List of Home and Away characters introduced in 2011
Home and Away is an Australian television soap opera. It was first broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in 2011, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by the shows series producer Cameron Welsh. The 24th season of Home and Away began airing on 24 January 2011. The following month, the Braxton brothers; Darryl, Heath and [|Casey] were introduced. Miranda Jacobs and Kieran Monroe made their debuts in April. [|Marty Jones] made his debut in June and Tegan Callahan arrived the following month. Fletcher Humphrys joined the cast in July as Gang Member Jake Pirovic. August saw the introductions of Harvey Ryan, [|Hammer], Stu Henderson and [|Sasha Bezmel]. Shane Emmett made his debut as Mark Gilmour in September and lawyer Hayley O'Connor began appearing from October.
Darryl Braxton
Darryl "Brax" Braxton, played by Steve Peacocke, made his first screen appearance on 16 February 2011. The character and casting was announced on 9 January 2011. Peacocke heard about the role from his agent and he called the audition process "a lot of fun". Brax is the oldest of three brothers known as The River Boys, a "bad-boy surf gang with dodgy reputations." A writer for Channel Seven's Home and Away website stated that Brax has a "dodgy reputation and a chip on his shoulder." He is a surfing legend and commands a respect from his fellow surfies, which he finds useful. Peacocke commented that Brax just wants to escape his upbringing and have a successful family life. Brax tries to keep his younger brothers Heath and Casey out of trouble. Shortly after his arrival, Darryl began a relationship with Charlie Buckton. For his portrayal of Darryl, Peacocke won the Logie Award for Most Popular New Male Talent in 2012.Heath Braxton
Heath Braxton, played by Daniel Ewing, made his first on-screen appearance on 16 February 2011, originally departed on 29 July 2014 and made a one-off appearance on 23 September 2014. Heath is the second oldest of the Braxton brothers and was initially described as being "feared by cops and the residents of his home town of Mangrove River" and having a short fuse. Heath was the first of The River Boys to be announced, with Ewing's casting revealed on 24 September 2010. Heath is Ewing's second role with Home and Away, having appeared as Reuben Humphries in 2007. For his role, Ewing had to get fit and he joked "I don't think they would cast overweight guys to play surfers, so yeah, I'm sure it was a factor for the producers." He added that he cannot surf well and was relieved that the producers did not test his surfing skills at his audition.Casey Braxton
Casey Braxton, played by Lincoln Younes, made his first on-screen appearance on 17 February 2011 and departed on 16 September 2014. Casey is the youngest of the Braxton brothers. The Daily Telegraph said that Casey is trying to break out of the River Boys mould and that he was kicked out of his last high school. Younes was planning to go to London to travel and to find himself, but after a successful audition for Home and Away, he decided to cancel his plans to play the part of Casey. He relocated to Sydney for the role. Casey is described as being a "modern day Rebel Without a Cause." He has never quite fitted in and he does not know what he wants from life. He has been overshadowed by both of his brothers and he has struggled at school. Casey later begins a relationship with Ruby Buckton, following her fling with Romeo Smith.Miranda Jacobs
Miranda Jacobs, played by Ashley Cheadle, made her first on-screen appearance on 6 April 2011. Miranda comes to Summer Bay to compete in the Surf Carnival and she begins dating Xavier Austin.It was revealed in January 2011 that Cheadle had joined the cast of Home and Away as a love interest for one of the characters. Cheadle is a professional surfer and Tania Seager of Yahoo!7 said she is "not the standard beach blond surfer that typifies our Summer Bay culture." Cheadle's character, Miranda, competes against Ruby Buckton in the Surf Carnival and Cheadle revealed that she and Breeds did their own stunts, which she said was "fun." Seager said "Miranda also sorts out the boys from the men and gives Xavier a lot to think about." Miranda briefly dates Xavier Austin and she is "annoyed" when she discovers that he lied to her about being in university. Miranda gives him a second chance, but Xavier manages to "mess things up" again. Holy Soap said that it had not been confirmed how long Miranda would be in the show.
Xavier Austin delivers pizza to Miranda's house and she flirts with him. Xavier later attends a party at Miranda's home and she assumes he is a university student. They arrange to meet her again and go to a party hosted by Ruby Buckton and Casey Braxton. When April Scott is thrown into the swimming pool, Miranda and Xavier help her out and take her home. Miranda invites Xavier to an exhibition at an art gallery and they late fall asleep on the beach. Miranda tells Xavier that she will help train him for the Surf Carnival. Gina Austin invites Miranda to give a talk at Summer Bay High and Miranda discovers Xavier is a school student. Xavier begs Miranda for a second chance, which she agrees to. She helps him out with a pizza delivery, but when she hears him lying to Angelo Rosetta she tells him that he needs to grow up and leaves. On the day of the Surf Carnival, Ruby Buckton goads Miranda and during the race, Ruby deliberately tries to cut Miranda off. Miranda knocks Ruby into the water and wins the race. Ruby has a go at Miranda for cheating and Xavier stands up for her.
Kieran Monroe
Kieran Monroe, played by Andrew Hazzard, made his first on-screen appearance on 6 April 2011. Kieran was introduced as a love interest for Indigo Walker, but his attempts to win her over make him seem "creepy".Hazzard said joining Home and Away was "fun" and that the cast and crew had been very welcoming. Hazzard described Kieran as being a "quite a straightforward, achievement-orientated guy... in his own mind anyway." Hazzard told Holy Soap that he saw his character as wanting to succeed at his university course and his relationship with Indigo. Kieran wants to own a farm and become a great husband and father. Hazzard also felt that Kieran has been "messed around" by people. Kieran meets Indigo at a party and he falls in love with her instantly. Even though she lies to him and he does not know what is happening with their relationship, Kieran cannot stop his feelings of love for her. Kieran meets Indigo's family and Hazzard said that he "tries to be as amiable as he possibly can be. I think he feels if he makes a great impression on Indi's family, then he will have more of a chance with Indi."
Kieran also meets Indigo's ex-boyfriend, Romeo Smith at the party. Hazzard said that his character "definitely knows something has happened" between Indigo and Romeo and Kieran wants Romeo out of his way. When asked if Kieran is dangerous, Hazzard opined that he thinks his character has a "dangerous streak", but he did not think Kieran would hurt Indigo. The actor explained that Kieran want to be the best he can possibly be and his emotions get the better of him. On playing a bad guy, Hazzard told the website, "I didn't actually see Kieran as a 'bad guy'. Even in his final scene, where he is manhandling Indi out of the bushes and attempting to put her in his car, I feel that he was doing all of that with the best intentions. He says, 'What would your dad say if I left you out here?', and I feel that really was his motivation for wanting to get her back in his car. He really did just want to get her home safely." The actor added that Kieran could appear to come across as a bad guy from the viewer's point of view, but not from his character's. He said "He's lovesick, I think. And as we all know, sometimes love makes us do some crazy things."
Kieran meets Indigo Walker at a party and he later sends her a flirty text. Kieran asks her out and Indigo says that she will get back to him. