Home And Away gets darker with gritty, dramatic storylines

Summer Bay’s innocence has been lost as the show takes a dark, dramatic turn with more controversial adult content they want families to talk about.

Home And Away star James Stewart’s mum phoned him recently to ask if he was the one who killed scammer Susie.

“Did you do it Jimmy? Did you do it?,” she asked.

It’s certainly not the first time she’s pleaded with him to reveal secrets of his on-screen alter ego Justin Morgan.

She’s an avid Home And Away watcher and you mustn’t call her weeknights between 7pm and 7.30pm as she sits entranced by the antics in Summer Bay.

Every time she asks, Stewart patiently replies “I can’t tell you Ma, you have to watch.”

Script executive Louise Bowes can top that.

Her mum refused to speak to her for an entire month after she “killed” Ryan “Robbo” Shaw (Jake Ryan) in tear-jerking scenes last year.

“It was like I was dead to her,” Bowes said, adding with a laugh her mum’s only just forgiven her.

“We get messages through social media asking why have you done this? Or we demand this happily ever after for such and such, all the time.”

James Stewart as Justin Morgan in Home And Away has tackled some meaty storylines recently. Picture: Supplied/ Home And Away

Such are the joys of working on the Aussie institution that is Home And Away.

But as producer Lucy Addario explains it really is one of the biggest joys of their roles to provoke such reactions in audiences.

“(I love) seeing how the stories affects our audience and how we have that ability to make them feel,” she said.

Actors have often spoken of their rigorous schedule in Summer Bay. And it’s mirrored off screen with a team of some 20 in-house writers, freelancers and story boarders led by Bowes, churning out the storylines to fill the two-and-a-half hours of drama, most weeks of the year.

The process all starts on a Monday morning some three months out from the episode airing. The whiteboard is blank. There’s always nerves about filling that board, but at the end of the two days of planning, there’s always the tentative shape of100 scenes ready to be fleshed out by the creative team.

Addario believes it truly is more intense for the writers.

“I think Lou literally works 24/7 – she lives and breathes it,” she shares.

“She’s got all the voices in her head, She doesn’t stop, you can’t really turn it off”

Home And Away star James Stewart with his mum Beve who's a super fan of the show and will often ring him to try and get the goss. Picture: Supplied

Stewart’s character Justin Morgan is currently the main suspect in the murder of fraudster Susie McAlister, played by Bridie Carter. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Bowes interjects: “You don’t want to turn it off. But everybody across the board on the show works super hard and are very dedicated. But from my little corner of it, we love and breathe the stories and every character on it. If you didn’t love it, you couldn’t do it. It’s just too brutal.”

Especially brutal on those days when Bowes and the team have made the decision to kill someone off in the Bay. And there are genuine tears shed in the writing room.

“It’s a double-edged sword for us as well,” she shares. “We do work really closely with the actors as well. So we are not only saying goodbye to a beloved character. We are actually saying goodbye to the actor who has brought them to life for however long. It’s double grief – you wish it could go on forever, but it’s one of the realities of the show that you have to make these decisions to keep it moving.”

In the world of soap operas, core human dramas — hatches, matches and dispatches — play out over and over again. You’ve got to wonder if there’s a statue of limitations on when you can “rehash” a plot. Turns out there’s not.

“Our philosophy is characters first,” Bowes explains. “Ten people can experience the same thing but have 10 different reactions and that will take the story in 10 different directions even though it’s technically the same story.

“We don’t shy away from a story just because it was done however many years ago. We just find a new way to do it with those characters.”

Bowes most definitely subscribes to the well-worn trope “keep your lovers apart and your enemies close”.

“Ah yes, that is probably my most joyful evil to play the chess pieces,” she laughs. “I guess the danger is sometimes not giving the audience enough of the dream. You’ve always got to be mindful that if you are going to take something away, you need to make sure the audience wants it to begin with.”

Stewart in a scene with his on-screen sister Tori, played by Penny McNamee. Picture: Supplied/ Home And Away

While there’s no doubt it’s heightened drama, Home And Away has over its 33 years also been at the forefront of some truly important storylines. Addario, Bowes and Stewart are particularly proud of the current one which has seen Stewart’s character Justin in the throes of a painkiller addiction after an operation to remove a benign cancer in his spine. It’s putting a huge strain on his relationship with Leah (Ada Nicodemou).

It’s certainly replicating society. As of 2017, doctors in Australia were cumulatively writing more than 15 million prescriptions for opioid pain killers every year. While this may not seem dangerous, 1-in-10 who are prescribed an opioid become addicted to their prescription.

“Look, running on to the beach with a six-pack and the sun out, that’s great,” Stewart says.

“We do some fluff pieces but this has been really important to me.

“I think every life has its demons and dark places and Justin is going through his own right now.

“After rehab from his operation, the pain didn’t stop. He couldn’t work, he couldn’t surf. Then he takes one painkiller and the pain goes away. And then he thinks ‘if I have double then maybe I could go for a surf before work and then when I get home I can make love to my girlfriend’.

“It wasn’t him going ‘Oh, I want to have drugs’. It’s him going ‘I want to be normal, I want to be virile again. I want to please my girlfriend and look after my family again’.”

