Antony Cotton and Brooke Vincent

Antony Cotton and Brooke Vincent

Antony Cotton says he gets abuse from young gay men over his 'Coronation Street' character.

The 39-year-old actor stars as Sean Tully in the ITV soap and he's revealed he often receives abuse from young men who don't like the way in which he portrays his gay character as being very camp.

He explained: "I get a lot of stick from people who say, and these are people who are 21, 'You've put the gay cause back 21 years'."

However, Antony disagrees with their opinion and thinks his character is a refreshing change from the common struggling to come out storyline.

He continued: "Sean never had to come out, he was accepted from the start. So for every one of those who say Sean's a stereotype, the fact he's never had to explain himself makes him the most political gay character in soap."

Meanwhile, Brooke Vincent - who stars as lesbian Sophie Webster in the Manchester based soap - confessed she had no idea how big the storyline about her sexuality was until she got older.

Speaking at Manchester Pride's fringe festival, she's reported by the Daily Mirror newspaper as saying: "I was 16 when I got told about the storyline that was going to run in two years' time. I'm not gay, so I thought, how do I get this right?

"I don't think I realised how big the storyline was until I got older, and how many were helped by it. I was born in a time when it's just normal.

"Why does it even matter if you fancy a girl or a boy?"

Brooke added: "I've been called the 'nation's favourite lesbian', and I'm really proud!"

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