List of LGBTQ characters in soap operas

This is a list of soap opera characters who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, and the live action television and radio soap operas which feature them. Characters who are pansexual, asexual, non-binary and intersex are also included. Character orientation and gender identity can be portrayed on-screen, described in the dialogue or mentioned. Characters are listed by soap opera, and soap operas by country of origin. The history of LGBT characters that feature in soap operas begins in Australia, with Don Finlayson, portrayed by Joe Hasham, who appeared in the Australian television soap opera Number 96 between 1972 and 1977.
Sos mi hombre is an Argentine telenovela, which aired on El Trece between August 2012 and June 2013.
Las Estrellas is an Argentine soap opera produced by Pol-Ka Producciones for El Trece between May 2017 and January 2018. Starring Celeste Cid, Marcela Kloosterboer, Natalie Pérez, Violeta Urtizberea, Justina Bustos, and co-starring, Esteban Lamothe, Gonzalo Valenzuela, Luciano Castro, Nicolás Riera, Nicolás Francella and Julieta Nair Calvo.
The Box is an Australian soap opera produced by Crawford Productions and broadcast by The 0-10 Network, which aired between February 1974 and October 1977.
Home and Away is an Australian television soap opera broadcast by Seven Network, which began airing in January 1988.
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera, originally broadcast by Seven Network. The network dropped the show and it was picked up by Network Ten, which later aired it on Eleven. The serial began airing in March 1985. The show went on a year-long hiatus from 28 July 2022, following a cancellation, but was revived a few months later commissioned by Amazon, with the show airing locally on 10.
Number 96 is an Australian television soap opera broadcast by The 0-10 Network, which aired between March 1972 and August 1977.
Prisoner is an Australian television soap opera produced by Grundy's and broadcast by Network Ten, which aired between February 1979 and December 1986.
Goenkale ("High Street" in English) was a Basque soap-opera, produced by Pausoka Entertainment and ETB, which was broadcast every Monday and Tuesday on Basque Radio-television's first channel, ETB 1. Set in an imaginary Basque seaside town, the title of the serial is the name of the main street in that town. First broadcast in 1994, it was one of the most successful programmes of ETB 1. It ended in 2015 after 22 seasons and 3.707 episodes.
América is a Brazilian telenovela broadcast by Rede Globo between March 2005 and November 2005.
Em Família is a Brazilian primetime telenovela broadcast by Rede Globo, which aired between February 2014 and July 2014.
Malhação a Brazilian soap opera broadcast by Rede Globo, which has aired since April 1995.
Paradise Falls is a Canadian soap opera broadcast by Showcase, which began airing in June 2001 and ceased airing in September 2008.
Kotikatu (Home street) was a Finnish semi soap opera/drama series and broadcast by Yle TV1. It aired in years 1995-2012.
Rantabaari (Beach bar) is a Finnish daily soap opera/drama series broadcast by MTV Sub, which has aired since September 2019. The titular beach bar (later pizzeria) called Trissa is located in Taivallahti in Helsinki. The series takes place in the same universe as Salatut elämät.
Salatut elämät (Secret Lives) is a Finnish daily soap opera broadcast by MTV3, which has aired since January 1999.
Uusi Päivä (Brand New Day) was a Finnish soap opera/drama series shown from Monday to Wednesday and broadcast by Yle. It aired in years 2010–2018. Show take place in a fictional town somewhere in Kanta-Häme called Virtaus (means "flow" in Finnish) and Tampere. It takes place in same universe as Kotikatu.
Demain nous appartient is a French television soap opera broadcast by TF1, which has aired since July 2017.
Ici tout Commence is a French television soap opera broadcast by TF1, which has aired since November 2020. It takes place in the same universe as Demain nous Appartient.
Plus belle la vie is a French television soap opera broadcast by France 3, which has aired since August 2004.
Alles was zählt is a German soap opera, airing on RTL since 2006. The show revolves around a fictional sports and wellness centre in Essen, initially focusing on ice skating with other sports being added to the repertoire throughout the show's run.
Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten is a long-running German television soap opera, first broadcast on RTL in 1992. The program concerns the lives of a fictional neighborhood in Germany's capital city Berlin.
