Barry Clark is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Gary Hailes from 18 November 1986 to July 1988, returning for one episode on 23 February 1989.

Her rumours evoke hostility from some members of the community but gradually, they get used to the idea of having gay neighbours and Barry is relieved when his older brother, Graham (Gary Webster), gives his blessing too.

To prevent his father disowning him, Barry attempts to live a heterosexual existence and begins dating a girl named Judy (Joanna Bright), to Colin's dismay.

He sets up a mobile disco with Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt), purchasing the equipment from a petty criminal named Darren Roberts (Gary McDonald).

His boyfriend, Colin, had already been introduced to the show several months prior to Barry's arrival and he had proven to be an extremely popular addition to the cast.

Gay characters that existed were usually farcical camp parodies, created purely for comic relief, such as Mr. Humphries in the situation comedy, Are You Being Served?.

[3] The licence-funded BBC held a far greater audience share than the commercially-funded Channel 4, thus public reaction to EastEnders' gay characters was much stronger and more widely documented in the British press.

[4] A relationship between Colin and Barry was quickly developed and the residents of Albert Square gossiped in hushed voices about the true nature of their friendship.

[6] Despite the initial negativity, the storyline had a powerful impact on public attitudes and the show's handling of Colin and Barry's relationship was deemed by many gay activists as something of a breakthrough.

[7] Not only did EastEnders brave the wrath of many viewers and journalists, but they also explored anti-gay bigotry through the characters in the show - most notably via Albert Square's local gossip Dot Cotton (June Brown), who erupted into horror and ignorant self-righteousness upon discovering Colin and Barry's secret, and even spread rumours that Colin had AIDS.

[8] In an interview featured in EastEnders Handbook by Hilary Kingsly, Michael Cashman expressed how sorry he was that these particular scenes were cut, although no reason for their exclusion was given.