British radio soap has first gay wedding

LONDON, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- The British radio soap opera, "The Archers," has broken new ground -- offering the first-ever gay marriage featured on a series in its genre.

The event took place Thursday night when the BBC Radio 4 series featured the wedding of its prevalent gay couple, Adam Macy and Ian Craig, the Independent reported.

"This is the culmination of the longest-running gay relationship in radio soap history, as far as we know," said series spokesman Lucas North. "It's been going on for two and a half years. It's also been one year since the civil partnership legislation came into being in this country and they have been far more successful than the government anticipated, so it's nice that this storyline shows the ceremony as popular and real."

The broadcast -- which came more than two decades after the first gay character joined the long-running series -- was immediately recognized by the gay community.

"What's different about this relationship compared with other gay relationships in soaps is that it's longer sustained and very much part of the community," said Joseph Galliano, the editor of the Gay Times. "They are not treated any differently to how other characters are treated."