'EastEnders' Christian, Syed scenes "reflect real life"

The BBC has responded to complaints from some EastEnders viewers who felt that a scene showing a popular gay couple in bed together was "inappropriate".

Christian Clarke (John Partridge) and Syed Masood (Marc Elliott), who live together in the BBC soap, both featured in the scene. The broadcaster stated that the drama aims to "reflect real life" through a mixture of characters.

"This means including and telling stories about characters from many different backgrounds, faiths, religions and sexualities," an official response stated.

"We approach our portrayal of homosexual relationships in exactly the same way as we do heterosexual relationships, ensuring depictions of affection or sexuality between couples are suitable for pre-watershed viewing."

The BBC's statement continued: "We would also point out that same-sex civil partnerships became law in December 2005, giving equal rights to gay couples in the UK. The BBC cannot discriminate by treating gay characters differently to heterosexual characters.

"We have also received a lot of very positive feedback about the storyline regarding Christian and Syed's relationship."

The BBC previously defended scenes where Syed was shown slamming down the Qu'ran while struggling with his faith and sexuality.

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