SWARLA is the name on the lips of many Coronation Street fans across the country at the moment.
Many fans are begging for DS Lisa Swain (Vicky Myers) and Carla Connor (Alison King) to get together
When scouring through X, – formerly known as Twitter – you can’t help but notice the passion that fans have for this upcoming romance.
Some enthusiasts have even gone as far as to make t-shirts celebrating the forthcoming couple.
However ITV bosses need to tread carefully when it comes to LGBTQ stories, as fans may have been let down in the past.
When thinking about the history of lesbian representation on soaps, at times it has been less than perfect.
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Brookside was the soap to air the first ever pre-watershed lesbian kiss back in 1994 with Beth and Margaret.
Rather than being pioneers, Coronation Street, Emmerdale and EastEnders were instead reactionary and were left to eventually follow suit.
When they did air more scenes, it seems that many characters have not had happy endings.
Zoe Tate (Leah Bracknell) was the first ever lesbian character in Emmerdale, and fans were moved when she first came out in 1993.
After a string of romances with other characters, her relationship with fiancee Emma Nightingale crumbled when she decided to couple up with Susie Wilde instead.
In Coronation Street, proper lesbian representation has seemed to be few and far between.
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The nation has always loved the character of Sophie Webster (Brooke Vincent) and they were especially gripped with her romance with Sian Powers.
The duo were meant to be the first lesbian couple to tie the knot on the ITV soap, but alas, it was not meant to be.
Sophie eventually admitted her guilt for cheating on her partner after she kissed someone else and she ran away from the church.
Her last romance was with Paula Martin (Stirling Gallacher), but the lawyer left the cobbles after Sally Webster (Sally Dynevor) was freed from prison.
Eliza Woodrow (Savannah Kunyo) has said farewell to Corrie to start a new life in Germany.
The youngster moved to live with her dad Dom Everett, who went back on the £10,000 bribe Eliza’s grandfather Stu had offered to keep him out of her life.
Paul Foreman (Peter Ash) will bow out of the soap this summer when he loses his fight with motor neurone disease (MND) in tragic scenes.
After being diagnosed last year, the fan favourite was devastated to learn he only had months left to live.
Viewers know he is planning to take his own life to end his suffering.
Summer Spellman (Harriet Bibby) departed the cobbles after being offered the opportunity of a lifetime to study in America.
Though she struggled to decide with her stepdad Paul’s impending death from MND, she was convinced she had to live her life to the full.
Simon Barlow (Alex Bain) has struggled with the sudden departure of his father Peter from the cobbles.
The Weatherfield legend left his family and loved ones behind on Boxing Day, 2023, when his wife Carla Connor encouraged him to travel around the world with a friend.
Simon’s been on a downward spiral ever since and his exit could end in tragedy.
Alya Nazir is set to leave the cobbles as actress Sair Khan prepares to go on maternity leave ahead of the birth of her first child.
It looks likely she’ll be heading to Dublin after securing a lucrative new job, leaving her colleague and fling Adam Barlow behind.
Show stalwart Sue Cleaver, who plays Eileen Grimshaw, is taking a break to star in the Sister Act The Musical UK tour. She will be back filming in May once her dates on the tour come to an end.
Her character left the Street after her son Jason broke his back after falling off a moped in Asia.
Kate Connor (Faye Brookes) was another prominent LGBTQ character and we all really wanted her to have her happy ending with Rana Habeeb (Bhavna Limbachia).
Sadly though, the factory roof collapsed on top of Rana and she passed away on their wedding day.
EastEnders has not had that much in terms of notable lesbian characters.
Tina Carter (Luisa Bradshaw-White) may have said that she was a lesbian, but she was killed by Gray Atkins (Toby-Alexander Smith) before she could develop any proper relationships on the Square.
Many fans need a proper couple to invest in and a pairing to really go the distance and Corrie have the opportunity to do this.
Joshua Rom
Sonia (Natalie Cassidy), experimented with her sexuality in 2005, but as we all know she very much went back to men shortly after.
The most prominent storyline has only really been recently when Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) and Eve Unwin (Heather Peace) have been catapulted to the forefront.
Heather recently left a very cryptic message on her profile on X, which read: “I’ve been an out lesbian for 30 years. All representation is important.
“When I came out it was hardly there. The fact we’re getting more is a beautiful thing.”
She added: “Our stories are all different. There’s not just one story.
So let’s tell stories.”
And she is right.
There is more than one story to be told and despite the drama on BBC and ITV, it is possible for a couple to last.
We are living in the 21st century where longterm LGBTQ couples exist and thrive.
I have witnessed first hand the pain of the IVF process for same sex couples, but also the satisfaction, joy and fulfilment after.
Corrie even has a history with surrogacy, look at Tina McIntyre’s (Michelle Keegan) storyline when she refused to give the baby up to Gary (Mikey North) and Izzy (Cherylee Houston).
Why can’t that couple be a lesbian couple, just like everybody else?
Many LGBTQ couples in soapland either do not last, or some of the characters are axed by bosses which of course forces a split, especially for lesbians.
So I genuinely hope that Swarla could become more than just a gimmick.
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Many fans need a proper couple to invest in and a pairing to really go the distance and Corrie has the opportunity to do this.
I fear that if this is yet another fling or a short term storyline that is a flash in the pan, loyal viewers may be let down.
