'They called the tune' Corrie’s Amanda Barrie avoided coming out as gay due to ITV soap

express.co.uk:

Coronation Street, said she did not feel she could come out as gay during her time on the show.The star revealed she felt she wasn’t allowed to be her authentic self for two decades in a candid interview on Loose Women.

Amanda, 86, starred in Coronation Street from 1981 to 1982, and again from 1988 to 2001. Throughout that time, the actress refused to confirm her sexuality in public and did not reveal her lesbian identity until after her time on the soap had come to an end.

Amanda appeared on Loose Women today with her wife Hilary Bonner and was asked by the panel what it was like having to keep her sexuality hidden for so long. “There was no camo of any kind at that time,” Amanda explained. “There were various people in charge of the show, so they called the tune.

Do we call it homophobic? Call it what you like…”The actress then went on to claim that some of her colleagues would have refused to work with her if she had come out as gay.“What people did was they sold you to the press who thought, ‘there’s a story there’,” she began.“The press came and the very same people who would’ve done that would then say, ‘I’m not going to work with someone who’s gay’.” The actress went on to confirm that her co-stars were actually well-aware of her sexuality long before she came out to the public. “Everyone knew I was gay!” she exclaimed, before admitting that she had only divulged her secret to a few chosen confidants.