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Barry Clark is a fictional character from the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

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soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

, ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'', played by

Gary Hailes Gary Hailes (born 4 November 1965 in London) is an English actor. Hales attended Holloway School. The Old ...

from 18 November 1986 to July 1988, returning for one episode on 23 February 1989. Hailes reprised the role in December 2022 for the funeral of

Dot Cotton Dorothy "Dot" Branning (also Cotton) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, '' EastEnders'', played by June Brown. In a special episode entitled ''EastEnders: Dot's Story'' (2003) a young Dot was played by Tallulah Pitt-Brown in fl ...

(

June Brown June Muriel Brown (16 February 1927 – 3 April 2022) was an English actress and author. She was best known for her role as Dot Cotton on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (1985–1993; 1997–2020). In 2005, she won Best Actress at the ''In ...

). Barry's absence of 33 years from EastEnders is currently the longest absence between appearances of any character in the show's history. Barry is a

cockney Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or b ...

barrow-boy, and an unlikely partner for the

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...

yuppie Yuppie, short for "young urban professional" or "young upwardly-mobile professional", is a term coined in the early 1980s for a young professional person working in a city. The term is first attested in 1980, when it was used as a fairly neu ...

, Colin Russell (

Michael Cashman Michael Maurice Cashman, Baron Cashman (born 17 December 1950), is a British actor, politician, and LGBT rights activist. A member of the Labour Party, he served as a Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands from 1999 to 2014. ...

). He is much younger than his

middle-aged In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

boyfriend and as such Colin's role is almost

paternal A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

. Barry is open about his sexuality to everyone except his volatile father — and when he is finally told he takes the news so badly that Barry tries to unsuccessfully suppress his homosexuality just to appease him.

Storylines

Barry is introduced in November 1986 as a love interest for

graphic designer A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, ...

, Colin Russell (

). Barry works on Bridge Street market, selling records and other paraphernalia. His family has a reputation for being thuggish; Barry keeps his homosexuality a secret from them, fearing his father's reaction. Personality differences between Barry and Colin causes friction in their relationship. Having been imprisoned in 1983 for motor theft, Barry gets involved in crime again in 1987 under

Nick Cotton Nick Cotton is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''EastEnders'' played by John Altman on a semi-regular basis from the soap's debut episode on 19 February 1985. Altman has stated that his initial exit was due to producer Julia ...

's ( John Altman) influence. This goes against Colin's morals and he is invariably left to clean up Barry's blunders. When

(

) discovers Colin and Barry are in a relationship, she worries they will infect her with AIDS. Her rumours evoke hostility from some members of the community but gradually, they get used to the idea of having gay neighbours and Barry is relieved when his older brother,

Graham Graham and Graeme may refer to: People * Graham (given name), an English-language given name * Graham (surname), an English-language surname * Graeme (surname), an English-language surname * Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer * Clan ...

( Gary Webster), gives his blessing too. Differences between Colin and Barry become too great to overcome; Barry's inconsiderate behaviour exasperates Colin and their age gap causes further problems when the police discover that Barry had been under the legal age of sexual consent for homosexuals (21 at the time) when he began living with Colin. The police decide it is their duty to inform Barry's parents. Petrified of his homophobic father, Barry ultimately decides to end his relationship with Colin on New Year's Eve 1987. To prevent his father disowning him, Barry attempts to live a heterosexual existence and begins dating a girl named Judy (Joanna Bright), to Colin's dismay. He sets up a mobile disco with

Ian Beale Ian Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Adam Woodyatt. He is the drama's longest-serving main character and, following the departure of Pauline Fowler ( Wendy Richard) in 2006, became the only one ...

(

Adam Woodyatt Adam Brinley Woodyatt (born 28 June 1968) is an English actor. He is known for his role as Ian Beale in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', which he played between 1985 and 2022. Early life and education Woodyatt was born on 28 June 1968 in W ...

), purchasing the equipment from a petty criminal named Darren Roberts ( Gary McDonald). However, the equipment turns out to be borrowed via

Hire Purchase A hire purchase (HP), also known as an installment plan, is an arrangement whereby a customer agrees to a contract to acquire an asset by paying an initial installment (e.g., 40% of the total) and repaying the balance of the price of the asset pl ...

