Home and Away gay kiss cut from Five

Five has confirmed to ATV News staff that a lesbian kiss cut from an episode of Home and Away in Australia will also be cut for UK broadcast.

Five, UK broadcaster of Aussie soap Home and Away, has confirmed a forthcoming episode which would feature a lesbian kiss will not be broadcast with the controversial scene. Over the weekend it emerged that the Australian broadcaster, Network Seven, had decided to cut out the kiss from a up and coming edition due to the uproar in Australia over the storyline. However, it was unclear whether or not the scene would air in the UK broadcast of the episode as UK audiences are more used to seeing representations of gay characters on-screen.

However, when contacted by ATV Today this morning Five said that the kiss would not be included in the UK broadcast of the episode although some preview tapes may still feature it. While the kiss probably wouldn’t cause controversy over here it’s likely Five’s contract with Network Seven prevents them from showing the kiss if it’s been cut from the Australian broadcast.

The lesbian storyline has caused a lot of outcry in Australia and Network Seven has been inundated with emails and calls in protest at the storyline. Complainers claim the storyline isn’t appropriate for a family soap. Since the storyline begun ratings for the soap have dropped by almost one hundred thousand in Australia. Fellow Aussie soap Neighbours has also incurred the wrath of conservative groups lately with its teenage pregnancy storyline prompting much moaning from certain quarters.

Home and Away airs at 6pm on Channel 5 weekdays.