Rodrigo Santoro and his Leonera co-star Martina Gusman

In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• Rodrigo Santoro (300) will be playing not one, but two queer roles this year. In addition to his part in I Love You, Phillip Morris, he also plays a bisexual in the Argentine women-with-babies-in-prison film Leonera, which screened at Cannes last week.

• The scamps at 23/6 created a handy guide to planning your gay wedding. Favorite line: "Find a venue for the ceremony. Churches are probably out."

• At the Drama League Awards, actor Daniel Evans (Sunday in the Park with George) jokingly proposed to actor Cheyenne Jackson (Xanadu), who jokingly accepted. I jokingly smell a cross-over episode ... Seurat on skates!!

• There's nothing really new in this brief article about same-sex coupling in the animal kingdom, but they do make an interesting point ... though gay relationships are common in dozens of more socially developed species, you know what's not? Homophobia. We've cornered the market on that, baby!

• Gay Coronation Street star Antony Cotton has been signed for two more years on the soap as gay barman Sean Tully, as well as another as-yet-undetermined solo project on British TV.

And today's Briefs are brought to you by...

Here’s a run down of British soap goings on that have pinged our gaydar in the UK for the week ending December 16….

Coronation Street, ITV1

Goodness gracious, what is the world coming to; evil seems to be overcoming all that is good and wholesome in Weatherfield. Not that Sarah Platt could ever be described as wholesome, but you get my drift!

Yes folks, it looks like David Platt may have the last laugh after all. It appears that being a lying scumbag has paid dividends for the devil child, what with rich and successful Uncle Stephen (who’s swapped Christmas in Canada for Weatherfield, the fool!) choosing to reward the spawn of Satan for all the terrible things he’s done. And by reward, we mean offering David a new life and a new job… in Milan! Yes, Milan, Italy!

Poor Sarah, no wonder she’s furious! And jealous. David has never looked quite so smug. But it looks like he won’t be smiling for too long, not if Sarah has her way. Her warning to David to not count his chickens just yet was chilling. Hmm we wonder what devilish plans the little minx has up her sleeve? Make it good Sarah, make it good.

Meanwhile, Ryan’s mysterious stalker was revealed… and it’s his dad. Well, a dodgy looking man who claims to be his father, anyway. Mum Michelle was totally baffled by the claim and worse, was forced to defend herself when boyfriend Steve asked her is she had been unfaithful to her late hubby Dean. Talk about being an insensitive jerk. Steve, we mean.

Poor Michelle was so afraid for her son, she put Ryan under house arrest. Which actually wasn't quite as bad as it sounds, considering he got to bunk off school and play video games.

Elsewhere, Steve offered his ex- con dad a job and Jim promised to stay away from ex-wife Liz and her hubby-to-be Vern. He certainly does seems to be a changed man, does our Jim, not even kicking off when faced with a bunch of rowdy lads in the pub.

Oh, and John and Rosie went on a romantic date… at a lay by. And they celebrated spending some quality time together by having a romp in the backseat of his Megane! Classy!


Eastenders, BBC1

Question.

What do you get if you cross Jack Branning and Phil Mitchell with a pool table?

Here’s a run down of British soap goings on that have pinged our gaydar in the UK for the week ending December 9…

Coronation Street, ITV1

Sadly, the inevitable happened this week. Yes folks, Liam Connor is off the market and it’s that lucky cow Maria Sutherland who’s gone and bagged him! Well, who’d have thought it; being jealous of Maria of all people!

Yes, Liam finally did the evil deed - sorry, the right thing - and proposed to the hairdresser. Well, she is carrying his child. Although we all know he’d much rather be with his fiery sister-in-law, Carla instead. After all, he can barely tear his eyes off her and she certainly wasn’t happy with his engagement news. We think this could probably turn out to be one of the shortest engagements soapland has ever seen.

Meanwhile, devil child David continued to cause mayhem and mischief. This week he pinched barmy Becky’s mobile phone so he could send flirty texts to Jason. No, we didn’t know he was that way inclined either. But alas his attempts to make sister Sarah even more paranoid and jealous than normal backfired. Yes, the truth came out and he got rumbled.

