[1] During the 1980s he starred in several successful television series, including Woodentop, Grange Hill and the BBC soap opera EastEnders, where he played Barry Clark from 1986-89.
Hailes' character was notable for being one half of the soap's first gay couple, introduced as the partner of the yuppie graphic designer, Colin Russell (played by Michael Cashman).
In 1987, Hailes' character Barry Clark caused a great deal of controversy after EastEnders screened the first male-to-male kiss on a UK, prime time soap.
The kiss prompted a multitude of complaints from angry viewers and a hostile backlash from the right wing press.
He was attacked several times by members of the public who could not separate fact from fiction, which included being assaulted in a supermarket by a disapproving woman and strangled by a man at a petrol station.