A familiar face may be missing from Summer Bay: Home and Away currently has no LGBTQ+ characters, prompting television historian Andrew Mercado to question whether the long-running Australian soap is reflecting everyday life. His comments reopen a wider conversation about visibility, past storylines and the value of giving characters more than a fleeting appearance.
Essential Takeaways
- No current LGBTQ+ characters: Digital Spy reports that the soap’s present episodes don’t feature LGBTQ+ characters.
- A history of brief representation: Past characters and storylines include Willow Harris and Alex Neilson, Ty Anderson, and Charlie Buckton and Joey Collins.
- Mercado wants more imagination: The television historian argues that a frequently aired soap should reflect ordinary life and avoid tokenistic storytelling.
- Visibility has wider relevance: GLAAD research links media exposure to greater acceptance, though its study wasn’t about Home and Away or Australian viewers.
- UK viewing arrangements have shifted: From January 2026, new daytime episodes moved from Channel 5’s main channel to its streaming service, while 5STAR retained an evening screening.
A Summer Bay gap has viewers talking
There’s a noticeable absence in Summer Bay: Home and Away currently has no LGBTQ+ characters, according to Digital Spy. Australian television historian Andrew Mercado says that gap matters for a soap that airs five nights a week, arguing that its stories should reflect the varied lives people lead.
Mercado would like the programme to imagine a gay character among its surfers and see how the community responds. It’s a simple pitch, but one that puts the focus not just on who appears on screen, but on the stories they’re given.
Home and Away has included queer characters before
The soap hasn’t been without LGBTQ+ characters or same-sex storylines. ABC News reported that Alex Neilson and Willow Harris developed a romance, while Attitude covered the 2018 introduction of Ty Anderson, played by Darius Williams, in a guest role.
There’s also an earlier chapter: Charlie Buckton and Joey Collins had a romance in 2009. ABC News reported that some intimate scenes featuring Alex and Willow were missing from Australian broadcasts; Channel Seven attributed the difference to human error and said 7Plus would be updated. Past representation, then, has existed, but it hasn’t always been straightforward or sustained.
Why representation can matter beyond one soap
Mercado argues that familiar television can help audiences encounter experiences beyond their own. That idea has broader support, though not direct evidence about this particular programme: a GLAAD and Procter & Gamble report found an association between recent exposure to LGBTQ+ images in media and higher acceptance and comfort among non-LGBTQ Americans.
The report focused on US adults, not Australian viewers or Home and Away storylines, so it can’t tell us what a new character would change in Summer Bay. Still, it offers useful context for Mercado’s point: visibility can be part of how people become more familiar with lives unlike their own.
A character needs a story, not just a slot
Mercado’s criticism isn’t simply about adding a name to the cast list. He says there are many ways to build LGBTQ+ stories without treating representation as a box-ticking exercise, and argues that audiences may be more open to ambitious storytelling than decision-makers assume.
That distinction matters. A character who appears briefly may make a moment of visibility, but a richer role gives the show room to explore relationships, community and everyday life. For viewers, the question isn’t only whether someone is on screen, but whether they get to feel like part of the place.
Home and Away’s UK viewing arrangements have changed
There’s also a practical detail for UK viewers. SoapCentral reported that, from January 2026, new daytime episodes moved from Channel 5’s main broadcast channel to the broadcaster’s streaming service, with evening episodes continuing on 5STAR.
That’s separate from the Australian schedule: Digital Spy gives Channel 7 and 7Plus as the show’s Australian broadcast and streaming outlets. If you’re following the soap from the UK, check the latest listings, as the broadcast and streaming arrangements differ by country.
Home and Away’s next chapter could be a chance to make Summer Bay feel a little more like the world beyond it.
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