Home and Away heads to Alice Springs to film ‘special event’ with Braxton brothers storyline for Foxtel

EXCLUSIVE: The deserts of Alice Springs are as far from the beaches of Summer Bay as you can get. Channel 7 are heading to the heart of Australia for the dramatic return of the Braxton brothers

THE deserts of Alice Springs are as far from the beaches of Summer Bay as you can get.

Home and Away, Channel 7’s ever-evolving soap, heads to the heart of Australia for its latest feature-length episode and the dramatic return of the show’s most popular storyline about the troublesome Braxton brothers.

Following the show’s successful Eye For An Eye spin-off — which aired on Presto earlier this year — the “special event”, which premieres from tomorrow, offers Foxtel viewers the first look at the new ­Revenge episode, via its streaming service Foxtel Play and Foxtel On Demand.

The ‘special event’ comes after the shows successful spin-off, Eye for An Eye. Pictures: Channel 7

The episode will also be available to existing Presto subscribers.

It’s a top-rating trend the cable network plans to continue, with a third Home and Away feature, All Or Nothing, to air on January 26.

Former cast regular Dan Ewing saw the opportunity to return to the show which gave him his start as too good to ­refuse — reprising his role of one of the three notorious Braxton brothers, Heath.

The 31-year-old was central to the first spin-off’s storyline — a kidnapping drama which built to a true, heart-stopping, cliffhanger ending.

The latest drama sees Heath and his on-screen bride Bianca (played by Lisa Gormley) head north on honeymoon, only to be followed by an arch-nemesis.

The spin-off rated extremely well for Presto with a third feature ‘All Or Nothing’ set to air January 26.

“It was just like getting the band back together,” Ewing told the Sunday Territorian.

“The first time I came back to do this was just a hoot. Lisa and I have been shooting on the regular show as well to help lead into this.”

Since leaving the series, Ewing said Braxton had continued to change, essential for both the character and his own experience as an actor.

Speaking on set in Alice Springs, Ewing said: “When I left, he was all right but still wearing boardies and singlets with naked chicks and a tattoo of a grenade on his neck.

“Heath has a teenager daughter, so I said that would probably have to go. He’s still Heath, but as you do, he’s aged and changed and grown.

The latest drama sees Heath (Dan Ewing) and Bianca (Lisa Gormley) head north on a honeymoon.

“I didn’t want to go back and do the same old thing … people change with their environment, so naturally if the guy’s living in the city he probably couldn’t roll around in a singlet and carry on the way that he did. A gun tattoo on the back of your neck isn’t great for parent-teacher (interviews),” he said, laughing.

While Ewing enjoyed his time on the special episode, fans will be disappointed to learn he won’t be returning to the show full time.

“I’m quite busy, and very grateful to be busy as an actor, so I probably wouldn’t sign for three years … but the way we’re doing these ‘special event’ projects, I’d certainly have the conversation (with producers) about what we can do together again.”

Revenge also features Summer Bay regulars George Mason and Kyle Pryor, drawing the loyal audiences of Seven’s longest-running series (averaging 1.337 nationally) to Foxtel’s developing digital platform — using the lure of original content from tried-and-tested programs.

It’s a clever strategy used recently by rival Netflix, which revived popular programs including Gilmore Girls and Full House for a new ­online audience.

Dan Ewing couldn’t turn down the opportunity to play Heath.

Revenge also introduces Home and Away’s first indigenous female character, an Alice Springs-based detective named Amy Peters played by actor Lisa Flanagan. The Redfern Now star hopes the role is a sign of positive things to come for Aboriginal actors appearing on the main series.

“I want to work on paving the way for the next generation of Aboriginal actors.

“That’s my long-term goal … be there for my people and show the path.

“It’s pretty badass, I’m pretty proud of myself,” she said.

Although the tide is turning for greater diversity on TV, she said some road blocks ­remained: “We still don’t get auditions for the major Hollywood stuff, like the Thor project or films that come into Queensland to shoot

“Black actors don’t get the call and it’s really crappy.

“I called my agent and asked to audition, but we just don’t get the scripts handed to us to audition for these pieces, but it’s definitely changing.”

Originally published as Home and Away heads to Alice Springs to film ‘special event’ with Braxton brothers storyline for Foxtel