, and when the repayments are not made, the finance company repossesses it all. When Barry is evicted from his flat, he decides to take a job as a DJ on a cruise liner in July 1988. Colin is saddened to see him leave. Barry returns briefly in February 1989 on the day that Colin leaves Walford. Colin departs saying a particularly heartfelt goodbye to Barry. More than thirty years later, Barry returns in December 2022 for

’s wake. It is revealed that he has reunited with Colin after the death of Colin's husband Eddie Tsang (Kevin Shen).

Creation and development

Barry was one half of

Walford Walford is a fictional borough of east London in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. It is the primary setting for the soap. ''EastEnders'' is filmed at Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, towards the north-west of London. Much of the location work i ...

's first homosexual couple. His boyfriend, Colin, had already been introduced to the show several months prior to Barry's arrival and he had proven to be an extremely popular addition to the cast. Both the audience and the residents of Walford had been kept in the dark about the fact that Colin was gay. This changed upon Barry's first scene on-screen, whereby the audience learnt that he had spent the night with Colin after picking him up the night before (off-screen) at a

gay club A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT) clientele; the term ''gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT communities. Gay bars once served ...

. Colin and Barry were two of the most controversial characters of their time — mainly because gay-orientated content was still relatively rare on

prime time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

television during the mid-1980s. Gay characters that existed were usually farcical

camp Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

parodies A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

, created purely for comic relief, such as

Mr. Humphries ''Are You Being Served?'' is a British sitcom created and written by executive producer David Croft (Croft also directed some episodes) and Jeremy Lloyd, with contributions from Michael Knowles and John Chapman, for the BBC. Set in London, t ...

in the

situation comedy A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

, ''

Are You Being Served? ''Are You Being Served?'' is a British sitcom created and written by executive producer David Croft (Croft also directed some episodes) and Jeremy Lloyd, with contributions from Michael Knowles and John Chapman, for the BBC. Set in London, t ...

''.Gay TV Characters
, ''RainbowNetwork.com''. URL last accessed on 30 December 2006. Although ''EastEnders'' was not the first UK, televised soap to include a gay character —

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

's ''

Brookside Brookside may refer to: Geography Canada * Brookside, Edmonton * Brookside, Newfoundland and Labrador * Brookside, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Brookside, Berkshire, England * Brookside, Telford, an area of Telford, England United States * Br ...

'' had that distinction — the portrayal of an openly gay male — let alone a homosexual relationship — on a prime time, pre-watershed BBC programme was unheard of before Colin and Barry's introduction. The licence-funded BBC held a far greater audience share than the

commercially Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...

-funded Channel 4, thus public reaction to ''EastEnders gay characters was much stronger and more widely documented in the British

press Press may refer to: Media * Print media or news media, commonly called "the press" * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press (newspaper), a list of newspapers * Press TV, an Iranian television network People * Press (surname), a fam ...

. Colin was a middle-classed, well-meaning, slightly uptight yuppie, so the makers of ''EastEnders'' decided that his partner needed to be in stark contrast in order to prevent him from becoming too rarefied (up until this point middle-classed characters had been relatively unsuccessful and had failed to fully integrate into ''EastEnders'' predominantly working-class community). Barry was scripted to be much more down-to-earth in comparison:

working-class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

instead of middle-class; openly gay instead of '

in the closet "In the Closet" is a song by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released on April 9, 1992, as the third single from his eighth album, ''Dangerous'' (1991). The song was written and produced by Jackson and Teddy Riley. It became ...

'; loud and brash instead of shy and retiring and in addition the age difference between the two was substantial — Colin being roughly fifteen years Barry's senior. The actor

Gary Hailes Gary Hailes (born 4 November 1965 in London) is an English actor. Hales attended Holloway School. The Old ...

was chosen to play the role. Hailes was known to ''EastEnders'' co-creators,

Tony Holland Anthony John Holland (18 January 1940 – 28 November 2007) was a British screenwriter, best known as a writer and co-creator (with Julia Smith) of the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. Early life Holland was the oldest of three children born to ...

and Julia Smith, as he had previously attended auditions in 1984 for the role of

Mark Fowler Mark Fowler is a fictional character in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. Mark, an original regular character when the series started in February 1985, became a semi-regular after his original portrayer David Scarboro was written out of the ro ...

