22/01/2023
HIV and sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust has exciting news arising from a collaboration with the BBC and in particular, its flagship soap opera Eastenders. Eastenders has dealt with HIV before, with the character of Mark Fowler, so expertly played by Todd Carty, dealing with a diagnosis during the 1990s. Says the Trust, “Zack Hudson was diagnosed with HIV in a new major storyline that will showcase the reality for people living with HIV in 2023. In the storyline, Zack's old friend Brett showed up on the Square and urged him to get tested after learning he has HIV. Earlier in their lives, Zack and Brett had shared needles for steroid use. Terrence Higgins Trust has been working with the BBC to show how much HIV has changed since Mark Fowler's diagnosis in the 1980s. It will bring information on HIV to a new generation and ensures up-to-date awareness of what a diagnosis means today, showing that people living with HIV can live a long, healthy life”.