EastEnders star Gary Lucy has hit back at criticism of his character's recent gay kiss, saying: "Get with the times!"
Gary's character Danny Pennant shared a kiss with teenager Johnny Carter (Sam Strike) as part of a storyline that saw Johnny come out to his father Mick. The episode received complaints from viewers, but was defended by EastEnders' writers Pete Lawson and Daran Little.
Gary told The Sun: "I think, 'Get with the times!' Reaction was, on the most part, positive. There were a few on Twitter still living in the dark ages but on the whole, people were okay.
"I got one message on the internet from a guy saying, 'Thanks for that storyline because it gave me the courage to come out and tell my parents'. If you can do that, you as an actor and the show has done its job."
The former Footballer's Wives star - who is currently taking part in the final series of Dancing On Ice - also revealed that playing bisexual bad boy Danny on EastEnders had led to a lot of raunchy messages from over-excited fans.
He said: "I get a few offers on Twitter, some slightly extreme! I take it in my stride."
Johnny Carter's coming out made Good to Know website's 10 Things We've Been Talking About This Week. Find out what else did here.
