‘You just want it to work out’: First look at on-screen wedding of James Stewart and Ada Nicodemou on Home And Away

Without the usual drama of a TV soapie wedding, James Stewart and Ada Nicodemou’s characters are set to tie the knot on Home And Away. See the exclusive photos.

The steadfastness of the relationship between Justin and Leah has been the model of love on Home And Away for so long that it’s hard to believe the pair aren’t married already.

Yet their impending nuptials – as anticipated as they are – won’t be big on histrionics and mayhem like so many soap weddings before them, promises actor James Stewart.

“I’m all for drama,” he admits to The Binge Guide, “but sometimes you just want it to work out.”

When it comes to TV weddings, few have captured the imagination like the 1987 nuptials of Scott and Charlene (Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue) on Neighbours.

There were no explosions, medical miracles or scandalous revelations at the altar – just a celebration of true love in all its 1980s big-hair and taffeta-covered glory.

Unlike the majority of soap weddings, it was relatively drama free – and that’s what actor James Stewart loved about it. “[TV weddings] have become overdramatic,” Stewart says.

“I’m all for drama but sometimes you just want it to work out. You want that good feeling.”

‘A fairytale’. On set as their Summer Bay characters, James Stewart and Ada Nicodemou tie the knot on Home And Away. Picture: Seven

Stewart says his own impending TV union on Home And Away borrows heavily from the same playbook, and sees his character Justin tying the knot with Leah (Ada Nicodemou) in an outdoor ceremony surrounded by Summer Bay favourites.

“In my lifetime, [Scott and Charlene’s ceremony] was the wedding that really stood out for me, and I still remember the hair,” he says, laughing at the memory of Minogue’s perm and Donovan’s mullet.

“We really wanted to find something like that – something all generations can really enjoy. So, everyone comes to the wedding, and it really is simple and beautiful. I’m really chuffed with it.”

Stewart says viewers have become so invested in Justin and Leah’s five-year love story because they’re one of the longest-running unmarried TV couples on our screens.

“They have always been boyfriend and girlfriend, and we were fine with that,” he adds.

“A lot of people don’t get married these days. They’d prefer to spend their life savings on something else. But there is something of a fairytale about doing it.”
Listen to the latest episode of Stellar’s podcast, Something To Talk About, with Brittany Hockley:

Ada Nicodemou and James Stewart on Home And Away. Picture: Seven

While Nicodemou’s character has become a seasoned marriage expert during her 24 years on the show (Leah arrived in Summer Bay in 2000 as a runaway bride and her wedding to Justin will be her fourth time saying “I do”), Stewart is more of a novice.

“The first time I was a TV groom was on Breakers, a show I did 25 years ago.

But this is the biggest one I have done on screen,” he recalls. “I’ve been a guest at a lot of Home And Away weddings, but never the groom until now.”

As a wedding veteran, Nicodemou gave Stewart some survival tips, particularly as it was filmed in a vineyard in sweltering heat. “She told me to stay hydrated because it was going to be a long day,” he recalls.

The wedding scenes were filmed before Stewart began rehearsals for Dancing With The Stars, so he wasn’t able to whip out any new moves for the bridal waltz. He did, however, get swept up in the romance of the day and hopes his TV wedding could become a significant pop-culture moment, like that of Scott and Charlene, Home And Away’s Shane and Angel (Dieter Brummer and Melissa George) in 1995, or Packed To The Rafters’ Mel and Ben (Zoë Ventoura and Hugh Sheridan) in 2009.

“Even ladies who are incarcerated in prison [are fans],” he reveals.

“Apparently, they’re only allowed to watch Home And Away; there are no other dramas they can watch. So the quietest time for security is at 7pm, because everyone’s getting ready for a little dose of Summer Bay.

“Finding this out has been the strangest thing in my world. It’s even stranger that they’re going to be getting their popcorn, sitting down and [feeling] excited to see Justin and Leah tie the knot … They may even shed a few tears.”

The wedding episode of Home And Away airs on April 9 at 7pm on the Seven Network. Read the full interview in The Binge Guide, out today.

Originally published as ‘You just want it to work out’: First look at on-screen wedding of James Stewart and Ada Nicodemou on Home And Away