Hollyoaks actors James Sutton and Jake Hendricks pal it up at the Inside Soap Awards launch

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.

• We didn't make it to Outfest this year, but GLAAD's got some great coverage of not only a bunch of the features, but also the filmmaker panels and events.

• We missed this one a little while back, but the BBC movie Being Human, which starred out British actor Russell Tovey (The History Boys), has been picked up for series. No word on casting yet, but here's hoping that Tovey returns as the resident angsty twentysomething werewolf. (Yes, you read that right.)

• Never content to let a chance to utter the magical words "Cheyenne Jackson" slip by, allow us to direct you to this charming feature that Time Out NY recently did of the Broadway multiple-threat (I stopped counting, really).

Sean Penn as Harvey Milk made the cover of Vanity Fair's Fanfair (courtesy of boy culture)

• Here's a rather charming interview with John Barrowman in which he discusses in depth his decision to participate in an investigation into the causes of sexuality (the Making of Me documentary) that also includes some great audio of John doing his Scottish accent.

• There's much buzz today about a bill being pushed in Massachusetts that would repeal a 1913 law that currently prohibits gay couples from out-of-state from marrying there. With nearby New York now acknowledging same-sex unions enacted in states where such unions are legal, the change would mean oodles of tourist dollars for Mass. (Currently New Yawkahs have to fly to California.)

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

It was announced this morning that actor James Sutton will be leaving his role as gay character John Paul in the British soap opera Hollyoaks:

James Sutton has thoroughly enjoyed his time on the show: "I've had a really great time working on Hollyoaks but after much thought I've decided that it's time to bring it to an end. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Bryan Kirkwood and everyone at Hollyoaks for making my time here so memorable. I'm also really grateful to the viewers for their continued support and commitment to the character and the storyline."

There's no word yet on when he'll be leaving, or if it has anything to do with the character of Craig returning, but this is depressing news. James has created one of the greatest gay characters ever seen on television, and while I wish him the the best in his career (he's a wonderful actor), I hope he realizes what a void he's going to leave.

Thoughts?

Update - According to this article, he will be leaving in September, and it will coincide with the return of Craig.

Today's Hollyoaks is a two-parter, filled with tears, fears, and one turbo charged Mercedes. In the first clip, Michaela is finishing up her Kieron article, and e-mails it to the newspaper editor, as Mercedes and John Paul are having a heart to heart about why he always seems to pick men he can't have (and say what you will about his sister, but her advice is pretty sensible). Michaela comes in at the tail end of the conversation (again!), and J.P. tells her to butt out with the curious insult "nose disease". Before leaving, Michaela tells Mercedes that she knows about J.P. and Kieron, and informs her stunned sister (mistakenly) that Kieron is also having sex with Kris.

J.P. is feeling guilty about picking on his sister, and asks her forgiveness, which finally opens Michaela's eyes to the fact that maybe what she did was wrong, and she frantically tries to get her article back before it's published. Meanwhile, Mercedes is on the rampage, as she confronts Kieron about sleeping with Kris, and the clip ends with..well, let's just say Mercedes has a mean right hook

You can see part two, which features an emotional reunion, after the break

In this hot-of-the-presses Hollyoaks clip, John Paul (James Sutton) confesses to Kieron (Jake Hendricks) that he's fallen head over heels for him, and he doesn't care if that means he's dating a priest.

At first Kieron is flattered, but he gets cold feet when he feels like John Paul might want to out him to the church parishioners. (Let's face it, J.P. has a habit of outing the closeted men he gets involved with. Just ask his last boyfriend, Craig.)

Will Kieron's priestly collar keep these two apart? Find out in today's Hollyoaks clip after the break!

Are you sitting down? It's been long, long over due, but at last Hollyoaks has finally won an award! The show was a worthy winner at the 2007 Stonewall Awards, having been named Broadcast of the Year, thanks to its sensitive depiction of the gay love affair between teenagers John Paul McQueen (James Sutton) and Craig Dean (Guy Burnet).

The Stonewall Awards, which took place on November 1 at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum before an audience of more than 400 people, praised the show for its "sympathetic and convincing handling" of the "gritty and emotional" storyline.

Speaking to the Digital Spy website, Hollyoaks producer Bryan Kirkwood said: "I'm really chuffed that Hollyoaks has been recognized at the Stonewall Awards. It's a really prestigious award and one that means a lot the show, to James and Guy, to our writers and most importantly the audience that engaged with the story."

James Sutton was both thrilled and humbled by the award, adding: "Stonewall is such an important organization and it's amazing that we've been recognized by them for all the hard work we put into the storyline."

Elsewhere, Russell T. Davies lost out to lesbian Scottish crime novelist Val McDermid for Writer of the Year and Dan Gillespie Sells, the openly gay lead singer of The Feeling, won the award for Entertainer of the Year.

Other winners included openly gay international rugby referee Nigel Owens for Sports Personality of the Year; and former secretary of the Homosexual Law Reform Society, Antony Grey bagged the award for Hero of the Year. The Stonewall & Barclays Community Group of the Year award went to the London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard.

Villain of the evening was the Bishop of Hereford, Anthony Priddis, who was crowned Bigot of the Year, after an employment tribunal found the Bishop unlawfully withdrew a job offer to a gay youth worker after subjecting him to humiliating personal questioning.

Television award ceremonies can be two a penny. And, quite frankly, rather boring! But that’s rarely the case when it comes to ITV1’s National TV Awards. Hosted by Sir Trevor McDonald, this star-studded ceremony, held at the Royal Albert Hall in London, pays tribute to the best of the best of British television.

Throughout the summer months, over 1.5 million votes were cast from a long list, which was eventually whittled down to a short list of just four contenders in eleven different categories.

Whilst Hollyoaks and Eastenders face off against Emmerdale and Coronation Street for the title of Most Popular Serial Drama, it gets much more personal in the Most Popular Actor category, which sees the likes of James Sutton (John Paul McQueen in Hollyoaks) and Antony Cotton (Sean Tully in Coronation Street) vying for the crown. And both Graham Norton and Paul O’Grady have been shortlisted in the Most Popular Entertainment Presenter category.

Other TV shows hoping to scoop an award include Shipwrecked: Battle of the Islands and Big Brother for Most Popular Reality Programme; Ugly Betty for Most Popular Comedy and Doctor Who for Most Popular Drama.

Speaking of Ugly Betty, the adorable Mark Indelicato (aka Justin) has just been confirmed as a special guest. He will be flying in to present the award for the Most Popular Actress. Now, if that doesn’t make the NTA must-see viewing, we don’t know what else will!

To find out who the lucky winners are, tune in to ITV1 tomorrow night, Wednesday 31st October, between 8:30pm and 10:30pm.

In the meantime, there’s still a little bit of time left to vote for your favorite – although all votes must be in by midday tomorrow. Just visit the link below to register your votes.

So, come on all you James Sutton and Hollyoaks fans. What are you waiting for? Get voting!