Hand aufs Herz is a German television soap opera broadcast by Sat.1 until June 2011 and by sixx thereafter. It began airing in October 2010 and ceased airing in September 2011.
Lindenstraße is a German soap opera broadcast by Das Erste, which has aired since December 1985.
Marienhof is a German soap opera broadcast by Das Erste, which aired between October 1992 and June 2011.
Schloss Einstein is a German soap opera for kids about a boarding school broadcast by KiKa. It started airing in 1998.
Sturm der Liebe is a German television soap opera broadcast by Das Erste, which began airing in September 2005.
Unter uns is the second oldest German daily soap opera, that debuted on RTL in 1994. The show focusses on the characters that live in the same multi-family building at the fictional Schillerstaße 10 in urban Cologne. After the show had been heavily criticized for completely disregarding and non-inclusion of LGBT issues and characters, especially for being set in Cologne, one of Germany's most gay-friendly cities, changes were made in 2013.
Verbotene Liebe is a German television soap opera broadcast by Das Erste, which aired between January 1995 and June 2015.
Fair City is an Irish television soap opera broadcast by RTÉ One, which has aired since September 1989. In 1996, three years after homosexuality was decriminalised in Ireland, two male characters moved in for a clinch - only to be interrupted. It would have been the first gay kiss on Irish television.
Ros na Rún is a long-running Irish soap opera broadcast on TG4, which has aired since November 1996. The soap opera was the first Irish soap to feature an openly gay couple and screened the first gay kiss and the first lesbian kiss shown on Irish television.
Botan to Bara is a Japanese television soap opera broadcast by Tōkai Television Broadcasting, which has aired since January 2004.
Uruwashiki Oni is a Japanese television soap opera broadcast by Tōkai Television Broadcasting, which has aired since April 2007.
Shin Botan to Bara is a Japanese television soap opera, remade from Botan to Bara, broadcast by Tōkai Television Broadcasting, which has aired since November 2015.
Antes muerta que Lichita is a Mexican telenovela broadcast by Canal de las Estrellas, which aired between August 2015 and February 2016.
Volver a empezar is a Mexican telenovela broadcast by Canal de las Estrellas, which aired between July 1994 and February 1995.
Amar a muerte is a Mexican telenovela written by Leonardo Padrón, produced by W Studios in collaboration with lemon studios for Televisa and Univision, it was broadcast from October 29 of 2018 to March 3 of 2019.
Shortland Street is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera broadcast by TVNZ 2, which began airing in May 1992. The show featured the first same-sex kiss on New Zealand television.
Hotel Cæsar is a Norwegian soap opera broadcast by TV 2, which began airing in October 1998.
Santa Bárbara is a Portuguese telenovela broadcast by Televisão Independente, which aired between September 2015 and October 2015.
Valor da Vida is a Portuguese telenovela broadcast by Televisão Independente, which aired between September 30, 2018, and May 20, 2019.
Generations is a South African soap opera broadcast by SABC 1, which aired between February 1994 and September 2014. In 2013, it was speculated that the show had received pressure to write out its homosexual characters.
Isidingo is a South African soap opera, which features English dialogue. It began airing on SABC 3 in July 1998, when it was known as Isidingo: The Need, a title used until 2001.
Life Is Beautiful is a South Korean television soap opera broadcast by SBS TV, which has aired since November 2010.
Amar en tiempos revueltos is a Spanish soap opera broadcast by La 1 and TVE Internacional from 2005 to 2012, and by Antena 3 since 2013.
Seis Hermanas is a Spanish soap opera broadcast by La 1, which began airing in April 2015 and ceased airing in April 2017.
Ordinary Love is a Taiwanese television soap opera broadcast by SET Taiwan, which has aired since November 2013.
Brookside is a British soap opera broadcast by Channel 4, which aired between November 1982 and November 2003.
Coronation Street is a British soap opera broadcast by ITV, which has aired since 9 December 1960.
Doctors is a British soap opera broadcast on BBC One which aired between March 2000 and November 2024.