Unfortunately, things came to ahead in the Platt-Grimshaw household when Gail announced that Sarah and Jason should move out because it was obvious Sarah and David would never be able to live under the same roof! Talk about taking the wrong side, Gail!

Elsewhere, two new faces made a welcome appearance in the Street, in the shape of bookies Harry and his son Dan, played by former Bad Girls star Jack Ellis and Matthew Crompton from The Bill. And it seems Jack and Vera have decided to leave the Street (shock! horror!) and move to Blackpool. Although unfortunately for Paul, if his grandparents do sell up and move, they will discover that their rat bag grandson has taken out a loan in their name against their house. Such a naughty boy, that Paul. Oh, and Ryan has got himself the ultimate celebrity accessory: a stalker. Yes, Michelle’s young son keeps getting followed by a dodgy looking bloke in a flash Subaru.

But the award for the most shocking moment of the week went to Kirk Sutherland - for wearing a suit. And even more shocking, he looked rather dashing in it, too.

Here’s a run down of British soap goings on that have pinged our gaydar in the UK for the week ending December 2…

Coronation Street, ITV1

Sulky Sean wasn’t quite so sulky this week. In fact, he was pretty much back to his normal, chipper, annoying self. In our book, annoying and chipper beats sulky any day of the week.

And it seems being reconciled with best bud Violet is bringing out the best in him. With Violet and Jamie hoping to move into a flat together, Sean decided to make Christmas come that little bit early for the lovebirds by offering to stump up the five hundred big ones they need for their deposit. But unfortunately, in typical macho blokey fashion, Jamie rejected Sean’s kind offer. Hmm what's that saying about pride cometh before a fall?

However, not being one to look a gift horse in the mouth, sneaky Violet proved that women are indeed the smarter (some might prefer sneaky!) sex and decided to accept Sean’s help and his cash, whilst keeping it a secret from boyfriend Jamie.

Elsewhere, lovely Liam was well and truly gobbed and smacked this week. But then Maria’s bombshell revelation that she’s pregnant would be enough to shock anyone. Of course, being the lovely bloke that he is, our Liam promised to do the right thing by her and the baby. However, Marie seemed to sense that he wasn’t all that keen and decided to have an abortion. But neither of the pair seem happy about that decision, either. Please, will somebody do us all a favour and knock their heads together!

Meanwhile, Jim McDonald was released from prison; Violet’s extremely irritating little sis Lauren decided to visit; and devious Rosie blackmailed creepy John in to giving her good grades, otherwise she’d blab about their affair. Well, that’s certainly one way of getting an ‘A’!

Eastenders, BBC1

Carly, Kevin and Shirl visited a bruised and battered Deano in prison this week. The promise of a round-the-world trip would be enough to bolster anyone’s spirits. Providing they were able to stay alive long enough, obviously.

If you ask us, Strictly Come Dancing is the best thing that’s ever happened to sexy Matt Di Angelo. The boy is oozing charisma and sexy appeal – even if h does look like he's gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson! Pity he won’t be gracing our screens for much longer, having been given the boot from the soap.

Here’s a bumper two week special run down of British soap goings on that have pinged our gaydar in the UK between November 11 to November 25….

Coronation Street, ITV1
Poor old sulky Sean Tully is still walking around Weatherfield with a face like thunder. The not-so-happy chappy either needs a great big hug or a kick up the backside – we still can’t quite decide. Violet may have (begrudgingly) forgiven him for going behind her back and finding out about their baby’s sex, but discovering that his unborn baby’s mummy has rekindled her love affair with former flame Jamie went down about as well as a wet weekend in Bognor Regis.

While Vi and Jamie were all loved up again (aww bless), with Jamie promising to treat Vi’s baby like his own, Sean decided he wants to play a bigger role in bringing up their son. And with Vi adamantly against Sean’s involvement, the gay barman decided to fight for his access rights in court. Or at least he did, until he visited a solicitor and discovered that it would take thousands of pounds to fight his case. Talk about having the courage of your convictions - not.

Fed up with the former friends’ feud, Jamie and Sean’s other half, Marcus decided to conspire together in a desperate bid to get the pair talking again. Thankfully, Vi had a change of heart and agreed to let Sean be involved with bringing up their child. Yay! Result! Hopefully no more sulky Sean.

