New Zealand soap fans will soon be able to see a new gay character on Neighbours.
Chris Pappas will come out in an episode of the Australian show, soon to screen in across the Tasman. Pappas is relatively new character on the show who is played by 20-year-old actor James Mason.
Neighbours' executive producer Susan Bower told theHerald Sun that the coming-out storyline was a direct result of viewer feedback via online fan forums.
Ms Bower said lesbian romances had featured on Australian TV shows before, but love scenes between men are still fairly taboo on Australian dramas.
She said the Melbourne based soap had received criticism storylines based around teen pregnancy and surrogacy, so teen homosexuality was sure to come under fire, too.
“I do believe homophobia is still alive and well, and I have no doubt that we will get complaints about it,” she said.
"Neighbours is an icon, like Vegemite. People get very possessive about it."
Neighbours has featured few gay characters before.Samesame.com.au says the first gay character to appear on the show was builder Andrew MacKenzie in 1994, while in 1995 schoolteacher Andrew Watson became a victim of student rumours and a campaign for his dismissal as a teacher by parents, for being gay.
The website says the new gay storyline will be the first time in the show's 25 year history that it will feature an ongoing regular gay character.
Dannews.co.nz reports the episode will screen in a few weeks in New Zealand.
Neighbours screens on TV2 at 6pm every weeknight.
