Five to air 'Home and Away' lesbian kiss

Home and Away's seemingly-controversial lesbian kiss will be aired in the UK, DS can confirm.

Recent reports claimed that the soap's producers Seven Network were 'forced' to cut the kiss between policewoman Charlie Buckton (Esther Anderson) and deckhand Joey Collins (Kate Bell) after bowing to pressure from conservative groups.

However, Five will broadcast the same version of the episode containing the kiss as was screened in Australia on Tuesday night. A number of other clinches are also due to air during the six-week storyline arc.

A channel spokesperson this morning told DS: "Five, the UK broadcaster for Home and Away, will screen a lesbian kiss in a forthcoming episode. It forms part of a six-week long story, about the attraction between two female characters, Joey and Charlie. There will be several episodes where the characters kiss.

"Producers at Channel Seven in Australia edit all episodes for artistic and editorial reasons only. The integrity of this important storyline remains uncompromised."

They added: "Five have never edited any episode of Home and Away and have no plans to in the future."

The episode featuring Charlie and Joey's kiss is due to air in the UK on Tuesday, April 14 on Five.