Meanwhile, the seedy affair unfolding between teacher John and call girl in the making Rosie continued to get even seedier. It’s surely only going to be a matter of time before the lovers get caught in the act. First Sally almost caught the pair snogging at school. And then hubby Kevin very nearly burst in on them at it in bed together!

But Fiz, John’s other half, seems to be less oblivious. Although she thinks randy John is actually having it away with Sally! Fiz even went so far as to clock Sally one. Oh, if only she knew!

Here’s a run down of British soap goings on that have pinged our gaydar in the UK for the week ending November 11….


Coronation Street, ITV1

A miracle happened in Weatherfield this week. No, David Platt didn’t find God and renounce evil! By miracle, we mean we actually felt sorry for our favorite gay barman this week. Yes indeed, our heart truly went out to Sean Tully. You see, the poor lad's going through a bit of a rough trot.

Vicious Violet's hormones kicked in big style, and she had a right old go at Sean for feeling her baby bump without asking. Whilst we can totally sympathize with Vi - after all, we wouldn't want Sean touching us up, either! - she didn't have to break his heart by refusing his offer to buy some things for the baby.

To make matters just that little bit worse between Sean and Violet, Jason the knucklehead accidentally broadcast to the whole pub the baby’s sex. Yes folks, the truth is finally out.

Not surprisingly, Sean’s betrayal hit Violet hard and she made it clear she didn’t want him to have any involvement with the baby. And thanks to Jason’s big mouth, Sean’s relationship with Marcus was tense to say the least, what with Violet threatening to report Marcus to the hospital for breach of confidence.

Violet, love, you’re a sweet girl and all, but don’t you think that’s a little bit harsh? We know Sean can be a pain in the arse, and he did do a terrible, terrible thing tricking Marcus into revealing your baby’s sex. But Sean’s heart is usually in the right place, and he did have a little something to do with making the baby, after all. So lighten up will you!

On a lighter note, Sean and Marcus have never looked quite so sweet together this week. They attended a family Christening and Sean met Marcus's family.

Elsewhere, the definitely not-so-sweet David Platt did something even more dastardly than driving his car into a smelly canal. He pinched Sarah’s wedding dress, after hubby Jason (the moron!) left it lying around in the café, and gave it to their next door neighbours for their bonfire night guy!

And Sally Webster came out to creepy teacher John. No, don’t worry, she’s not gay! But unfortunately, she does have feelings for the bloke who’s having it away with her teenage daughter. How lovely. Although quite what Sally, Rosie and Fiz all see in the man is a total mystery!

Here’s a clip of loves young dream, Sean and Marcus in action this week…

Well, all we can say is, it’s about time! Let’s face it; there hasn’t been a decent gay male character in the British soap for what seems like an eternity. Which is a total injustice, considering it was Eastenders that gave us the groundbreaking first ever gay kiss in a UK soap. Yes, we're talking about that infamous "kiss" between Colin Russell (Michael Cashman) and Barry Clark (Gary Hailes) back in 1987.

Whilst other popular British soaps like Coronation Street, Emmerdale and teen soap-come-drama Hollyoaks currently features gay characters, Eastenders has been somewhat lacking on that front.

The soap is certainly no stranger when it comes to portraying gay characters. Aside from Colin and Barry, who can forget Simon Raymond (Andrew Lynford) and Tony Hills (Mark Homer)? Although characters like Dr Fred Fonseca (Jimi Mistry) and, more recently, Derek Harkinson (Ian Lavender) have been considerably less memorable.

Hopefully though, all that will soon be about to change. Rumour has it that a new gay character, in the shape of Jane Beale's gay brother (yes, we didn't know she had one, either!), will stir up some trouble with Walford's residents when the character debuts in the soap in the New Year.

As reported in the British newspaper, The Mirror, the big bosses at Eastenders have seen how popular Anthony Cotton’s Sean Tully character is on rival soap Coronation Street, and they have decided it’s about time they had a gay character of their own. Apparently though, he’s not going to be another Sean. Phew! In fact, he’s going to be both charming and suave. Something Sean Tully is most definitely not!

Producers are currently casting for the part. In the meantime, here are a few suggestions of hunky actors who could do the role justice…

Jeremy Sheffield. He made our hearts swoon as a hunky doc on Holby City and bonus, he's gay too...