I know what you’re thinking.

‘A happy couple in a soap? Are you mad?’

It’s a fair point. Soaps, by their very design, destroy characters’ happiness at the drop of a hat to facilitate long-running storylines, with the intention being to bring audiences back for more night after night.

A happy ending is therefore a rarity. Unlike other forms of TV, serial dramas offer the opportunity to see what happens after. After the first kiss. After the wedding. After the murder.

With that in mind, you can almost understand why this genre of programming frequently turns their characters’ lives upside down. I mean, not only does it make for great viewing, but it also makes for months-upon-months worth of story material.

It’s a win win.

But the thing is, soaps are also a vehicle to do good. To educate their audiences and change perceptions. To ask the questions that need to be asked. To tell the stories that need to be told. To highlight the real-life issues that real people face on a daily basis. To resonate with viewers.

Representation has always been top notch in the land of soap, dating all the way back to the eighties when EastEnders introduced Colin Russell and Brookside brought in Gordon Collins.

Emmerdale, meanwhile, has been equally a trailblazer, with Zoe Tate becoming the first ever regular lesbian character in a UK soap, coming out in memorable scenes back in 1993.

Flash-forward to the present and the ITV soap is still making great strides in this area. In fact, it couldn’t be any gayer right now, with LGBTQ+ characters of all ages, which is absolutely wonderful to see.

But in 2023, representation simply isn’t enough. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that we have so many LGBTQ+ characters on the show at the same time, but it’s equally important to show these residents experience all the joys and happiness that come with being a part of that community.

Whether that be finding love, getting married, starting a family or just being happy in their relationship.

In the last couple of months alone, however, it’s been non-stop heartbreak and sadness for the LGBTQ+ residents of the village – which is particularly upsetting given that these stories came during or straight after Pride.

We’ve had Mary Goskirk, who has become one of soap’s finest characters, discover that her first ever girlfriend was a con-artist, who stole thousands from her before leaking her intimate photos online, leaving the former journalist at one stage wishing that she’d never mustered up the courage to come out.

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Nicky Milligan, meanwhile, has endured trauma after trauma, with boyfriend Ally ending things with him, despite there having been potential for a future on the cards for the two, with viewers reacting positively towards the couple, who were at one stage seen basking in their love for one another, enjoying strolls in the countryside hand-in-hand.

Cute, right? Absolutely, and something that would’ve been nice to see more of.

While it’s only fair that Nicky face consequences over his role in Caleb’s plot to destroy Kim Tate and Gabby Thomas, would it have been too much to ask that Ally be made a regular, to offer some hope of a future reunion?

Ally had the potential to stick around, that’s for sure, and the possibility of a reunion with his ex would’ve likely encouraged fans to keep watching, hoping for a happy outcome for Nicky now that he’s free to be himself.

Instead, however, he has been isolated from the village and will soon embark on a brand new romance, which will inevitably end in tragedy now that Gabby Thomas is determined to wage war on him.

Marshall Hamston’s sudden departure is another crushing blow, given that it came shortly after he came out and embarked on a relationship with Arthur Thomas, at a time when happiness was finally on the cards for him after a traumatic number of months.

Marshall was introduced as a love interest for Arthur, who came out last year, making for one of Emmerdale’s most lauded scenes in recent memory.

What was so brilliant about Arthur’s story was that it was an inherently positive and uplifting tale, which offered hope for the next generation of the LGBTQ+ community. There was little to no persecution or bullying involved, nor was there any self-loathing, with Arthur not only happy to be gay but also very proud of his sexuality, as he should be.

The teen received love and support from his family and friends, who similarly couldn’t be prouder of him, as he made it his mission to make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ community by posting a powerful message on social mediaand delivering presentations in the town hall.

Marshall’s story, meanwhile, juxtaposed very well with this, highlighting that not everyone is lucky enough to have such a positive coming out experience. But with Arthur’s help, he realised that it was okay to be himself, as he bravely came out in powerful scenes, disowning homophobic dad Colin, before embarking on a relationship with Arthur, with the two becoming boyfriends.

This was exactly the type of storyline we deserved.

Akin to Netflix’s Heartstopper, Arthur and Marshall’s story had the potential to change lives, affirming the feelings of those watching who are maybe a little bit uncertain about their own sexuality or identity.

But after months of absence, Marshall was abruptly written out of the show in an contrived exit story that came out of the blue, with the character breaking up with Arthur before departing the village with his aunt, who was never mentioned before now.

Given the amount of effort that went into establishing the character, not to mention his relationship with Arthur, this wasn’t the outcome that I expected, or hoped for.

And not only because it would’ve been nice to see a positive outcome for an LGBTQ+ couple, but also because Marshall became so much more than just just Arthur’s love interest, with a strong backstory and plenty of connections within the village – all of which would provide ample material for years-upon-years worth of potential stories.

Max Fletcher, who played Marshall, slotted in seamlessly on the show and proved to be a huge talent, holding his own opposite stalwarts like Charlotte Bellamy and he was the perfect screen partner for Alfie Clarke, who remains one of the best actors in soap.

But instead of a happy ending for the pair, we’ve lost Marshall, who was undoubtedly one of Emmerdale’s finest creations in recent memory, while Arthur will now face the heartbreak of losing his first love.

Is it really too much to ask that we see at least one happy outcome for an LGBTQ+ character or couple? Something to offer a shred of hope.

This isn’t particularly a new issue.

Previously happy LGBTQ+ couples were torn apart in cheating storylines in order to facilitate cast exits or just for the sake of more heartbreak, with Charity Dingle and Vanessa Woodfield, aka Vanity, springing to mind, or Robron, which featured the beloved Robert Sugden and Aaron Dingle.

It is, however, more apparent than ever right now, given the impressive LGBTQ+ character count the show currently boasts.

The other soaps are faring quite well in this department at the minute. Hollyoaks is as inclusive as ever and recently had James Nightingale and Ste Hay tie the knot this year. It also looks set to explore a romance between Lucas and Dillon Ray, who recently came out in powerful scenes.

Though they’re not fully off the hook, given that Peri Lomax (Ruby O’Donnell) and Juliet Nightingale (Niamh Blackshaw) didn’t get their happy ending, but you could argue that the aforementioned strides made by the Channel 4 soap balance out the tragedy with some positive stories for the LGBTQ+ community to enjoy.

EastEnders, meanwhile, has really invested in the Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) and Eve Unwin (Heather Peace) dynamic, and while true happiness has evaded the couple thus far, they have managed to find little pockets of joy, with the prospect of a happy ending on the cards once Nish (Navin Chowdhry) is out of the way.

Not only that, but they’ve become pure couple goals, with many a tender and romantic moment shared between the two, which fans have lapped up. Same goes for Nina Lucas and Asha Alahan in Coronation Street, who have managed to go the distance.

Emmerdale has all the tools at its disposal to make a real change and tell uplifting, positive stories that better reflect the LGBT+ community today – stories with a happy outcome – and given that they’re leaps and bounds ahead of the others in terms of LGBQT+ character count, I live in hope that they’ll do just that.

So, how about it Emmerdale? The ball is in your court.

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

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