The pair will touch down in Sydney today on-board a Virgin Australia Pride Flight from Melbourne, one of many flights the airline is operating across the country, and from the US, for World Pride and Mardi Graas.

In playing two of the leads in the hit TV series, the rising stars are well aware that they have helped “normalise” queer stories in the ground breaking show that is a reimagining of the original from the 1990s and tells the story of high school students living life in suburban Australia.

“If you can see it, you can be it,” Chua-Tran, 21, told The Daily Telegraph.

“Heartbreak has helped normalise queer stories in a way in which we weren’t suffering through our queerness, we were just people experiencing high school dramas.”

Yasbincek, 22, agreed: “It feels like a real honour to be a part of a story that truly feels authentic in representing this generation and generations moving forward and the fact that being queer is just a part of life and it is not something you need to feel ashamed of or need to hide.

“It feels really amazing that it was just a part of it in the most natural way, not making it a huge deal because to us that is what it is.”

As the flight heads to Sydney for World Pride, travellers will unite at a Virgin Australia Pride party at the Beresford Hotel with a raft of celebrities set to participate ahead of the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade tomorrow.

“Being out on the street, that feeling of inclusivity, is so important, especially when it is so visible,” Chua-Tran said.

“And we are making it loud, which I am excited for – no one has to be quiet.”

According to the Big Youth Survey from January, a third of Australians aged 15 to 24 identify as LGBTQIA+.

For Yasbincek, Pride and Mardi Gras is a time to spend with friends.

“I am just keen to be celebrating this with my friends, feeling that sense of community and togetherness,” she said.

“Pride is really joyful and fun, that is what I am looking forward to the most.”

Originally published as Heartbreak High actors Gemma Chua-Tran and Asher Yasbincek celebrate Mardi Gras