Home and Away adds gay plot
Policewoman Charlie Buckton played by Esther Anderson will fall in love with Joey Collins, played by Kate Bell.
- Published by David Knox
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Home and Away will introduce a lesbian romance at the end of this month when policewoman Charlie Buckton fall in love with Joey Collins, played by Kate Bell.
The two will share a dance and a kiss, and over the following five weeks their relationship blossoms into love. Actor Esther Anderson (pictured, right), who plays Charlie, talked to gay friends in the lead-up to filming and says kissing another girl “wasn’t that big a deal.”
“You learn pretty much everything at school,” she told the Herald Sun. “I don’t think it’s like I’m lifting the lid on something they don’t already know about.
“To me there’s no difference – love’s love. The fact that your partner’s the same sex is no different. You just want to be loved.”
Of course it isn’t the first time a lesbian couple has been seen in an Aussie soap in an early evening timeslot.
In 2004, Neighbours featured Lana Crawford (Bridget Neval) who developed an affection for Sky Mangel (Stephanie McIntosh).
Source: Herald Sun
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- Tagged with Home and Away, Neighbours
39 Responses
I think this fuss is just ridiculous.
It’s a pretty normal part of every day life now, I don’t see what’s wrong with adding this in. I mean, kids’ eyes aren’t shaded these days just because a het-sex couople kisses – and this isn’t any different!
GEESE
Its a tv show everyone has to get over it its not like were all gunna turn gay after watchin it that’s how ppl are makin it out to be its so stupid gays are jus like us they live a normal life and eat the same food so y are most people against it its there personality and the way they act get ova it my best friend is gay and he is lovly and most gays dnt try to hook on to u it meens they have found some one they are interested in…..its a tv show geeese peoples and its part of there script and it will bring more to the show and that’s good so wit the age difference chrlie and joey are onli acting(am I right) well I think I am…and putting it on the news that was jus immature and yet it hassnt been air it onli started to get hot and spicei between them last week and wen did they air it on the news like a month ago (it would of been different if it was one of the simpsons charecters that turned gay wouldn’t it cos there cartoon) so y should u treat theis any different …its not u making the storey line so get over it thanks
OMG wow i woud never had guessed charlie being a lesbian coz she has had a serious relationship with roman and angelo well sort of but i am not aganist gay people so good onya charles !
Hold on Mikey – how can we boast about equal rights for gay people yet shut others down? Does this mean we can speak up if we agree with homosexual relationships on a teenage-targetted show, but should shut up if we don’t? What you judge to be old school or not is irrelevant. Everybody, even people from “family groups” deserve to be heard. Every single comment on this website is of the same opinion – there’s nothing equal in that. Sounds one-sided to me.
I don’t belong to a “family group” but I disagree with the homosexual storyline. I know and have worked with many gay people and most I don’t have any issue with. They have their own personal choice. But I disagree when we get something foisted upon us and shoved in our faces. Over 1 million viewers watch H&A and their mostly young people. Therefore the show has some responsibility for leadership. My husband and I chose to raise our children according to our Christian beliefs, yet I don’t see a family like ours anywhere on that show.
It’s a fair point that religion seems avoided by H&A (although Harold’s Christian views were very evident on Neighbours). That said, representation and diversity shouldn’t be seen as ‘foisted’ it’s merely refelecting an imbalance that has existed for years. PG shows are able to include adult themes so long as they don’t go too far. ACMA always presumes that there is active parental guidance when these shows air to younger viewers, rather than the television being a babysitter. How accurate that is is highly debatable. Based on what we know, the H&A same sex storyline will be no different to the romantic tensions of heterosexual stories that are depicted, merely with other members of the community. It’s not the first time on H&A, and there are other lesbians on Out of the Blue at 5:30 on Sunday. It’s a media storm. It will come and go without changing the balance of the earth or our TVs.
I agree with Cass … it’s okay to have people being bashed, children being abducted, girls being raped or assaulted, kids riding wheelie bins and causing accidents .. the list goes on … but to have a gay scene introduced … geez that is just so terrible in a kid’s timeslot! We mustn’t put ideas into their head! Come on! All these bigots and so called do gooders out there need to wake up and maybe actually talk to their children. They would probably find that the kids will think nothing of it and are much more aware of what is going on around them than their parents give them credit for. Get over it …
Whilst i can understand people being cynical about the story line ( i am somewhat myself, remembering how other gay tv plots have panned out) has no one considered Charlie’s character maybe bi-sexual, as in she is attracted to both men & women? This is quite common in real life, seems to be more so amongst females than males, so i think this would be an accurate reflection of society. At least thats what im hoping, that it won’t be a hetero imagined story line of that she’s been so hurt by men that she suddenly has feelings for other women completely out of nowhere, as that is rarely how it works in reality. .
It’ll be lesbian ultra-lite. Curiosity which leads to a kiss then little else. A failed experiment of naive sexuality. A hetero girl who very momentarily loses her way, then cries “I’m just so confused!”.
Hope they prove me a mistaken cynic and treat the story with credibility, depth and courage. Wouldn’t bet on it, though.
Anyway, they’ve got people talking, which is no doubt exactly what they wanted. Suckers, aren’t we?
It’s always a lesbian couple rather than two men, I believe that the public is more excepting of two women! I reckon H&A is will destroy this storyline and one of the actors will soon be unemployed
I think a more realistic choice would be between Joey and Nicole as this would be more believable. Charlie as several people have mentioned has been in a number of relationships with men, let’s just hope they pul it off.
Grey’s Anatomy’s storyline between Calli and Erica has just died. The OC did a poor job with Marissa’s lesbian kiss, Neighbours storyline was short lived (as mentioned). Gay people are just like everyone else and it would be nice if television shows portrayed this in a positive way. I must commend Brothers & Sisters who have successfully done this.
Hope it works…
Well, After hearing about this. I think it’s pure prejudice towards homosexual people portrayed in a ‘washed-up’ soap opera.
These TV shows like Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives etc. are all gay-bashers in my eyes. All that ‘Americana gibberish’ that Seven is buying is turning this into discrimation, Soul-killers they are.
I met a gay person and he helped me get a job and get outside a lot. I’m grateful to him for that. They do make good friends, It’s just how people treat them and all this bigotry towards them.
With something like H&A. I feel it’s pure rubbish and it needs the chopping block with those characters like today are getting wasted, not longer fresh anymore. They remind me of The O.C. style. I’ll be waiting for that show to be axed.
My objection to this storyline is only that the character of Charlie has up until this point been very heterosexual. She was heartbroken over Roman, now we’re expected to belive she’s a lesbian?
This isn’t the first time H&A has done this and both time’s it was for titillation and ratings points. Isla Fisher’s character also had a lesbian storyline at one stage and isn’t Pippa & Tom’s son Chris gay as well?
I guess time will tell what chanel 7’s main aim with this storyline will be.
If its an ongoing storyline then good on them, but in all seriousness, if its just about the experimentation of it, which is just as likely, a few week thing, then that will be very disappointing and to be honest, i think it is offensive to the gay and lesbian people of Australia. It really doesnt break down gay and lesbian prejudice and stereotypes, it just instills a sense that same sex relationships arent lasting, are experimentations and are quite trivial… I have my fingers crossed for chanel 7, if it doesnt work out i will have lost even more respect! Give me a lasting same sex male relationship then i will be impressed!