MAYOR'S THRILLED AT GAY WEDDING (18/12/04)

From The Sun:

LONDON mayor Ken Livingstone is backing The Bill’s first gay wedding.

PC Lance Powell and Sgt Mark Rollins share an emotional ceremony at London’s City Hall in January.

They put their relationship in the London Partnerships Register, which Mr Livingstone set up in September, 2001.

Nearly 900 mainly same-sex couples have since registered with the scheme.

And last night the mayor said: “When it was introduced, the register represented a major step forward.

“The fact a peak- time series like The Bill is featuring a same sex couple formalising their commitment shows how far attitudes have come in accepting these relationships.”

PC Powell, played by Ofo Uhiara, has a battle to get to the register office on time when he is kidnapped and held hostage by homophobic friends.

And he is forced to jump on a police boat on the Thames to make it to the ceremony — screened on January 5.