 years ago – it changed Britain for good, 25 June). It did not, however, radically change the British media landscape or society’s perceptions of same-sex attraction.
The representation of gay men and lesbians was indeed “minimal and often portrayed negatively” in the early 1980s. However, campaigns by activists, journalists and viewers, together with some of us working in broadcasting, led to a sea change. I and others at Channel 4 commissioned programmes and films reflecting gay and lesbian life, from In the Pink in 1986 to the 1989-94 series Out on Tuesday. The BBC joined the party in 1991 with a whole evening of gay programmes, Saturday Night Out. There were lesbian kisses aplenty in these programmes.
