Hollyoaks set for ground-breaking HIV storyline
The UK soap will be the first to feature a major gay character with the disease
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Hollyoaks is set to become the first British soap to see a major gay character diagnosed as HIV positive, producers have revealed.
Regular cast member Ste Hay, played by Kieron Richardson, will discover he has the disease in January after having unprotected sex with an unknown man.
Ste’s journey with the condition will form the basis of a long-running plotline as he faces the personal implications, from the impact on his children and his relationship with John Paul McQueen to his own mental and physical health.
Channel 4 has been working with HIV charity the Terrence Higgins Trust to make the sensitive storyline as true to fact as possible.
While plot details are being kept under wraps, the basics will involve Ste having a one-night stand with a stranger called Connor, who does not know that he is HIV positive. Connor is diagnosed after their encounter and tells a devastated Ste, who then takes a test himself.
“We have wanted to tell this story for a lone time and while HIV can affect anyone, infection rates in young gay men remain too high and to ignore that is to do the gay audience a disservice,” said Bryan Kirkwood, Hollyoaks executive producer.
“Hollyoaks is in a unique position to be able to talk directly to millions of young viewers and if the safe-sex message is not coming through education, we can help with that both on screen and through multi-platform support.”
Will Harris, head of media at the Terrence Higgins Trust, confirmed that Ste’s powerful story will be “rooted in reality”.
“Every day in the UK, around eight more gay or bisexual men are told they have contracted HIV, most of them from someone who hadn’t yet been diagnosed,” he said.
“We each have a responsibility to protect ourselves and our partners by using condoms and testing regularly.”
A few years ago, Richardson himself came out as gay on This Morning and later said he received 17,000 emails of support, according to Pink News.
Other soap characters living with HIV have included gay chef Joe Wallace who featured briefly on EastEnders in the early Nineties.
Joe, played by Jason Rush, encouraged the heterosexual Mark Fowler (Todd Carty) to tell his parents that he was HIV positive. He left Walford after being sacked by Ian for having the disease.
Mark, meanwhile, struggled with the restrictions of his illness and died in April 2004.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments