Neighbours set to introduce first-ever transgender character

NEIGHBOURS ★★★½

Erinsborough's days as a homogenous cul de sac are long gone.

For some time, the cast has better reflected our diversity. Marriage equality legislation was marked by Australian television's first gay wedding, officiated by Madga Szubanski, and a lesbian couple resides in Ramsay Street. Earlier this year, the first all-female episode aired on International Women’s Day.

Georgie Stone joins the cast of Neighbours as Mackenzie Hargreaves.Credit:

But it has taken this long, and the motivation of one extraordinary teenager, for a transgender character to arrive. On Friday, 19-year-old transgender youth rights activist, Georgie Stone, will join the cast in a guest role as Mackenzie Hargreaves, a girl with a troubled past, and a typically adolescent present.

Not surprisingly, from someone who has used her profile, foisted upon her from the age of 10 when she became the youngest Australian to receive hormone blockers in a law-changing Family Court decision, to advocate for the rights of transgender children, Mackenzie was Stone's idea.

Since visiting the set of Neighbours as a child, when both her parents appeared in the series (her father Greg Stone played Walter Mitchell in 2016, and her mother, Rebekah Robertson, was Karl’s divorce lawyer during the Izzy years), Stone has harboured a dream of seeing a transgender character on the show. Last year, when she was Young Victorian of the Year and completing Year 12, she plucked up the courage to approach the show’s executive producer, Jason Herbison. The response was immediate and enthusiastic.

"I couldn't believe it," says Stone, during a break in filming. "There’s a lot of discussion happening [about transgender people] now in the media. It's something that isn't being ignored any more. The conversation is happening and it's starting to happen in the film and television industry as well."

Stone worked with the writing team to ensure Mackenzie’s journey reflects a genuine transgender experience.

"I was surprised at how switched on the writers were, at how eager they were to get this right. They were really good listeners. I really wanted to tell the story of Mackenzie being trans so people can learn, but I also wanted her to just be a regular teen at the same time, and get caught up with the teen drama which has nothing to do with her being trans."

Despite the similarities between Stone and her on-screen alter ego, their backstories couldn't be further apart.

"I've had the support of my family. I'm really close with my parents and that has made me a very trusting person, whereas Mackenzie hasn't seen her dad, who rejected her, since she was 10," Stone says. "Her mum was really supportive and she passed away a few years ago. So Mackenzie doesn't trust people very easily. She is a bit world weary, a bit cynical, a bit hardened by her experiences. She's had a really rough time. She's also very good at maths, which is definitely different to me."

It's what Stone describes as her "position of privilege" that drives her to speak out for others who don't have the same support.

"I hope trans young people who have felt isolated before, who have lost hope, watch the show and know they're being represented. I hope they feel seen," she says. "And I really hope people who don't understand, who haven't met a trans person before, who maybe have some misconceptions or uneasiness about trans people, watch and see that we're just people.

"We want the same as everyone else – to be loved and to feel safe. I hope they see the human in Mackenzie. I hope they see love and see that it's OK."

Georgie Stone stars in Neighbours from Friday, August 30, on 10Peach.