Divine could have been a first for US TV

Divine in John Waters' Pink Flamingos (1982)

Director John Waters has revealed that movie actor Divine was set to make TV history just before his death in 1988.

Drag artist Divine was set to appear on US show Married With Children as a gay "uncle" character.

He would have become the first gay character on American television.

"He was (going to be) the first gay male character, a gay uncle, which could have been hugely successful at the time," Waters said, according to contactmusic.com. 

Divine died just before the release of Waters' hit movie Hairspray.

The film was a huge international hit, and allowed Waters to go on to make other Hollywood fare such as Serial Mom and Cry-Baby.

Divine's drag role as Mrs Edna Turnblad in Hairspray will be played by John Travolta in a remake to be released this summer.

Also starring are Christopher Walken, Alison Janney, (CJ from The West Wing) James Marsden, High School Musical star Zac Efron and Michele Pfeiffer.