(Some spoilers for recent and upcoming episodes of U.K. soaps included) 

I'm a U.S. fan of U.K. soaps -- specifically Hollyoaks, but also Emmerdale (though I'm a bit behind). I've also got a stack of EastEnders and Coronation Street episodes waiting for my viewing.

Overall, I think U.K. soaps are WAY better at everything than their U.S. counterparts. Yeah, sometimes the basic plot ideas are similar, but they seem to be done in more interesting ways in the U.K.

However, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that at least part of the reason I like U.K. soaps so much is because they seem to have no problem incorporating gay characters into the storylines. Unfortunately, though, it seems like that may be coming to an end, at least for some of the soaps. Take a look:

* Hollyoaks -- *Sigh* John Paul is gone. As is Kieron. As is Craig (though he was only back for a few episodes). Now, all that's left is Kris, the bisexual cross-dresser -- who is fun, but I've never liked him as much as John Paul or any of JP's various boyfriends. Plus, Kris always seems to be paired with women (not that there's anything wrong with that!); I've watched the show for two years (OK, actually, one year, but I've seen two years worth of episodes in that one year), and in that time, Kris has been paired with Jessica, Summer and Mercedes -- plus one guy, who only had a walk-on role and was only there to make Jessica jealous. I'm hoping that the show's gay executive producer (whose name I'm blaking on now) will remember the huge international popularity of John Paul and try to replicate it with a great new gay character... but so far, I haven't heard of anything. (Rafi and Layla have some relatives coming to town... maybe one of them will be queer... might be interesting to see a GLBT Indian character...)

 * Emmerdale -- Paul recently cheated on his husband Jonny with bisexual Grayson. Now, Jonny, Grayson and Grayon's wife are all gone (or soon leaving), and the actor who plays Paul announced a few days ago he'll be leaving by the end of the year. Paul and Jonny got a bit of media attention for having soaps' first same-sex wedding, but the characters never reached the popularity levels of Hollyoaks' gay characters, so who knows if Emmerdale will bring on more gay folks.

 * Coronation Street -- Sean's boyfriend is leaving the show (or maybe he's already left), and as I understand it, Sean isn't shown that much and rarely has any prominent storylines. Anyone watch this regularly who can comment on whether or not you think he has a future on the show?

* EastEnders -- I haven't watched this one yet, but as I understand it, the show's gay character (name???) isn't shown much, and the messed-up bisexual kid who was in love with him is now off the show. Any regular watchers care to give more info?

So, are gays in U.K. soaps soon to be a thing of the past? Thoughts? Comments?