EXCLUSIVE: Sophie Dillman, who co-stars with Paddy O’Connor on Home and Away, reveals how she unwinds from Soapland while foreshadowing Ziggy and Dean’s future.
Ziggy Astoni and Dean Thompson, both fans of Home and Away, grabbed the nation’s hearts in their recent plotline, in which Ziggy became Dean’s caregiver after his automobile accident.
It’s a great respite for actress Sophie Dillman to confront a fresh narrative with Theo working as an apprentice at the garage, Dean battling to get back on a surfboard and Ziggy tasked with assisting him.
But Theo appears to be hiding some secrets of his own; will Ziggy be able to uncover the truth, and will the two form an unexpected bond?
The information came from actress Sophie Dillman, who teased some obstacles in the road for Ziggy and Dean in an exclusive interview with Daily Star.
Speaking of the change-up in storylines, Sophie explained: “It’s great [to have a change]. I love working with Paddy obviously – he’s a great actor, he had a great storyline and it’s been a really great storyline to flesh out as a carer.
“But it’s always good to mix things up and see different sides of the character. Ziggy, for so long, was trying to help him with his recovery and she was really out of her depth.
“She was trying her best, but she’s certainly not a nurse and she certainly doesn’t have any idea how to handle the physical bit of it, the emotional bit of it – for both him and her.
“So I think seeing her in her zone – comfortable and doing her thing, and being her own person – is really great.”
But Sophie warned that “no relationship is perfect”.
She went on: “Ziggy’s 25 now – she’s been through those really big developmental years of who she’s going to be as a woman, and now she’s having to think about her future a little bit more.
“Then there’s the added thing of Dean being a bit older, and he also has a son. There’s a lot of responsibility there. I think there’s going to be a lot of ebbs and flows and bumps, and everything in between.”
Working with her off-screen lover Patrick O’Connor, who plays Dean, is a lot less stressful, as Sophie revealed how the two unwind after a hard day of filming.
Sophie explained: “It’s not weird doing a non-romantic storyline. The romance is great and really fun to play, but if anyone’s been in a long term relationship they know that’s not what it’s about, and that’s not what it’s like all the time.
“Sometimes it’s just the daily ins and outs of who’s cooking dinner, or ‘Do you need help today?'”
It’s also a bit of a role reversal for Sophie, who has revealed in real life that Paddy is a “amazing caregiver” for her.
Sophie has endometriosis and suffers from excruciating pain to the point where she can’t move and must take a lot of medication.
According to MailOnline, she’s had three operations to treat her uterine condition.
She explained to Daily Star: “Being Dean’s carer is a bit of a role reversal in our household because I have endometriosis, and I sometimes have really bad weeks, months, days of pain – and he is an incredible carer for me.
“That’s where that love is – day in day out we’re there for each other. All the little frustrations we have with work or friendships or anything, our families, the pandemic – that’s real life.”
And as for switching off from Soapland, Sophie giggled: “If we have a really big day on set, we actually both go very quiet.
“We literally have been known to lie in bed next to each other, totally silent, and one of us will pull up the Uber Eats app, write in what we want, hand it over without speaking and let the other person order what they want.
“We press send and no one says anything until they go and get the order from the front door!”
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