Remembering when Michael French was cruelly outed by tabloids in 1996 as he returns to EastEnders
David Wicks (R) has been a recurring character on EastEnders since 1993. (BBC)
The iconic EastEnders character David Wicks is set to make a dramatic return to the soap next week (7 October) in order to help his daughter Bianca Jackson.
Upcoming episodes see Bianca (Patsy Palmer) attempt to free her sister Sonia Fowler from prison after Sonia was framed for the murder of Debbie Colwell, who was murdered by her fiancé.
Wicks was last mentioned on the show in May of this year, when Bianca returned to Albert Square and said she hadn’t spoken to her father in years. Now, he’s back to help, but will she accept it? Only time will tell.
Wicks is played by Michael French, who was spotted by an EastEnders casting agent while he performing in Les Misérables and subsequently signed on to the show in the early 90s. The character has made several re-appearances in EastEnders over the years since he was first introduced in 1993.
However, one story from his past highlights the shocking lack of ethics, kindness and consideration faced by LGBTQ+ people during that period. Just three years after he first appeared on EastEnders, French was cruelly outed by the Sunday Mirror.
Why is outing someone so bad?
Coming out is a highly personal act, and no one should have to reveal their sexuality before they are ready to do so. Sexuality is now considered to be private information under the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) The Editors’ Code of Practice; the code also enshrine an individual’s right to privacy.
IPSO was established on 8 September 2014 after the Press Complaints Commission was disbanded in the wake of the Leveson enquiry, which criticised the PCC for its lack of action in the News International phone hacking scandal, which revealed that employees of the newspaper News of the World regularly took part in deeply unethical activities such as phone hacking and police bribery while chasing stories.
However, the IPSO Editors’ Code of Practice was still just a distant dream in 1996, when French’s former partner Bryan Lawrence sold the story about French’s sexuality to the Sunday Mirror, suggesting that he should no longer be allowed to keep his job as the “Albert Square Romeo” due to his sexuality.
The deeply unpleasant piece quoted an unnamed BBC insider as saying: “He has no option but to leave because his credibility as the show’s heartthrob has been destroyed.”
Luckily, the BBC had no intention of getting rid of French, commenting at the time that it was a “personal matter” and that they had nothing more to say about French’s relationships. His character remains a fan-favourite of the long-running soap.
The Mirror interviewed Lawrence, who claimed that French had broken up with him in order to keep his sexuality a secret and to maintain his acting career – but several unnamed EastEnders stars apparently already knew about his sexuality.
The article has since been criticised widely by gay activists, including Peter Tatchell, who is a well-known proponent of LGBTQ+ rights. Tatchell previously said that story was “prejudiced and sensationalist” and that it exposed “his sexual orientation in a way that suggested being gay was sordid and shameful”.
French, who grew up in Essex, is a prolific actor who is best known for playing Wicks but has also had stints on other soaps such as playing a senior consultant in Casualty and in the spin-off series Holby City as well as playing Jeff Slade in the BBC sci-fi crime series Crime Traveller.
He also is a regular on the West End, appearing in the 2004 West End production of Chicago and the 2014 production of The Sound of Music.
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