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"Coronation Street&amp;#039;s recent influx of more gay characters has attracted a mixed response. At present, two same-sex couples reside on the cobbles: Sean Tully (Antony Cotton) and Marcus Dent (Charlie Condou) alongside Sophie Webster (Brooke Vincent) and Sian Powers (Sacha Parkinson). Todd Grimshaw (Bruno Langley) and boyfriend Jools recently paid a visit to the street and have been tipped for a future return, while there will also be appearances from Ken Barlow&amp;#039;s grandson James Cunningham (James Roache), who was also revealed to be homosexual last year. Ben Summerskill of Stonewall praised the ITV soap for its involvement of gay characters, saying: &amp;quot;When it comes to reflecting modern Britain, the Street really is streets ahead.&amp;quot; However, former star Jean Alexander - speaking to the News of the World - argued that the number of gay characters is &amp;quot;excessive&amp;quot;. The 85-year-old, who played Hilda Ogden, said: &amp;quot;Every community has people who are gay and they are very nice people. I&amp;#039;m not running the Street down, and let&amp;#039;s not forget its creator Tony Warren is gay. But three couples seems excessive.&amp;quot; Nick Cochran - who originally played Andy McDonald between 1989 and 1996 - agreed: &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m not sure these storylines are realistic. I&amp;#039;ve got plenty of gay friends but they don&amp;#039;t all live in a street full of gay people. &amp;quot;How many streets in Britain would have schoolgirl lesbians, gay married couples, a transsexual and children to gay couples? It is a little bit far-fetched,&amp;quot; Cochran added. &amp;quot;Fans love Corrie for its traditional values. I don&amp;#039;t think it&amp;#039;s the right platform to highlight so many gay issues all at the same time.&amp;quot; Meanwhile, a supposed insider suggested that the present cast agree with Alexander and Cochran, stating: &amp;quot;Many cast and crew think the storylines unrealistic.&amp;quot; &amp;gt; Brooke Vincent slams Cameron gay rights support "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/coronation-street/news/a317378/coronation-street-gay-plots-divide-opinion/>