Jessica Marais and ex James Stewart go head-to-head on rival networks

TV GOLDEN girl Jessica Marais and her ex are set to go head-to-head on rival networks next year whenJames Stewart debuts on Home and Away.

TV GOLDEN girl Jessica Marais and her ex are set to go head-to-head on rival networks next year whenJames Stewart debuts on Home and Away.

Stewart, who announced his separation from Marais in May, after six years, is well-known to Australian TV audiences for his work on Packed To The Rafters.

And after spending the past year as a stay at home dad to three-year-old daughter Scout (he shares custody with Marais) is ready to hit the screen again. Marais will star in Ten drama The Wrong Girl.

“Now that she’s out of that ­toddler stage, it is time for daddy to go to work,” the 40-year-old said.

Home and Away new cast members Jackson Heywood, James Stewart and Orpheus Pledger who play brothers, Justin, Brody and Mason.

He will join actors Jackson Heywood and Orpheus Pledger who hope to give the Brax Boys a run for their money as the trio of Morgan brothers who next week begin filming on the popular TV soap. “Creating this family is probably more our priority than taking over the Brax boys,” Stewart said.

“How do you take on Steve ­Peacocke(Brax)? I hope Australia is ready for it, it is the way it is.”

Jessica Marais is starring in Ten drama The Wrong Girl.

Home and Away new castmate James Stewart.

While they begin shooting next week, the Morgan brothers won’t be seen on air until next year.

Heywood, 27, will play Brody, a chef with big ambitions. Heywood is from Sydney’s northern beaches but has spent the past three years living in Los Angeles. He, too, expects comparisons to the Braxton brothers (Darryl, Heath and Casey) that were played by Peacocke, Lincoln Younes andDan Ewing.

“I can definitely see that, but I think we have a very different dynamic,” he said. “It will be exciting to tell the story and as it will be revealed, it will be a very different story.”

Pledger, 22, has moved from Melbourne to Sydney and will no doubt be a hit with the young female fans with his buff body. “I care very much about the way I treat my body,” he said. “I am very into nutrition and keeping fit and yes I have a heavy training regimen.”