Long-running British soap EastEnders gets new gay character

Ian Lavender will join the cast of the venerable British soap opera EastEnders as a gay character who attracts the attentions of a straight woman, reports BBC News. Lavender, well-known to U.K. audiences for his role on the sitcom Dad's Army, will turn up in November to help put on a pantomime, only to find himself the object of the affections of the sharp-tongued Pauline Fowler, who's been having man trouble. The popular EastEnders regularly draws between 10 and 14 million viewers.