TV - First of all - 'phwoar' and 'yummy'. OK, now the article:

In an interview with the Sun newspaper, two stars of the London based soap have criticised the show for not being diverse enough.

John Partridge, who plays gay character Christian Clarke, said: "There still need to be more gay storylines because gay is mainstream now.

"You've only got to turn on your TV to see gay presenters, journalists – it's all out there."

"As much as I say it's not a big deal there's still a taboo about it. While some people say it's difficult to show a gay relationship at 7.30pm, what's so offensive about two men together really?"

"So I think 'Bring it on – the more kissing the better!'"

On the subject of her mixed race relationship storyline, Nina Toussaint-White added: "You never got mixed-race relationships before and I'd like to see more of them. It's getting better but it's under-represented.

"EastEnders is set in London and there are a lot of black people, Asian families and other cultures there and it doesn't show that."

A BBC spokeswoman (I imagine after flicking through the 'official responses folder) replied: "EastEnders has always reflected the diversity of London's East End. The Masood and Fox families are among our most loved characters with some of the most topical and ground breaking stories."

So what's the deal? We had the same complaints from Coronation street's Anthony Cotton not so long ago, and Neighbours, and I think it was Eastenders again before that. The only soap that doesn't seem to suffer from lack of gays is Hollyoaks (at one point I think they were in double figures with their own gay bar). Although if you watched one of the recent 'Later' episodes you will know another one has bitten the dust (actually she went 'splat', it was horrible, I had a nightmare about it). So they're down to a meagre 3 or 4 now.

First of all, soap isn't reality. Shock. So you can't use the excuse of (it doesn't look like my community). I was in the Eastend last night, and it really depends which road you're on because all I saw were skinny white boys with asymmetrical hair. Secondly the writers want a diverse collection of people so that they can explore as many different issues as possible. The cast side isn't infinite, they do have a budget to stick to.

I also think there is a specific problem to representing gay people in soaps, which is geography. Certainly Eastenders, realistically, would have more gay people in it due to its capital setting, but then we don't all live on the same road, do we? The gay 'community' is an ethereal being, existing in certain places, certain times...online! When gay people meet up it tends to be by going out, not popping round to the neighbour for a cuppa, and rarely even the local pub. That's not to say we don't, as a people, integrate ourselves into our local area and community, it's just that it's not necessarily that gay. In real life, I think this is a good thing, but in soapland, it could make it seem like you're creating a sexless character who's just there to tick a box. I sympathise with the problem, but I don't believe that adding more 'diversity' is the answer.

What do you think? Go on, argue with me, I like a good rant!