Weddings are a major event in every soap, often attracting millions of viewers and being the main focus of an episode. Whether it turns out to be a complete disaster or a fairytale ending, they are a rite of passage for any character…. Unless you’re a lesbian. In the 65-year history of British soaps, exactly three lesbian couples have successfully tied the knot on screen. Compare that to the 341 straight couples that have had a successful on-screen wedding across the four main British soaps, and there’s quite an obvious disproportion.

Gay men don’t fare much better, with only nine couples making it down the aisle and out the other side. Soaps are often rightly praised for their handling of sensitive storylines and giving underrepresented issues and communities a platform – so why has there been such a lack of lesbian weddings?. Same-sex marriage was legalised in the UK in 2014, and that December saw Emmerdale’s Ruby Haswell and Ali Spencer tie the knot. Or so we’re led to believe, as their vows didn’t actually feature on screen.

With thousands of members from all over the world, our vibrant LGBTQ+ WhatsApp channel is a hub for all the latest news and important issues that face the LGBTQ+ community. Simply click on this link, select ‘Join Chat’ and you’re in! Don't forget to turn on notifications!. Instead, the main focus of the episode was Belle Dingle’s (Eden Taylor-Draper) mental health storyline. While this was a hugely important storyline in its own right, it overshadowed what should have been an historic moment in British soap: The first ever successful lesbian wedding.

By the time the episode ended and vicar Harriet Finch had been carted off in a police car, it was difficult to remember that the wedding had even happened. Not to mention the fact the show dropped a helicopter on Ruby less than nine months later, bringing a swift and violent end to the marriage. Two years later, Hollyoaks aired its first lesbian wedding between Kim Butterfield and Esther Bloom, which in true soap style didn’t quite go to plan.

After an initial hiccup that saw Kim run out of the wedding and accuse Esther of being in love with best friend Grace Black (Tamara Wall), the pair tied the knot – only for Kim to disappear on their wedding night. Colin later embarked on a romance with Guido Smith (Nicholas Donovan) and they shared soap’s first ever mouth-to-mouth same-sex kiss in 1989, which caused homophobic outrage in the press at the time.

They made history again in 2012, when the clip was shown to billions of viewers across the world during the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, including in 76 countries where same-sex relationships were still illegal. This made it the first same-sex kiss to ever air in those countries. In recent years, the story has been criticised for failing to cast a trans actress, with Julie, who is cisgender, admitting that she would not accept the role now.

At the time, the story divided listeners and angered religious campaigners – something that was reflected in the show when Brian Aldridge (Charles Collingwood) opposed the nuptials. Annie Wallace, who was a consultant on Corrie’s Hayley story 17 years earlier, joined the Channel 4 soap as Sally St. Claire, and one day later, Riley Carter Millington made his Walford debut as Stacey Slater’s estranged brother Kyle.

However, Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) and Eve Unwin (Heather Peace) finally got their happy ending – despite evil Nish Panesar’s best efforts – in 2025 when EastEnders aired its first lesbian wedding, with a beautiful ceremony that blended both of their cultures. Flash forward two years to 2018, and the couple were divorced. Not a bad stretch for a soap couple, but not the iconic lesbian romance everyone had been hoping for.

It wasn’t until New Year’s Day 2025 that EastEnders’ first lesbian couple tied the knot. Suki Panesar and Eve Unwin’s (Balvinder Sopal and Heather Peace) ceremony was an emotional affair, which tied in elements from both of their cultures. However, the episode received some criticism from fans online for the way it ended, with Eve and Suki both at death’s door. Thankfully, the following episode saw them both pull through and relish in their victory over evil Nish Panesar.

While I personally thought their wedding episode was an excellent piece of television – plenty of soapy drama with Suki and Eve’s love story at the forefront – I understand where the frustration came from. As much as I’d love for lesbian weddings to be treated just like any other in soap – dramatic, romantic and with the potential for disaster – it is impossible to ignore the complexities surrounding same-sex marriage and the importance of representation.