EastEnders is a British soap opera broadcast on BBC One, which has aired since 19 February 1985. The show has used various homosexual characters to highlight gay issues since the 1980s, including homophobia, bisexuality, age of sexual consent, and HIV/AIDS among others. It was the first UK soap to screen a gay kiss in 1987, prompting outrage from viewers and the media who branded the programme "filth" and dubbed it "EastBenders". There were even questions in Parliament about whether it was appropriate to have gay men in a family show when AIDS was sweeping the country. Despite initial negativity, the characters had a powerful impact on public attitudes, and the show's handling of Colin and Barry's relationship was deemed by many gay activists as something of a breakthrough. Actor turned politician Michael Cashman believes the storyline started "the social change" in opinion towards homosexuals, which "happened alongside the legal reform" in the 1980s.
The show has been at the centre of much controversy regarding its gay characters kissing on-screen. It screened the first mouth-to-mouth gay soap kiss in the UK in 1989, leading some MPs to call for the programme to be banned. EastEnders' first regular lesbian characters provided the soap with its first lesbian kiss in 1994, provoking more complaints than any other UK television programme that year. This was followed by a "censored" homosexual kiss in 1996, which infuriated gay activists after the BBC cut the kiss from its original two seconds to a half-second, so they would not "startle" viewers. In 2007, a lesbian kiss prompted 211 complaints to the BBC, and in 2008, a kiss between two gay characters prompted 145 complaints from viewers who were "appalled by the display of homosexual kissing before the watershed [...] whilst young children are watching". The BBC released a statement saying: "We approach our portrayal of homosexual relationships in the same way as we do heterosexual relationships. In this instance, Christian is enjoying the first flush of romance and we've shown him being affectionate with his new boyfriend in the same way any couple would."
Emmerdale, previously known as Emmerdale Farm, is a British soap opera broadcast by ITV, which has aired since 16 October 1972. Emmerdale has featured numerous LGBT characters, including the first permanent lesbian character (Zoe Tate) in a British soap opera. It also featured the first civil partnership (between Paul Lambert and Jonny Foster) in a prime time British soap opera in 2008.
Family Affairs is a British television soap opera broadcast by Channel 5 from March 1997 until December 2005.
Hollyoaks is a British soap opera broadcast by Channel 4 and E4 simultaneously. It began airing on 23 October 1995.
Pobol y Cwm is a Welsh-language television soap opera broadcast by S4C, which has aired since October 1974.
All My Children is an American television soap opera broadcast by the American Broadcasting Company, which aired between January 1970 and September 2011.
As the World Turns is an American television soap opera broadcast by CBS, which aired between April 1956 and September 2010.
The Bold and the Beautiful is an American television soap opera broadcast by CBS, which has aired since March 1987.
Dante's Cove is an American LGBT-oriented supernatural soap opera broadcast by here!, which aired between October 2005 and December 2007.
Days of Our Lives is an American daytime soap opera broadcast by NBC, which has aired since November 1965.
Dynasty is an American prime time television soap opera broadcast by the American Broadcasting Company, which aired between January 1981 and May 1989. The show was rebooted in 2017 on The CW.
General Hospital is the longest-running American soap opera in production, premiering in 1963. It is also the second longest-running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light.
Guiding Light (also known as The Guiding Light) is an American television soap opera broadcast by NBC Radio, followed by CBS Radio and then CBS Television, which aired between January 1937 and September 2009.
The Haves and the Have Nots is an American prime time television soap opera created, executive produced, written, and directed by Tyler Perry. It began airing on the Oprah Winfrey Network from 28 May 2013.
Melrose Place is an American primetime soap opera broadcast by Fox, which aired between July 1992 and May 1999. The show never featured any LGBT characters in sexual scenes, with the scene featuring Matt kissing another man cut.
One Life to Live is an American soap opera broadcast by the American Broadcasting Company, which aired between July 1968 and January 2012.
Passions is an American television soap opera broadcast by NBC between July 1999 and September 2007, and The 101 Network from September 2007 until August 2008.
Santa Barbara is an American television soap opera broadcast by NBC, which aired between July 1984 and January 1993.
El Señor de los Cielos is an American telenovela broadcast by Telemundo, which has aired since 15 April 2013.
The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera broadcast by CBS, which has aired since March 1973.