Flashback: Valentine's Day 2006... A fairy-tale Civil Union for Jay and Maia on TV2's Shortland Street! New Zealand's first-ever televised Civil Union was complete with two blushing brides in beautiful gowns, a proud and supportive family and friends, and even a ‘Destiny Church' style protest before the ceremony. Over half a million Kiwis tuned in. March 2007: Oh the horror! Jay and Maia's partnership is over. Who knew their blessed soapie love wouldn't last? After countless arguments, a couple of failed pregnancies, and Jay's shock affair with a man, Maia calls it quits. Meanwhile, new teen tear-away Hunter got our Rainbow Youthers gripped to the telly as he appeared to ‘come out' to his Dad last month – but he was soon seen hooking up with a local girl. It seemed the gay talk was all just to annoy his father, and get ahead in his modeling career by targeting gay male magazine fashion spreads. Hmmmmm. We emailed a few questions to the writers of the show – and were surprised when a very familiar name popped up with the answers. Max Currie, ex-presenter and segment director of Queer Nation, had been living in New York for a while, but now he's back in NZ writing for Shortland Street. Are 'our' glbt characters in good hands? You be the judge! GayNZ.com: Are there gay/lesbian writers on the Shortland Street writing team at the moment? Max: Yup - I guess that's my bag. I'm gay. But I'm curious about why you're asking... Should we be obliged to have gay writers on the show?! Can only gay writers write gay characters? Good writers are not gay or straight, or even male or female. Good writers are able to get inside the heads of any characters - male, female, gay, straight, black, white. GayNZ.com: We're always pleased to see so many gay/lesbian characters on Shortland Street - what is the feedback you get generally about those characters? Max: I've had quite a few guys ask me about Hunter playing gay - that got a lot of buzz. I just asked around the other writers, and it seems there's quite a varied reaction amongst their friends to Jay and Maia. For people who didn't find their sexuality challenging, they were quite an ordinary couple once they settled down. Some men got really excited about Jay's affair with Dylan, and some lesbians were horrified! However, it's been interesting to note that it's sometimes gay viewers who have the most fixed ideas about sexuality. When Jay entered into a sexual relationship with a man it didn't make Jay suddenly straight, it didn't change her fundamental orientation. She was still a lesbian - just one who discovered that sexuality can be surprising and flexible. It's also fair to say that the story seriously upset some lesbians who wanted Jay and Maia to remain a perfect couple and be "role models". But we're not in the role model business; we're in the business of telling interesting stories - and the most interesting stories are those that challenge our most fundamental beliefs. GayNZ.com: The lesbian couple have been in the show for quite a while now - it's great to have them there, but we know soap operas can't continue with just happy couples all the time... is it a challenge to find them ongoing storylines? Max: No more or less challenging than it is for the straight characters, although you have to keep in mind that just as in real life, our gay characters don't come across prospective partners as readily as straights do. GayNZ.com: How was the storyline with one of the lesbians having an affair with a man received? It provoked much debate in our community! Max: That's probably something you should ask the fans. I loved it. It was shocking and true to life. It made some people angry, others excited, and aroused a lot of curiosity about what sexuality and identity actually means... As a storyliner, you couldn't wish for a more satisfying reaction. It's funny, the grey areas of sexuality are always the most interesting, aren't they? There's a lot more titillation about guys and girls that are undecided, or flirting with the idea of being gay, or swapping and changing. That's also why Jay's jumping the fence made everyone sit bolt upright and go WOW... when you change tracks, when you go from straight to gay or gay to straight or hover around bisexuality, that's when people still get a little uncomfortable. Maybe bi is the new gay? GayNZ.com: Your new character Hunter appears to be 'playing gay' to get ahead in his career - we're intrigued by this storyline as there currently are straight kiwi male models appearing in 'Jack' gay magazine... were the writers aware of this trend and the storyline a reflection of that? Max: Hmmm... come on, Matt - straight guy's 'pretending' to be gay as a new phenomenon? I think not! Look, if we do our jobs right as story-liners, people will find parallels to all sorts of things going on in the real world. As a gay reader of Jack magazine, the straight models scenario is what comes to your mind, but it might also strike chords with a young man pretending to love his girlfriend so her Dad will give him a job, or someone pretending to be interested in rugby to make friends at the pub. The thing that I find most interesting about Hunter's story is not that he pretends to be gay, it's that he has no qualms about being seen as gay, even if he's not. He's also open-minded on the question of sexuality. When Sophie's response is "Well, are you gay?", Hunter claims to be "pan-sexual". It may be that he's only joking, but the fact that he knows the term and uses it in that situation is interesting. He's part of a new generation of kids who don't feel the need to definitively label themselves "straight" or "gay". He's keeping his options open - even if only theoretically. PS: UK actor Adam Rickett's six-month Shortland Street role begins this week. Coronation Street fans will recognise him as Gail's son Nick – one half of Coro's first-ever gay kiss from a couple of years ago. Shortland Street plays weeknights at 7pm on TV2. Matt Akersten - 14th March 2007