Ben Price rejects 'Coronation Street' 'gay agenda' claims

Ben Price has rejected suggestions that there are too many gay characters in Coronation Street.

In a recent Daily Mail column, art critic Brian Sewell claimed that there were too many "gay men... lesbians, bisexuals, the transgender community, cross-dressers and everyone else with some sexual quirk or fetish" in the soap.

Price told Metro: "It's 2011. I don't understand where that's coming from.

"It's about stories, relationships and problems. The sexuality question is pretty redundant. They're love stories, regardless of which gender the characters involved are."

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Price also defended his co-star Michelle Collins, who has been criticised by some for her Mancunian accent.

"No one on the show talks about it, it's only the newspapers," he said. "It was always going to be tough for her coming from EastEnders but she's very good. It's like any character.

"When I came into the show there were people saying 'he's not Adam Rickitt' but after 200 episodes, people have got used to me. It would be great if people let her settle in and got off her back."

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