Hollyoaks boss admits ‘mistakes’ in gay storyline

Illustrated rainbow pride flag on a pink background.

The producer of the Channel 4 soap ‘Hollyoaks’ has admitted the programme “made mistakes” with a gay storyline.

Bryan Kirkwood said the mistakes were made in a storyline about a gay asylum seeker from Nigeria.

He was referring to a storyline from 2014 featuring John Omole as Vincent Elegba, who as persecuted for being gay.

The character was later the subject of homophobic violence at the hands of immigration officers.

But he returned in September 2014 in an attempt to win back George Smith, played by Steven Roberts.

Kirkwood made the comments at the Edinburgh TV Festival panel of soap opera bosses, reports Digital Spy.

“We did a story about 18 months ago, with our serious hat on, about a Nigerian asylum seeker – a gay lad – who’d left Nigeria seeking asylum in Britain and we disappeared so far up our own arse,” said Kirkwood.