Takei, Altman 'to appear on 'Newlywed Game'

George Takei and husband Brad Altman are to be featured as the first gay couple on a forthcoming episode of The Newlywed Game.

The Star Trek actor wed his longtime partner in Los Angeles in September 2008, while his TV co-stars Walter Koenig and Nichelle Nichols acted as best man and best woman at the ceremony.

Carnie Wilson, who is the host of the Game Show Network series reboot, said that she has been in favour of an all-gay edition of the show, and that the move to feature the pair along with heterosexual celebrity couples this season is not a "political statement".

She told TV Guide : "It's needed at this point. To me, this is not anything political. This is not a political statement. This show has always been about couples and how well they know each other."

Takei and Altman have been together for 22 years, and the 72-year-old actor said that he is preparing for the appearance by studying his spouse's wardrobe and food likes.

He added: "What we want is to display the normality and the joy of having a happy union. To be included in something we never felt we'd be included in is very satisfying."

Other celebrity Newlywed Game participants for the game show's second season include Christopher Knight and Adrianne Curry and Dancing With The Stars personalities Edyta Sliwinksa and Alec Mazo.

It was reported earlier that Takei sobbed on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! when he received a letter from Altman during his appearance on the reality programme.