Wednesday, July 6, 2011

CHARLIE CONDOU - No.66

Brian’s dirty little secrets are “out”

KathViner: Fab piece, tomorrow RT @charliecondou Thanks for all your tweets about Brian Sewell. You can read my response in tomorrow's Guardian #corrie

sarahlmorgan: @KathViner @charliecondou Does it mention him wanking off for Dali? I've still not recovered from learning that this afternoon.

Charliecondou: @sarahlmorgan @KathViner I'm so glad I didn't know that

Tom_In_Oz_: @Charliecondou Brian Sewell has a lot of dirty little secrets....click article http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/jun/02/broadcasting.artnews

Paulie_Graham: @Tom_In_Oz_ I can't believe he's admitted to being filmed wanking yet doesn't like a gay in the street...

Tom_In_Oz_: @Paulie_Graham This is the Brian Sewell article re TV show Coronation Street http://t.co/2kRg0sY

Paulie_Graham: @Tom_In_Oz_ @Charliecondou I've caught up now... Ridic. My parents are fans of the show since Dennis Tanner was first in it and aprt from me know, no gay men. My Mum told me last night that her fave characters in Corrie are Sean and Marcus. Northerners that love Corrie and see no difference between a romance between two men than if Rita got it on with Norris apart from the diff of ginger hair.

Tom_In_Oz_: @Paulie_Graham @Charliecondou well glad it's only the ginger hair....so many categories - racist, sexist now hairist!!! lol

Paulie_Graham: @Tom_In_Oz_ @Charliecondou I love a ginge as much as the next guy... even more so when it's Rite...

BACK TO REALITY

Tom_In_Oz_: For those who support the TV show Coronation Street this Brian Sewell article is a worry http://t.co/2kRg0sY @Charliecondou

Charliecondou: Thanks for all your tweets about Brian Sewell. You can read my response in tomorrow's Guardian

HRWright: @Charliecondou Does it begin with F, end in F and have 'uck of' in the middle? Or have you gone for something a bit more profound? ;-)

Charliecondou: @HRWright haha it's slightly less confrontational than that

EmmaK67: @Charliecondou what's this? What has he done to you? I WILL HURT HIM IN HIS HEART

Charliecondou: @EmmaK67 Not me personally love, just my homo brothers and sisters. Ive done a reply piece

orangewench: @Charliecondou is that the nob who said corrie was full of all these 'gays/queers' etc in the Mail? If so - hope you give him a right earful

cronaldo7701: @Charliecondou but you have to admit coronation street has become a circus

Charliecondou: @cronaldo7701 in what sense?

cronaldo7701: @Charliecondou The 'transvestite storyline' has got to be the most silliest and unrealistic storyline of the year Everyone took it as a joke

Charliecondou: @cronaldo7701 they said the same about Hayley 13 years ago, now arguably one of the most popular characters in the show @juliehes

cronaldo7701: @Charliecondou True,but she plays that part so well that you forget about her history but you can't forget that its a man dressed as a woman

GavinJuniper: @Charliecondou Another HUGE win for The Guardian. Careful now, they might go into profit.

Charliecondou: @GavinJuniper Hahahaha

brianfruity: @Charliecondou welcome home!! Back to reality now?

Charliecondou: @brianfruity yup, fraid so x

Charliecondou: @nancy_sorrell How lovely! x

Charliecondou: RT @tim_weber: NOTW adverts, story so far: Pulling out: Vauxhall, Ford, Halifax, Virgin Hols, Co-op. Pondering: Thomson/FirstChoice, Npower,T-Mob, Vodafone

Above & below: Charlie Condou from Attitude Magazine Summer Edition 2011.

out north west

INTERVIEW

with

CHARLIE CONDOU

from

CORONATION STREET

GAY DADS ARE

STREETS AHEAD

Here at Out North West Magazine we’re proud of the Weatherfield rainbow collective and Corrie wouldn’t be our favourite soap without its cross dressing wine merchant’s, knickerstitching bar-men, perma-anoraked transgender salt-of-the-Earths, loved-up lesbians, former Mr Gay UK’s, and more big wigs and dangly earrings than a Wednesday night on Canal Street. To add to all the high camp, one of the year’s big stories really touches a chord with what’s going on in real gay lives at the moment. It’s the return of male midwife Marcus Dent. Back on our screens as Marcus is Charlie Condou, the man we are hoping to have finally brought a permanent love interest back into Sean’s life. As we speak Marcus is trying to get into the TARDIS-like Grimshaw household and we hear that he will be around for the foreseeable future. Here we have a soap couple played by two well established gay actors. Although Charlie’s long term partner in real life is Cameron Laux. We ask Charlie what the most romantic thing is that he has done in his life and he can’t think of anything but he thinks he makes Cameron laugh.

