Outrage at 'Home and Away' lesbian storyline

A planned lesbian love affair between two characters on Home and Away has outraged conservative family groups.

In scenes to air later this month in Australia, Summer Bay policewoman Charlie Buckton (Esther Anderson) will begin a relationship with female deck hand Joey Collins (Kate Bell).

However, the same sex storyline has angered conservative family groups with many arguing the relationship is inappropriate for the soap’s 7pm PG-rated timeslot.

"[Home and Away] continue to market to kids and they continue to develop quite sexualised plot lines," Pro-Family Perspectives director Angela Conway told the Herald Sun. "The plotlines that young kids and teenagers should be presented with should be about really authentic relationships that are not just sexualised."

Anderson, 29, defended the controversial storyline, saying: "You learn pretty much everything at school. I don't think it's like I'm lifting the lid on something they don't already know about.

"To me there's no difference - love's love. The fact that your partner's the same sex is no different. You just want to be loved."

In 2004, Neighbours was attacked by talkback radio callers and conservative groups when it featured a lesbian kiss between schoolgirls Lana Crawford (Bridget Neval) and Sky Mangel (Stephanie McIntosh).