Home and Away accused of censorship after editing out lesbian kiss scenes

Home and Away fans are questioning why different versions of episodes that depicted a lesbian relationship were shown in New Zealand and Australia.

Kissing scenes between the characters Willow Harris and Alex Neilson were shown in full when the episodes aired on TVNZ 2 in November, but appeared to have been edited out for the Australian audience.

Australian fans discovered the differences when the full scenes shown in New Zealand were posted to social media. 

In one scene, Alex and Willow share a kiss at a bar before Alex leaves to order drinks. 

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But the Australian version cuts to Alex walking off to get the drinks.

Another scene shows Willow giving an emotional speech which ends with Alex kissing her. Australian fans were shown the speech, but not the kiss.

Channel Seven blamed the discrepancy on "human error" in a statement provided to ABC News, saying the episodes that went to air in Australia were not the final versions.

"As with any television show, numerous changes are made throughout the post-production process all the way up until final broadcast," it said.

However, ABC News is now reporting that the show appears to have cut another kiss between the couple.

Photos taken during the filming of a recent episode showed the characters kissing in a park, but when the episode aired in Australia last week, the kiss was not shown.

The episode has not yet aired in New Zealand.

Australian YouTuber Alex Shillington, who was one of the first to report on the differences between the scenes, said she didn't accept the "human error" explanation and wanted to know why those specific scenes had been edited out in the first place. 

"They answered the question of why was it aired — because it was an accident, apparently," she said in a video.

"But why did they have this censored version?"

The actresses who play Alex and Willow, Zoe Ventoura and Sarah Roberts, both posted a statement on Twitter.

"Please know that every scene was written, performed and shot with the utmost love and respect for the characters, the relationship and the community," they said.

"We see you, and we are grateful for your support."

TVNZ spokeswoman Rachel Howard said it receives Home and Away from its distributor, Endemol Shine Group, and was not aware different versions had aired in Australia.

"We receive the final versions of all episodes and these are the episodes we air," she said.

TVNZ had "no issue" showcasing relationships in their many forms on its channels.

"This of course includes LGBTQI+ relationships," she said.