And it’s been a rapid downward spiral to lying and gaslighting his nearest and dearest.

“That to me was the drama – the disrespecting of the one that you love the most,” Stewart says.

Stewart with daughter Scout, whom he says is a fan of the show but not her dad’s kissing scenes.

He thoroughly researched the problem after sitting down with the writing team to discuss his character’s arc. And Australia is certainly not immune from the rampant opioid problem that is sweeping the globe. In fact, In 2019, opioids were present in 3-in-5 drug-induced deaths (60.5 per cent or 1129 deaths). Similarly to alcohol, people underestimate the dangerous potential of prescription medications.

“I’m really happy that Home went there,” Stewart says. “But I’m also glad that children could sit with their folks watching the show and maybe ask the questions ‘Mum and Dad, would you stay with a person who lied to you like that?’. Entertaining is one thing – this is really important.”

His own nine-year-old daughter Scout, who he shares with his ex-partner, Packed to the Rafters actress Jessica Marais, tunes in regularly, but covers her eyes during the kissing scenes.

Stewart with wife Sarah Robert, whom he met on set where she played Willow Harris. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

While he’s most passionate about this current arc, he has a very soft spot for when Willow Harris rode into the Bay on a black motorbike, clad in black leathers, with her long black hair and her – yes, you guessed it – black attitude and smacked him in the chest with her helmet. Her off-screen alter-ego Sarah Roberts smacked Stewart right in the heart. The pair married in Ireland in 2019.

“I think both Justin and James bounded out of bed each day,” Stewart confesses. “I mean, just other than being attractive, I didn’t know she was the just a good human with the kindest heart. She really, really is the best of humanity.”

He’s quite content to go with the writers’ plans for his character. But he does occasionally throw ideas in the ring and he’s been successful twice.

“One was I wanted my family to have a dog and we got one,” Stewart laughs. “I tell you what he works rarely, but he’s got a great trailer and you can pay him in chicken which is great.”

Stewart in a scene with on-screen partner Leah (Ada Nicademou) and sister Tori (Penny McNamee). Picture: Supplied/ Home And Away

The other was being able to perform his good mate Pete Murray’s song Saving Grace at his on-screen sister Dr Tori Morgan’s (Penny McNamee) engagement party. “I begged and offered and begged and then Sony and Channel 7 worked out a deal.”

Bowes jokes she loves it when actors come up with ideas because it’s one less she has to develop.

Emily Symons who – along with Ray Meagher as Alf Stewart and Lynne McGranger as Irene Roberts – is one of the longest-serving characters in the Bay. She’s been Marilyn on and off for 30 years and constantly marvels at the “wonderful and creative” storylines.

“It’s a pleasure to tell their stories,” she says, before confessing she’s always wished for a handbag dog for Marilyn.

“I have always thought it would be really funny for her to have a dog like Elle Woods in Legally Blonde. Put pink bows on it and carry it around in her handbag. Also, it would drive Mr Stewart crazy and then after a while he would secretly really love it and watch TV with it on his lap.”

Marilyn’s been a huge part of Symons’ life since she was 19. She says the instant she dons those towering heels, she’s instantly transformed into the much-loved character. And she’s been fortunate to be part of so many powerful stories.

“Oh my goodness, the 2019 hospital siege comes to mind because that was such a terrifying season finale where Marilyn thought she was going to die,” Symons says. “And the 2016 finale, where Marilyn was caught up in the bushfires and Marilyn’s husband at the time, John, was revealed as the mystery arsonist.”

Emily Symons as Marilyn has loved playing the character on and off for 30 years. Picture: Supplied/ Home And Away

However, as good as the cliffhanger storylines are, she prefers comedy.

“I loved when Marilyn got amnesia and forgot who she was and forgot she was married to John, and she kept on saying ‘where is my husband, Donald? …’.”

In fact, it’s the Donald Fisher (Norman Coburn) storyline which fans still bring up after all these years. When Marilyn headed back to school as a mature-aged student to get her HSC and ended up falling for the headmaster (Donald) and marrying him.

“People still call out to me across the street ‘how’s Mr Fisher?’,” Symons shares. “I think at the time, it was mildly controversial because of the age difference, but still very amusing.”

And, no she can’t imagine putting those heels away permanently. “It is such a privilege to be one of the members of the Home And Away cast and I am very proud of what we do,” she says. “I would like for Marilyn to be able to keep telling her stories for the foreseeable future.”

Given Home And Away is still rating its socks off, it looks unlikely that we’ll be farewelling Summer Bay and its residents anytime soon. Last week was the second-highest rating week of the year so far averaging 996,000 nationally, 603,000 metro. In fact the last five weeks of Home And Away have been the highest-rating of the year so far.

Stewart, Bowes and Addario echo Symons’ sentiments and plan to be around for the long haul.

Bowes, formerly a nurse who got into scriptwriting almost three decades ago after filling a two-week research spot on A Country Practice and then begged a producer for a shot in the script room, can’t ever imagine not working on the show.

“I’ll never, say never – but as long as it’s here. I will be.”

Home And Away, Monday -Thursday, 7pm, Seven

Originally published as Home And Away gets darker with gritty, dramatic storylines