Margaret Clemence is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Brookside, played by Nicola Stephenson.
She takes a job working as a nanny for Max (Steven Pinder) and Patricia Farnham (Gabrielle Glaister) and becomes their lodger.
In her first notable story, Margaret begins a relationship with a Catholic priest, Derek O'Farrell (Clive Moore).
Their affair upsets various other characters, including Derek's sister, DD Dixon (Irene Marot), who attempts to sabotage their happiness.
Undeterred by the controversy Margaret had already caused, Brookside creator Phil Redmond and executive producer Mal Young created another taboo romance.
This time Margaret befriends Beth Jordache (Anna Friel) who develops romantic feelings and this culminates in a kiss.
Margaret has an affair with a married man, Carl Banks (Stephen Donald) but ultimately leaves for Bosnia to reunite with Derek.
She takes a job as a nanny, working for Max (Steven Pinder) and Patricia Farnham (Gabrielle Glaister), minding their son Thomas.
[4] In the book, Brookside – The First Ten Years, Stephenson told author Geoff Tibballs that Kieran "was always trying it on with Margaret and she wouldn't let him come near.
They bond when they dismantle a wall that Derek's brother-in-law Ron Dixon (Vince Earl) built on Brookside Close.
Tibballs, author of Phil Redmond's Brookside – Life in the Close wrote that Margaret likes Derek's "warmth and honesty and besides she felt safe with him.
He told Geoff Tibballs, author of Brookside – The Early Years, that "people from my own parish were not slow to give me their criticisms of the story.
[12] Friel told Richard Arnold from Inside Soap that Beth was battling with self doubt and realised she really liked Margaret.
[16] In the book, Phil Redmond's 20 Years of Brookside, author Graham Kibble-White stated that "lipstick lesbians" were more fashionable in the 1990s because of the characters.
"[11] Friel also denied suggestions that Brookside was trying to compete with the rival soap opera Emmerdale, in which one of their characters, Zoe Tate (Leah Bracknell), was a lesbian.
[27] At the 2012 Summer Olympics, during the opening ceremony a montage of British heritage was created by film producer Danny Boyle.
Their romance ends with the revelation that Carl is an army deserter with a wife, Sarah Banks (Andrea Marshall) and a daughter, Rebecca.
[32] Stephenson told an Inside Soap reporter that Margaret's affair with Carl happened because Beth had moved on.
[10] Stephenson noted that Brookside's stories are usually long running, but Margaret changed her mind "all of a sudden" on numerous occasions.
"[10] On her decision to leave, Stephenson told Marion McMullen from the Coventry Telegraph that "at 22, with no kids, no mortgage and money in the bank, what had I got to lose?
[37] Marsha Hanlon from TVTimes said that "no one has ever accused Brookside of shying away from controversial subjects" but Margaret and Derek's "forbidden love affair" was a "shocking topic even for this daring soap.
[39] Of her romance with Carl, Geoffrey Phillips from the publication opined that "even by Brookside standards Margaret's latest experience of afterglow was short-lived.
[43] In the book Real Soap: Brookside, author Kay Nicholls wrote "who could forget 'that' kiss between Margaret Clemence and Beth Jordache?"
[47] As part of popular culture, the scene has been recreated by presenters of Radio 1, including Chris Moyles and Dominic Byrne.
[48][49] Stuart Jeffries from The Guardian stated that the same-sex kiss was "seen in 1994 by six million viewers, perhaps two of whom wrote to Channel 4 claiming this sweet, even diffident, snog transformed Merseyside into Sodom and Gomorrah.
"[17] Jeffries opined that the kiss "really gripped the nation" and branded it as "a beautiful retort to the institutionalised bigotry of the previous decade.
Bindel explained that "it marked a change in attitude, and made many of us squeal with delight at lesbian love and passion featuring in a soap opera, between happy, functional teenagers as opposed to bitter and butch types.
"[51] Gareth McLean (The Irish Times) praised Brookside for inclusion and said the wider news viewed lesbians differently and "sapphism suddenly became cool".
[25] She added "to say that kiss caused a huge sensation is a bit of an understatement, given how often it still comes up as a topic of conversation whenever the issue of LGBT+ representation on British TV comes up.
"[25] Keiran Southern of the Belfast Telegraph branded the kiss "perhaps the most famous LGBT moment in British soap opera history".