What does Charlie think about the plethora of gay characters that are currently tumbling through Weatherfield as reported in some of the tabloids? “Well they are a bit misinformed really. There are 66 characters in Coronation Street, and there are only really four main gay characters. The two couples at the moment are Sian and Sophie and Marcus and Sean. Of course lots of other gay characters have been passing through like Todd and his boyfriend and Ken’s grandson.”

What makes Marcus’s story all the more interesting is that in real life Charlie is a gay dad too. Charlie and Cameron have a daughter, Georgia Mae who was conceived via IVF with a good friend of Charlie’s. As a gay parent yourself, just how important is it to have gay parenting storylines on mainstream TV? “It’s really important to me. When I came out my parents were fantastic but my mum said what about kids? She knew I wanted to have children of my own ever since I was a teenager and at the time it didn’t seem that it would ever be possible but times have changed and stories such as this make same sex parents visible and open up people’s minds to what is now

possible” Being a real gay dad, did you have any input into the development of the storyline? “No, not at all, the writers on Coronation Street are fantastic and some of them are gay anyway so they really wanted to do this story.” Do you think it’s an accurate portrayal of sperm donation, or what can happen when you decide to have a child with a friend? “There aren’t really any guidelines to follow for same sex couples.”, he says. “It’s difficult for gay men and women to have children, but that’s a good thing. It means you put the child first and are very clear about what you want and need to do.” In the soap, Violet Wilson seemed very judgemental at the thought that her son would pick up some of his dad Sean’s ‘camp’ mannerisms.

Have you and your partner ever experienced any prejudice because you are gay and have children? “Funnily enough a few of my gay friends have found it slightly uncomfortable with me being a gay parent, but none of my straight friends. We haven’t had any prejudice at all really but it is strange that the only people who have challenged it are friends who are gay. Someone asked me why I was trying to fit into a heterosexual stereotype. I thought I was doing the opposite, proving we can do it too.” Charlie explained in a recent issue of Attitude magazine that it was important for his child to have a mum and that ‘you probably wouldn’t choose your partner as carefully’, but his female friend had wanted to have a child by the time she was 40 and Charlie’s desire to be a dad meant that Georgia Mae was conceived at the third attempt at IVF. Charlie also says how important it is to have both parents on the birth certificate but that, “Cameron is just as much a parent and we are all equal but it seems there is an inequality. He’s not actually recognised as a parent and we need to address that.” So what advice would Charlie give to any other prospective gay parents out there? “Think very carefully and decide how it’s going to work for you. Your sexual orientation really shouldn’t be relevant.”

One thing both Charlie and Cameron are doing with their own daughter and Corrie’s Sean and Marcus are with Dylan is proving that gay parents can make it work

Suport for gay dads : http://gaydads.co.uk/

FINDING DONORS

www. prideangel.com www.gayfamilyweb.co.uk

FERTILITY SERVICES

A full list of fertility clinics:

http://guide.hfea.gov.uk/guide/

Manchester Fertility Services:

www.manchesterfertility.com.

Above & below: UK Attitude Magazine Summer Edition 2011 with Charlie Condou.

Above & below: UK Attitude Magazine Summer Edition 2011 with Charlie Condou.
COrrie-lation
Above: Charlie Condou & Antony Cotton in Coronation Street.

Charliecondou: I'm coming home now, just so you all know. I'll be home by about 2ish tomorrow. Come say hi, I've missed you all

karljordinson: @Charliecondou enjoy yr night am in ltn trainin and stuck in a hotel so am up too! With a bloody good bottle of Rioja just passed my exams

Tom_In_Oz_: @Charliecondou are you expecting a crowd like when the Beatles returned in 1964? lol

Nigeybracknell: @Charliecondou where you been !!!!!!!!

jules0455: @Charliecondou give us a ring when you get home so we know you are safe then xxxx

chloee987: @Charliecondou Where have you been? X

MackenzieBR: @Charliecondou aww you've missed me? I've missed you! Where have you been? X

MissusLampard: @Charliecondou Safe journey home :) x

ViscountLeighto: @Charliecondou saw you walking down Quay street with a cup of brew the other week & said hi but you ignored lol

Charliecondou: @ViscountLeighto I did? How rude, I apologise

ViscountLeighto: @Charliecondou lol I'll let you off then ha ah. Thought you just didn't want to say hello to the commoners lol ;)

shellywil: @Charliecondou give us 3 rings when you get in ;)

djy12345: @Charliecondou I hacked your phone and knew already

Tom_In_Oz_: @djy12345 But I intercepted your phone hacking and tweeted Charlie DM so he already knew before hand. He's been home for days x

A FAWLTY CONNECTION

HRWright: Can never resist watching Fawlty Towers if it's on TV despite having them all on DVD. Bed will have to wait.

Confidential_CC: @HRWright my fave was ep with Farty Owls

HRWright: @Confidential_CC I love them all,my favourite though is when Basil bets on the horse. Brilliant.

Confidential_CC: @HRWright I can't believe it was only 13 eps....it seems more indelible in your psyche than shows that ran for years x

HRWright: @Confidential_CC Yes, amazing to think isn't it!

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