Executive producer Susan Bower said the character was created because of requests from young viewers in the Neighbours website's online forums.

Producers also established a relationship between him and Nate Kinski (Meyne Wyatt), and he fathered a child with his friend Lucy Robinson (Melissa Bell), shortly before his exit which aired on 27 March 2015.

Bower expected Chris's coming out storyline to receive criticism and some media commentators called it "an obvious ratings grab".

Mason and the show's script producer defended the storyline, saying that it was not a ploy to boost ratings and that it explored how Chris's coming out affected the people around him.

[2] Bower later revealed that two-thirds of the boys who auditioned for the role of Chris backed out when they discovered the character was gay, which she said was "disappointing, but not surprising.

"[5] In October 2010, the ATV News Network reported that the Neighbours writers and producers were unsure how to keep Chris connected to Ramsay Street.

[7] However, in January 2011, a Network Ten spokesperson told SX News that Mason's role would be expanded from April and he and Chris will get more screen time.

[10] The first minor male gay characters to appear were Andrew MacKenzie (John Morris) and Alf Taylor (Frank Bren) in 1994.

[6] Summer initially takes the news well and plays it down, but when fellow student Natasha Williams (Valentina Novakovic) discovers that one of her classmates is gay, she goes out of her way to find out who it is and expose them.

[1] Australian LGBT website SameSame said the story had attracted attention from some media commentators, who called it "an obvious ratings grab and an attempt to out-gay rival soap, Home and Away".

[16] Bower told Daniel Kilkelly of Digital Spy that Chris's romance will be handled in a sensitive way and will be treated within the character.

[18] Lucas Fitzgerald (Scott Major) attempts to help Chris by asking Aidan if he is gay or straight, which leads to embarrassment for them all.

[23] Bower had previously promised that it would not be "sensationalist or token" and the low-key scene earned praise from viewers on social networking sites.

[26] A homophobia storyline was implemented for the character in September 2011, when Chris meets Warren Burrell (Tony Rickards), a homophobic customer at the garage.

[28] Speaking to an Inside Soap columnist, Mason revealed that the scenes were filmed in such a "suspenseful way" that the audience does not see who the attacker is.

[31] Hii commented, "Chris is trying to keep his cards close to his chest, but by the same token, Hudson is also a new guy to this neighbourhood and isn't quite sure who he can be open to and show his true colours to.

During Kyle and Georgia's joint bucks and hen night, Chris was forced to eject a drunk Josh Willis (Harley Bonner) from The Waterhole when he caused a scene.

"[34] Mason thought that Chris might be able to forgive Josh in the future, but it would be "a long process", and he would have to deal with the fact that his life had changed forever due to the attack first.

[35] Chris was kept in hospital overnight, which meant his romantic plans with his partner Nate Kinski (Meyne Wyatt) were put on hold.

[36][37] Chris's exit storyline saw him decide to be a full-time father to his child with Lucy Robinson (Melissa Bell), and move to New York.

[38] On 7 May 2022, Dan Seddon of Digital Spy reported that Mason was reprising his role for the show's final episodes to be broadcast later in the year.

[39] After being scammed by Andrew Robinson and Harry Ramsay into buying a manual on how to win a girlfriend, Chris befriends them and Summer Hoyland.

Josh's mother, Terese (Rebekah Elmaloglou), offers Chris a job as a trainee manager at Lassiter's Hotel, which Nate persuades him to accept.

Nate later helps Chris and Lucy see that they need to think the idea through more thoroughly, and they draw up a contract detailing how their child will be raised.

Toadfish Rebecchi (Ryan Moloney) agrees to help lift the ban, but Nate misses a meeting and Chris accuses him of not taking it seriously.

Lucy returns for a visit and Chris decides he wants to split his time between Erinsborough and New York when the baby comes, although Nate is against this idea.

[43] Knox added that following the "gay kiss scandal" on Home and Away, "the test for Neighbours will be not just the coming out, but whether he remains in the show after this storyline subsides".

"[49] In 2011, Mason revealed that he has had a positive reaction to his character from viewers and he has been receiving mail from people who have had similar experiences, who appreciate what Neighbours is doing.

[9] He added "What's interesting is that a lot of feedback has been about the fact the character's coming out wasn't a "warm and fuzzy" experience, that there were rough spots.

[51] Of the Chris and Scotty storyline, Melinda Houston from The Sun-Herald wrote "Good on Neighbours for not just having an ongoing gay character but using him to explore some interesting issues.