Gary Hailes

Hales attended Holloway School. During the 1980s he starred in several successful television series, including Woodentop, Grange Hill and the BBC soap opera EastEnders, where he played Barry Clark from 198689. He originally auditioned for the role of Mark Fowler when the series began in 1985, but the role went to David Scarboro instead. Hailes character was notable for being one half of the soaps first gay couple, introduced as the partner of the yuppie graphic designer, Colin Russell . In 1987 Hailes character caused a great deal of controversy after EastEnders screened the first maletomale kiss on a UK, prime time soap. The kiss prompted a multitude of complaints from angry viewers and a hostile backlash from the right wing press. Despite the fact that Hailes is heterosexual, he suffered from severe homophobia because of the homosexual role he played in EastEnders. He was attacked several times by members of the public who couldnt separate fact from fiction, which included being assa

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Source: Wikipedia