First show to feature lesbian kiss to be made available online after 40 years
The first programme to broadcast a lesbian kiss on television will be made available online by the BBC.
The 1974 show, Girl, will be available to the public for the first time in four decades as part of the London Pride festival.
The BBC drama tells the tale of a love affair between two female army officers. Viewers will be able to access the programme via the BBC store.
Alison Steadman and Myra Frances shared the kiss. Steadman, who is known more recently for her role in Gavin and Stacey, was proud to have been involved in the moment of equality on television.
She said: “When I was offered the part I felt quite nervous. A completely new adventure. Never been offered anything like it before.”
Steadman worked well with director Peter Gill, who did not fuss over the scene.
“The director, Peter Gill, was great because he didn’t fuss about the fact they were two women or that they had to kiss. He said it was just a love story.”
Before the show aired, a special announcement was made to warn viewers of the content of the programme. The show only aired once on BBC Two because it was considered too controversial.
Steadman was most worried about her parents reaction to the show, but they took it well. “My mum said she thought it was great and was very moved by it” she said.
In 1994 the first pre-watershed lesbian kiss was aired on the programme Brookside. The first kiss between two men broadcast on BBC One show, Coming Out, in 1979.
Russell T Davies was recently celebrated for using a lesbian kiss in his adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummers Night’s Dream’.
Girl will be released alongside The Buddha of Suburbia and Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit in the Pride and Prejudice collection – a series of landmark LGBT dramas.
