Emmerdale’s homophobia storyline praised by gay rights group Stonewall as newly-wed Aaron Dingle is bullied in prison
The ITV soap has been commended for the way it’s handling the issue of homophobia behind bars
EMMERDALE has been praised by leading gay rights group Stonewall for the way it’s handled the issue of homophobia in the prison system.
Viewers watched this week as jailed Aaron Dingle, who is played by Danny Miller, was relentlessly bullied after other inmates in his block after finding out he was homosexual.
Now the ITV soap has been commended by Stonewall for raising awareness of the problem.
An spokesperson told : “Gay men experience homophobia in many different parts of their lives, whether at work, in school or in their local communities, and it's great to see Emmerdale tackling the abuse that lesbian, gay, bi and trans people continue to face.
“It's vital that all prison staff are trained in how to prevent and tackle anti-LGBT behaviour, and that all public institutions take pride in promoting diversity and inclusion.”
Aaron – who was jailed for 12 months over his brutal attack on Kasim Sabet – initially tried to hide his sexuality when he first went into the prison.
However after his husband Robert Sugden visited him, another inmate noticed the pair’s behaviour and Aaron was later targeted.
Danny said: “Aaron is keeping quiet about the problems he's facing in prison.
“He has always self-loathed and he doesn't want to burden anyone else with his problems.
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“He knows that people are worrying for his safety, so the last thing he wants to do is add any more pressure onto them. He just wants to show that he can handle it inside.
“Unfortunately, what happens to Aaron in prison is his worst nightmare - that people would find out he's gay and also that people would find out he's Gordon's son. That becomes a huge issue for him.”
“When he starts smoking spice, it's another way of self-harming for Aaron. He's always been someone who tries to punish himself.
“The story highlights how it completely ruins people's minds and their physical appearance, but Aaron turns to that because it's the last thing he can do and it's his way of relieving the pain.”
“Obviously at the time, Aaron has been severely beaten up. He's broken quite a few ribs, and he's battered and bruised all over the place.”
With his friends and family visiting but not noticing anything wrong with Aaron, his younger sister immediately spots that something's going on and confronts him.
“Liv's reaction makes things worse for Aaron, but he just didn't want to show that he's in pain. Aaron can't even walk without feeling the pain, so in his mind, this will get him through the visitation and mean no-one realises what's wrong.
“Unfortunately, Liv notices that Aaron is a bit spaced out and she also smells the smoke. He's gutted that she's found out what's happened. He thought he could hide it, but she's more streetwise than he realised.
“Liv walks out very disappointed and rightly so, but that adds to Aaron's anxiety. You'll see that he suffers a few panic attacks and he does knock himself out due to one of those panic attacks at one point.
“But by self-harming and smoking this drug, he's trying to find his own way of getting through it.”
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