According to The Australian, Channel Seven have buckled to pressure from conservative viewers and have censored the much talked about lesbian kissing scene from soap Home And Away.

Update: Home And Away confirm that the kiss has not been censored.

Despite the extra publicity the soap has been getting, the newspaper reports that since debate over the lesbian storyline began two weeks ago, 100,000 viewers have stopped watching the show, and the network has been inundated with complaints. According to them the kiss, which was to air this Tuesday night, will now be down played.

“Producers were forced to cut some of the more intimate close-up images of policewoman Charlie Buckton and deckhand Joey Collins sharing a passionate kiss after dancing together on a boat,” says the newspaper. Their sources tell them that the kiss was no more intimate than any heterosexual kiss that has been featured on the show.

After the Herald Sun wrote a story bearing the headline “Gay TV For Kids” the Producers not only faced public backlash from conservative lobby groups like Pro Family Perspectives, they also received complaints from mothers who said “they did not want their children exposed to same-sex relationships in a family show”.

Back To The Bay, a fan site for the show, has stated that the kiss has not been censored at all and will screen as originally planned, although their source remains unnamed.