“There’s lots and lots of ways to do it.”
Home And Away has recently received criticism for not featuring LGBTQ+ characters in its episodes.
In an interview with TV Tonight, TV historian Andrew Mercado said he feels soaps have a responsibility to reflect current times and issues, including LGBTQ+ stories.
Home and Away doesn’t currently have any LGBTQ+ characters in the show, while representation in the past – with characters like Willow Harris, Alex Neilson and Ty Anderson – has only been brief.
Mercado reasoned that if a programme airs five nights a week, production has a responsibility to include elements of everyday life such as the LGBTQ+ community.
He hopes that this would give viewers a wider education on life – mirroring how reality TV allowed fans to see homosexuality in real life, aiding acceptance from society.
Taking a stance against Home and Away, he told the publication that he wished one of the “surfies” would be “gay” to just see the response within the Summer Bay community.
Mercado added: “There’s lots and lots of ways to do it. I just don’t think they’re using their imagination, and they just sometimes put us in just to tick a box.
“To me, you can take a lot more chances because, as (Number 96 creator) David Sale says, ‘the audience is always far more sophisticated and clever than you give them credit for.’”
He went on: “Even I have a really good relationship with Channel 7 these days, but someone at Channel 7 is looking at Home and Away….. now the last running regular Australian drama, and someone is going, ‘Don’t put a gay character in. It might upset someone in the audience. We can’t afford to lose anything.’
“And to me, the show would be a lot more interesting if there were some gays in it.”
Mercado accused the soap of “churning out the same boring stories year after year”, and accused producers of not “using their imagination” when it comes to representation on screen.
