No way was Newsround ever going to report the recent news about William Hague and his friend/advisor, Christopher Myers. But by Wednesday the BBC and the mainstream press could no longer avoid the story. Mr Hague issued a personal statement denying that he'd ever had a relationship with Mr Myers or any man, and informing us that Christopher Myers had wanted to resign because of the pressure on his family.

BBC news reports that day talked in terms of "slurs," "untrue and malicious allegations," and an "improper relationship" between the two men. On hearing the BBC reports many would have taken the suggestion of Hague's homosexuality itself as the slur, and that would especially be true with those unfamiliar with the standards of propriety expected of government ministers.

Unfortunately the total lack of CBBC dramas which involve gay characters and storylines will make kids likely to have picked up on this homophobic aspect of the news.

Perhaps a more diverse-friendly CBBC, with children's dramas having occasional stories along the lines of Sophie and Sian's relationship on Corrie, would help kids (and William Hague) understand that being gay is not unusual, nor anything to be ashamed about.