Coronation Street stars shut down anti-gay hecklers during Manchester Pride
Coronation Street stars Nicola Thorp and Antony Cotton took a stand against anti-gay protesters during Manchester Pride.
The pair took part in the parade on a float which drove past a group of demonstrators, who were holding anti-LGBT signs saying: “Be sure your sin will find you out.”
Others held signs with quotes from the Bible.
Rather than ignore the group, Thorp shouted: “It’s a shame that you felt you needed to show your presence here today. You and your beliefs are not welcome here. You are not welcome to come and judge our sexuality.
A wedding party at Manchester Pride (Twitter/MCRMetrolink)
“We will not come to preach at your church. This is our church. Show some respect,” the Manchester Evening News reported.
Cotton jumped off the float to wave a rainbow flag at the group before kissing his boyfriend Peter in front of them.
Speaking to the MEN before the event, Thorp said: “The thing with Pride is it started off as a statement of activism and now it’s seen as a celebration – but it’s both of those things.
“It’s a celebration of Pride for the LGBT community but also it’s a statement of activism to say actually there’s still so much further to go in the In terms of rights for the gay and trans community.”
On Friday, a bride travelled to her wedding during Manchester Pride in style after an entire tram was reserved as her private transport.
A bride travelled to her Pride wedding on a private tram (Twitter/MCRMetrolink)
The rainbow tram took Kat Mulhall, 34, and her wedding party from Stretford to the city centre.
She married her wife-to-be Aimee Waite, 29, at a ceremony organised to coincide with Pride festivities.
Mulhall had originally asked Transport for Greater Manchester whether she could have one carriage to take her to her wedding, but they donated an entire tram.
She told the Manchester Evening News: “The whole tram was decorated and our names were on the outside. I would definitely recommend arriving at your wedding on a tram.
“And getting married on Pride weekend too. It’s been pretty hectic but fantastic. As a same-sex couple it’s making our own little statement about being able to make your own choices in life.”
