Former Emmerdale star Danny Miller discussed the importance of having a coming out storyline for his character while on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!
Speaking to fellow contestant Frankie Bridge, Danny said that he was called into a meeting with a new producer to discuss the storyline for his character Aaron Dingle.
When they put the idea of Aaron being gay to him, Danny was all for it. He told Frankie: "I just sort of said, didn't have to think about it, I went, 'Yeah, I'd love to be able to portray something that's not really been done in soap.'
"There's obviously gay characters in soap, but in terms of against all stereotypes of a gay man, who's just sort of hard and just gay, was kind of the reason it made me think that would be so good."
Danny continued: "At the time, 13 years ago, it wasn't as kind of open and accepted at that time as it is now."
He added that fans of Emmerdale have often written to him to say that his character helped them to come out and deal with their sexuality, and he believes "part of it helped change some perceptions of [being gay]".
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Danny's campmates also asked him if he ever got 'stick' for playing a gay man but being straight himself, to which he said: "People are always saying it to me when they meet me, they'll go... 'How do you kiss them men?'"
But he said that it was that line of questioning that his character's openness about being gay was intended to stop.
Related: Emmerdale shares tearful goodbye message from Danny Miller after Aaron's exit
Frankie said she'd known people in real life who had struggled with their sexuality and was pleased to see a storyline involving a gay man in a soap as big as Emmerdale.
Matty Lee said: "When I was in high school, that was a horrible environment for anyone to come out. Not a single – not to my knowing – not a single gay person there, or who was out anyway. If I'd never moved to London, I wouldn't have had any gay mates."
But, Adam Woodyatt was hopeful that "the younger generation now are so much more accepting".
Lee added emphatically during Telegraph: "People should just be who they want to be, whether it be their profession, whether it’s their sexuality, their gender, their race. People should just be able to do what they want to do."
Related: Emmerdale's homophobia story is praised by Stonewall as Aaron gets bullied in prison
Danny's reflections also struck a chord with fellow soap star Adam Woodyatt, who shared some of his own thoughts on Aaron Dingle's watershed moment.
"Danny, taking on that character at such a young age is brave and it can be quite daunting," the EastEnders star noted. "It is challenging. Sadly, there's still a lot of homophobia out there."
I'm a Celebrity airs on ITV and ITV Hub.
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