Zoe Ventoura joins cast of Home and Away in TV soap return

Zoe Ventoura is excited to make her return to Australian television this week at a time when stories being told on screen are braver and more representative than ever before. The Packed to the Rafters star will debut her new role on Home and Away.

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She was Australia’s sweetheart as Melissa Rafter and, after six years away, Zoe Ventoura is excited to make her return to Australian television this week.

The Packed To The Rafters star has spent the past six years based in Los Angeles with her husband, actor and TV host Daniel MacPherson but was tempted back home with a “meaty” role on Channel 7 soap Home and Away.

Ventoura plays Dr Alex Neilson, a tough trauma specialist in Summer Bay’s hospital.

Zoe Ventoura is making her TV comeback to star on Home and Away.

While refusing to give away too much of her character’s upcoming storyline, she reveals it’s one that may not have been told in the past and is one of the reasons she took the role. “There's stuff that happens down in the storyline that I’m not supposed to be talking about just yet but is part of the reason why this role was so interesting to me and that’s part of that push forward,” she told The Sunday Telegraph.

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Network television has historically shunned bold story arcs that may upset advertisers but recently shows such as Home and Away and Neighbours have been taking bolder chances in an effort to better represent society.

It’s a move Ventoura says couldn’t have come soon enough.

“It certainly feels like things such as diversity and representation on screen are a little bit overdue but also really wonderful,” she said.

“These massive shows, they have international appeal, they have these huge fan bases and I think it’s really positive and really exciting the way they’re going.”

Zoe lived in Los Angeles with her husband Daniel MacPherson for six years.

Ventoura was accompanied by MacPherson for the first couple of months of filming but he’s now filming the final season of British spy thriller Strike Back in Croatia for six months.

The couple, who married in 2015 after meeting on the set of Wild Boys four years earlier, spend a lot of hours on FaceTime and visit each other as often as they can.

“We have just had a big production break and I went over there and will get to go over again before he finishes,” Ventoura said.

It’s a tough system that some find difficult to grasp, but Ventoura says it works perfectly for them as both fully understand the requirements for working in the industry.

“There's a certain depth of understanding that would be hard for someone out of the industry to quite grasp,” she said.

“We totally get it because we're both in the same industry and the same boat.”