It’s been over 40 years since Brookside first aired and many will still remember a key scene that changed the TV industry.
The ground-breaking soap opera was filled with over-the-top drama, gun-touting gangsters and death. The Liverpool series never shied away from shocking moments - with Mandy hiding her husband’s body under the patio and the killer plague that brought the neighbourhood close to anarchy both being fondly reminisced over.
However, it was one particular storyline between Beth Jordache and Margaret Clemence that moved mountains for LGBTQ+ representation on TV as the plot involved a first of its kind - and what better time to look back on it than Pride in Liverpool month.
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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 broadcast 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.
Anna previously 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 added: “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 the friend was a woman.
It’s hardly surprising Anna was seen as a LGBTQ+ icon given that the kiss was shown to six 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 Birkenhead’s Clive 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 the 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.
Nichola, a former Waterloo Road actress, previously told the ECHO how she was “amazed” fans still remembered her character to this day.
She said: “Looking back now I’m amazed. Never in one million years did I think at the time that this storyline and that kiss would still be being discussed, and have relevance to LGBT history today, nearly 30 years later.
“To us, the kiss felt quite tame and just a small part of a wider storyline but we knew that it was actually quite a big deal. It felt a real privilege and I felt very lucky to have such a big storyline and one that I felt very passionately about.
“I still have middle-aged women say to me that the storyline helped them come to terms with their own sexuality or help them come out to members of their family. It amazes me and I’m so proud every time someone mentions it. I was recently asked to go into my daughter's school to talk to the kids as part of LGBTQ history month.
“The kids had watched the Beth and Margaret story on YouTube and had lots of questions about how attitudes had changed.”
