Eastenders gay kiss star Michael Cashman backs soap over casting of transgender actor

The Labour peer, who as an actor took part in the first gay kiss on a UK soap, supports casting of Riley-Carter Millington

Michael Cashman said the BBC was doing the right thing in tackling homophobia and transphobia (Getty)

An actor who took part in the first gay kiss to be shown in a British soap opera has leapt to the defence of EastEnders, after it faced an online backlash for casting a transgender actor in a major role.

Michael Cashman, now a Labour peer, spoke out after the BBC announced it was casting 21-year-old Riley-Carter Millington to a role on its flagship soap opera.

The announcement sparked angry responses on social media, accusing the Corporation of political correctness. The Yorkshire Post announced the story in a tweet describing Millington as a “gender-bender”, a post which has since been deleted.

However, Lord Cashman said the response showed EastEnders was doing “exactly the right thing”. He acted in the soap in the 1980s, with his character taking part in the first ever gay kiss on the show, in 1987. He told the Pink News website: “The BBC’s courage and determination in reflecting the world in which we live honestly is to be applauded. The negative headlines of ‘gender bender’ and the negative backlash on some aspects of social media, should encourage the BBC that they are doing absolutely the right thing to tackle homophobia and transphobia by showing the lives of people within our communities, who would otherwise be overlooked and misrepresented.”

Riley Carter Millington, 21, who is set to join the Eastenders cast playing transgender character, Kyle (PA/BBC)

The gay-kiss scene sparked a huge backlash in the media at the time, with a record number of complaints made by viewers. However, the scene was later described as a breakthrough moment by campaigners, with the characters used to bring a series of gay rights issues to the attention of an audience of up to 17 million viewers.

The BBC announced on Friday that Millington will play a character called Kyle in EastEnders, making a brief appearance later this month before taking up a permanent role at the end of the year. Millington said: “I can honestly say that I have now fulfilled my two biggest dreams – to be living my life as a man and to be an actor.”

Dominic Treadwell-Collins, executive producer of the show, added: “It has been my intention for a long time to cast a trans actor playing a trans role – and we have been so careful to ensure that we cast the right actor for the part.”