Coronation Street star Nathan Graham has praised the show for its slow-burn approach to his character James Bailey's sexuality storyline.
The ITV soap announced its plans to explore homophobia within the world of football in April last year, but the story is still in its early stages.
Recent episodes have seen James confide in his father Ed (Trevor Michael Georges) about being gay. Ed reacted badly and is wary of James coming out publicly, fearing how it would affect his blossoming football career.
What to Read Next
Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy about the ongoing story – and the careful pace – Nathan explained: "I think it needs to be told quite delicately, truthfully and with respect. If we'd just brought James in and kicked this off right from the start, I don't think it would have shown the struggle for him, like when he didn't want to tell his dad.
Related: Coronation Street reveals when Bethany Platt's final scenes air
"We've been building up to this moment for a while now, as Ed didn't know for a long time. We could have just shown that Ed was fine with it, but that's not necessarily truthful to the way the world is right now, which is a big, big shame."
On where the story could go next, Nathan continued: "I don't know what's to come myself, but I would imagine it's going to be a long journey. James has got to tell his team-mates eventually and then he might come out publicly. That would be another hurdle for him to face.
"Plus, would there be another love interest if James was out as a professional footballer? That's just me thinking of what could happen. I don't know myself yet, as I don't have those scripts and I don't go upstairs asking what's to come.
"I just wait for the scripts to land in my pigeon hole at work. But I think if we're exploring the issue, there'll be a lot to come."
Related: Coronation Street's Alya demands answers from Geoff as Yasmeen's ordeal continues
Monday's Coronation Street episodes (February 24) saw James get dumped by his love interest Danny, who didn't want to have to hide their relationship and pointed out the possible implications of James coming out. James then blamed Ed for scaring Danny off with his recent homophobia.
Nathan continued: "The past few days have been a complete whirlwind for James. In the past, everybody that loves him has accepted him for who he is.
"He's upset and disappointed by Ed's reaction, because we've seen him tell Michael and he was so accepting, and his mum was accepting too. For his dad to react so badly was a whole different ball game. James hasn't experienced this rejection before.
"Getting dumped by Danny is another blow for James and he is upset about that too. Danny's reappearance was the main catalyst to tell his dad about being gay. He knew that if anything was going to happen with him and Danny, then Ed would have to know because he already knows Danny.
"Now it's another rejection for James. He felt that he had something with Danny, but clearly he didn't.
Related: Coronation Street's Adam Barlow discovers a big secret after his wedding
"They could have maybe stepped into the next phase of their relationship, but it turned out that Danny didn't want to tip-toe around.
"James definitely wanted something to happen and he still might do in the future. We don't know though, because Danny has now hurt James."
Asked about the reaction to the story so far, Nathan told us: "There have been positive vibes and some nice messages. Sometimes there's the other side of the coin too, but for me, it's important if people are seeing themselves represented and sending a nice message.
"For me, that's all that matters. It's about the people who don't necessarily have a voice. With this show, we're trying to give those people a voice and show all sides to a young, gay man in the world right now."
Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on ITV.
Digital Spy now has a newsletter – sign up to get it sent straight to your inbox.
Read more news, spoilers and gossip on our Coronation Street homepage
Digital Spy Soap Scoop video – hit play below for all the latest Coronation Street spoilers, as Abi is blackmailed by Ray, and Bethany faces another backlash.
Coronation Street X Joanie - Gilroy Retro Newton And Ridley Sweatshirt
![The Road to Coronation Street [DVD]](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1568634215-51d4CaKIrCL.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:* "The Road to Coronation Street [DVD]")
![The Stars of Coronation Street - 50 Years, 50 Classic Characters [DVD]](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1568634418-51we2BNTW1yL.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:* "The Stars of Coronation Street - 50 Years, 50 Classic Characters [DVD]")
ITV The Stars of Coronation Street - 50 Years, 50 Classic Characters [DVD]
Want up-to-the-minute soaps news, spoilers and gossip on your social feeds? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Soaps Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @soapscoop Twitter account.
