Australian TV viewers have taken to social media in celebration of the news that trans actress and activist Georgie Stone has signed on as a permanent cast-member on soap opera Neighbours.
The 19-year-old, in Australia since she became the youngest Australian citizen to receive hormone blockers at the age of 10, as a guest star back in March.
In a win for on-screen trans representation, Stone played the show’s first-ever transgender character, Mackenzie Hargreaves, and soon began collaborating with the Neighbours writing team to craft a nuanced storyline that held true to her experiences as a young trans woman.
Sharing the news on Instagram over the weekend, Stone wrote: “It has been so hard to keep this a secret the past two months… I’m so excited to be returning to Neighbours as a permanent cast member!!! I can’t wait to get back on set with these lovely humans."
She added: “I love Mackenzie so much – I’m grateful I get the opportunity to play her again. There is so much yet to come!”
Needless to say, members of the LGBTIQ+ community were overwhelmingly proud of the teenager, sharing their messages of congratulations on Twitter.
Trans Scottish actress Annie Wallace, who stars in British soap opera Hollyoaks, tweeted: "Congratulations Georgie Stone for her now-ongoing role on Neighbours.
She added: "There are so few of us on mainstream TV, and her important story of a YOUNG trans woman will help so many young people, internationally."
Speaking to , Neighbours executive producer Jason Herbison said the casting was an important step for the beloved series.
“I think with most people who are marginalised in society, everyone just wants to be visible and treated the same as everyone else," he commented. "And that’s what you will see with Mackenzie."
Herbison added: “I look forward to the day when the fact that she is transgender doesn’t even warrant the batting of an eyelid. That day will come very soon in Erinsborough, and that alone is very powerful for anyone going through the experience in real life.”
Congratulations on the gig, Georgie - and bring on the Logies!
