Steve Peacocke and Dan Ewing bulk up TV ratings for Home and Away

THEY arrived to rough up those squeaky clean folks of Summer Bay but the Braxton brothers have added muscle to Home and Away's ratings.

Logie winner Steve Peacocke has scored his First International film role in .

THEY muscled their way into the squeaky clean surrounds of Summer Bay, all tattoo collars and criminal pasts.

Modelled on the infamous surf gangs of Maroubra, the Braxton brothers or `River boys' as they were introduced to Home and Away's young viewers were tall, dark and dangerous.

Fast forward four seasons and the Brax effect has seen the Channel 7 series' ratings skyrocket, the audience broaden beyond its screaming schoolgirl fan base and is about to make a global star of lead actor and Logie winner, Steve Peacocke.

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The down-to-earth Dubbo-raised actor is currently shooting his international film debut in Budapest, starring opposite Dwayne `The Rock' Johnson in Brett Ratner's latest blockbuster Hercules.

Logie winner Steve Peacocke has scored his First International film role in .

But it's his role as Daryl `Brax' Braxton which has catapulted the former labourer to stardom and cemented his place as a favourite with the show's most ardent followers.

His co-star, Dan Ewing, who plays Brax's brother Heath, says the River boys storyline tapped into the fact that edgy surf culture went well beyond just the Bra boys and was ``up and down the coast (of Australia).

Alongside Lincoln Younes (Casey Braxton), the trio are, of course, pin-ups with the schoolgirl set but their larrikin characters have also made them popular with male viewers, young and old.

Peacocke's country boy charm carries through on screen, Ewing says of his absent friend.

"The girls love him and the blokes want to have a beer with him.''

On the mend after emergency appendicitis surgery last week, Ewing said Peacocke was the first to email from his film set in Hungary.

"He was trying to make me laugh so hard my stitches split.''

Jackson Gallagher and Tai Hara have joined as the Barrett brothers.

Series producer Lucy Addario said Peacocke was key to the show's solid ratings, which average over 1.5 million nationally each weeknight, with another gang of brothers recently written into the soap after the success with the River boys.

"He's a very talented young man and definitely has that X factor. As Brax, he's a favourite with young girls and the young mums, but it's his character's focus on family, even when they're on the wrong side of crime that reassures the audience," Ms Addario said.

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