Fans of Neighbours have been upset to hear that more heartache for Mackenzie Hargreaves (played by Georgie Stone) is on the way when her partner, Hendrix Greyson (Ben Turland), will tragically die in upcoming scenes.
Despite only recently getting married on screen, Hendrix and Mackenzie’s happily ever after will be brutally cut short when the husband dies following a lung transplant.
The move prompted backlash from fans, who were concerned to see such a prominent trans character go through more tragedy.
Annie Wallace, who plays Sally St Claire in Hollyoaks, took to Twitter to complain about the storyline, saying: “Yay… let’s give this young, beautiful trans woman a happy ending. And then let’s kill off her husband of mere weeks. The ‘tragic trans’ trope rears its ugly head yet again.”
Wallace, who was the first trans actor to portray a regular trans character in a UK soap, added later: “I’m still angry about this. The show is about to end, and Neighbours just couldn’t bring themselves to give them a happy ever after. Trans people deserve that too. Let’s SEE it, please.”
Yay… let’s give this young, beautiful trans woman a happy ending.
— Annie Wallace (@anniewallace) June 5, 2022
And then let’s kill off her husband of mere weeks.
The “tragic trans” trope rears its ugly head yet again. ????♀️ https://t.co/V8UhuRoNzc
Neighbours story editor Shane Isheev took to Twitter to address the complaints, and explained that the soap always wanted a happy ending for fan-favourite Mack.
“This was planned before we knew the show was ending because he were losing the actor,” he commented. “And the beautiful Georgie also wanted Mack to have the FULL soap experience.”
Reassuring fans, Isheev added: “Trust me, had we continued, we had plans for Mack to find love again and have her happily ever after.”
Neighbours usually airs on Channel 5 on Weekdays at 1:45pm. A repeat of the episode also airs later in the day at 5:30pm. Visit our dedicated Neighbours page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers. If you’re looking for more to watch check out our TV Guide.
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