, but had been unsuccessful - the role went to

David Scarboro David Timothy Scarboro (3 February 1968 – 27 April 1988) was an English actor, best known for portraying Mark Fowler in the British soap opera ''EastEnders'' from the programme's inception in February 1985 until that April before appearing int ...

instead. A relationship between Colin and Barry was quickly developed and the residents of

Albert Square Walford is a fictional borough of east London in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. It is the primary setting for the soap. ''EastEnders'' is filmed at Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, towards the north-west of London. Much of the location work i ...

gossiped in hushed voices about the true nature of their friendship. In 1987 ''EastEnders'' was responsible for screening the first ever gay

kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

in a UK soap, much to the outrage of the viewing public.EastEnders star turned MEP to hold gay marriage
, ''Pinknews.co.uk''. URL last accessed on 30 December 2006. A small kiss on the

forehead In human anatomy, the forehead is an area of the head bounded by three features, two of the skull and one of the scalp. The top of the forehead is marked by the hairline, the edge of the area where hair on the scalp grows. The bottom of the fore ...

, given to Barry from Colin, received a record number of complaints from angry viewers. In addition, the

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

British press reacted with fury. They began a smear campaign, branding the programme "filth" and, for a while, dubbed the show "EastBenders". There were even questions in

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

about whether it was appropriate to have gay men in a family show when

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

was sweeping the country.Without prejudice
, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. URL last accessed on 30 December 2006. Despite the initial negativity, the storyline had a powerful impact on public attitudes and the show's handling of Colin and Barry's relationship was deemed by many gay activists as something of a breakthrough.Gay weddings on The Archers!
", ''Outfront''. URL last accessed on 30 December 2006. Not only did ''EastEnders'' brave the wrath of many viewers and journalists, but they also explored anti-gay bigotry through the characters in the show - most notably via Albert Square's local

gossip Gossip is idle talk or rumour, especially about the personal or private affairs of others; the act is also known as dishing or tattling. Gossip is a topic of research in evolutionary psychology, which has found gossip to be an important means ...

(

), who erupted into horror and ignorant self-righteousness upon discovering Colin and Barry's secret, and even spread rumours that Colin had

. The episode featuring the kiss was watched by over 17 million viewers, and Colin and Barry remained on-screen for several years, accessing millions of viewers each episode — the gay community were finally being represented on mass audience mainstream television. Gradually, negative assumptions began to lessen, public opinion began to shift in Colin and Barry's favour and even Dot got used to the idea of having gay neighbours.

, the actor turned

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who played Colin, has commented: "This was a flagship BBC show, the most popular series in the country, and Colin and Barry were there day in, day out. The relationship wasn't sensationalised, and the public devoured it." Barry remained on-screen as a full-time character until 1988. His character was used to highlight many other gay issues, such as

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...

, gay legal inequality — the

legal age Legal age or codified age refers to age at which a person may legally engage in a certain activity. Most frequently, this is the age of majority (also known as the "age of maturity"), the threshold of adulthood as recognized in law. Other ages of l ...

of gay

sexual consent Sexual consent is consent to engage in sexual activity. In many jurisdictions, sexual activity without consent is considered rape or other sexual assault. Academic discussion of consent In the late 1980s, academic Lois Pineau argued that societ ...

(which at the time was 21 instead of 16 as it is today) — and most notably the hardship that many young gay men face when "

coming out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

" to their parents. The plot saw Barry forced into "

outing Outing is the act of disclosing an LGBT person's sexual orientation or gender identity without that person's consent. It is often done for political reasons, either to instrumentalize homophobia in order to discredit political opponents or to com ...

" himself to his father, who reacted badly, and this subsequently led to Barry living the remainder of his stay in Walford as a heterosexual in order to appease him — thus highlighting the pressure to conform that many young gay people face. Although the scenes where Barry was disowned by his father (as a result of his sexuality) were filmed, they never made it to air. In an interview featured in '' EastEnders Handbook'' by Hilary Kingsly, Michael Cashman expressed how sorry he was that these particular scenes were cut, although no reason for their exclusion was given. As such, Barry's confrontation with his father occurred off-screen. Eventually, the differences between Colin and Barry became too great for them to overcome, they split and Barry left Walford for a job on a

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

, but returned briefly in February 1989 to aid the departure of Colin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Barry EastEnders characters Fictional gay males Television characters introduced in 1986 Fictional LGBT characters in television Fictional market stallholders Male characters in television Fictional DJs

Storylines

Creation and development

See also

References