Home and Away receives criticism for leaving out LGBTQ+ characters in 2026

Home And Away has recently received criticism for not featuring LGBTQ+ characters in its episodes.

In an interview with TV Tonight, historian Andrew Mercado said he feels soaps have a responsibility to reflect current times and issues, including LGBTQ+ stories.

Mercado said his inspiration came from producer Reg Grundy, who told him his job was to entertain rather than educate. However, it looks as though the historian has decidedly gone against this belief.

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He 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.

Mercado hopes that this would give viewers a wider education on life. He likened his point to classic Aussie soap A Country Practice, for which bosses worked with the health department to further their understanding.

However, Mercado claimed that reality TV changed everything. He said it 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 would wish that 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.’"

Related: 14 huge Home and Away spoilers for next week (16 to 19 November)

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.

Home and Away drops new episodes on weekdays at 6am on 5’s streaming service with a 6.30pm screening on 5STAR.

In Australia, the show airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7pm on Channel 7 and streams on 7Plus.

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