Street star’s gay mission

Oldham gay actor Anthony Cotton has been to Downing Street to hear Prime Minister David Cameron pledge his support for gay rights.

Mr Cameron told an invited audience of around 200 people at a gay pride event in the Downing Street garden that he backed “equal rights and equal treatment”.

Among the guests was Anthony Cotton who attended Oldham Theatre Workshop for 10 years in the 1980s, and plays camp knicker factory worker Sean Tully in “Coronation Street”.

Anthony is a patron of The Albert Kennedy Trust, which helps homeless gay teenagers.

He said: “It was set up after a young boy died in Manchester.

“He was homeless and was being chased by what you would now call homophobic bullies. He was chased to the top of a car park and jumped off.

“The trust helps young people all over the country who are homeless after coming out.”