The first TV drama with a gay protagonist and a sympathetic gay theme was done by the BBC in 1959: Set on a Civil War-era Southern plantation, "South" (adapted from the play "Sud" which premiered in Paris in 1953) concerns the "love that dares not speak its name" suffered by Polish mercenary Jan Wiczewski (played by gay actor Peter Wyngarde) for a fellow officer.
The original Paris cast included Pierre Vaneck as Jan and a very young Anouk Aimée and it was done in a private theater club in London starring Denholm Elliott in a production directed by Sir Peter Hall.
BTW: it was recently found in the archives and is streaming free on the BFI player. Yes you have to register - however you need a VPN because it is region locked for the UK. I would think the "Colombe" excerpts cited above are also region locked on the BFI website.
