Ex-Home and Away, Neighbours star Orpheus Pledger jailed on assault charges

Former Neighbours and Home and Away heart-throb Orpheus Pledger has been in custody since March over assault charges.

EXCLUSIVE

Australian TV personality and former Home and Away star Orpheus Pledger is behind bars on assault charges, news.com.au can reveal.

The 30-year-old actor has been on remand since March 27 after his bail was refused, facing charges related to assault and causing injury.

Pledger briefly appeared via video link on Monday morning to have his matter mentioned, where his counsel, Jasper MacCuspie, requested the matter be adjourned.

Pledger’s matter, a scheduled bail application, and an application for a suppression order will all be heard later this month, with the accused remaining on remand until that date.

By then, Pledger will have spent almost a month behind bars while on remand.

A recurring face in Australian TV since his childhood, Pledger played a significant role in Neighbours in 2011, appeared in 339 episodes of Home and Away between 2016 and 2019, and starred as Tycho Everson in the mid-2000s dystopian teen drama Silversun.

He more recently made a short-lived appearance in the third season of SAS Australia in 2022, but abruptly quit the show after cast and crew expressed concerns over his “erratic behaviour”.

Former Home and Away star Orpheus Pledger has been recurring face in Australian TV since age eight.

The actor is facing assault charges. Picture: Jonathan Ng

While a Home and Away cast member and after being named a contender for Cosmo Bachelor of the Year, Pledger made headlines in mid-2018 after saving a woman from a violent assault at the hands of a hooded predator in Sydney’s Surry Hills.

“He just made a run for her. He ran 10 or 15 metres and grabbed her full around the body and threw her to the ground,” Pledger told The Daily Telegraph following the incident.

“My gut told me something was up. I was pretty frightened but the adrenaline kicked in. My initial reaction was for me to step in and to help.”

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Home and Away veteran Ray Meagher (left) and Pledger (right) pictured promoting the show in London. Picture: Seven

Pledger abruptly quit the third season of SAS Australia in 2022 after concerns over his ‘erratic behaviour’.

Acting roles seemingly dried up for Pledger following his departure from Home and Away when his character Mason Morgan, an aspiring student doctor on the show, was killed off in November 2019.

A 2022 return to television as a reality star was cut short when Pledger unexpectedly left SAS Australia over “erratic behaviour” just two days into the course.

Pledger played Mason Morgan (left) for several seasons of Home and Away between 2016 and 2019. Picture: Troy Snook

Acting work has dried up for the actor following his exit from Home and Away in November 2019. Picture: Christian Gilles

After drawing attention for refusing to help around camp, the actor left the military boot camp show, with his departure documented on the program.

Fellowrecruits claimed he appeared to be “off with the fairies”.

“If someone tries to make me do something that I need to do without telling me why, I find it intrusive. I find it annoying,” Pledger said during filming.

After being concerned about his behaviour, the show’s chief instructor, Ant Middleton, and lead medic, Dr Dan Pronk, checked Pledger’s psych test results before arranging a meeting.

SAS Australia’s Ant Middleton (left) and lead medic Dr Dan Pronk (centre) arranging a meeting with Pledger (right) about his ‘erratic behaviour’ before the former Home and Away star abruptly quit the show. Picture: SAS Australia via YouTube

“You seemed quite lost at the beginning,” Middleton said in the interview, which was aired on the program.

“You were stronger today … when you’re on it, you’re on it, but there’s no in-between ground. It’s either, ‘Yeah let’s f**king do this’ or, ‘Nah you’re not getting that out of me’.”

Pledger agreed with the assessment before shocking Middleton and Pronk with the declaration: “I want to go home … I definitely want to go home.”

In a post-show interview, Pledger said: “Completing a course like this, if it’s exactly what I’m required to learn, then I’m going to go for it.

“If I don’t want to learn it, then I’m not going to learn it, and if you call that quitting, then that’s quitting. Otherwise, it’s me doing what I want for myself because I care about other people.”

Pledger was on remand since March 27 over the alleged assault. Picture: David Swift

Middleton later said of the incident: “I don’t care if you’re Australia’s most loved celebrity, don’t come on my course if you’re not there to give absolutely everything.”

Pledger featured in a Men’s Health interview in 2019, where he briefly addressed the relationship between exercise and his mental health.

“Physical exercise helps me to vibrate at a higher frequency, alleviating stagnant energy and activating my senses, allowing me to think and feel with clarity,” he told the publication.

“When my mind is right, my life is right, and the best way to fast-track this synergy with my mind is to take care of my body.”

He added he had moved away from toxic influences in his life.

“What I look at, the pages I follow on Instagram, the things I listen to, the words I speak and the people I choose to spend my time with,” Pledger said.

“My aim is to have these areas of my life aligned with who I am and what I like, as they’re fundamentally influential to my overall mental health.”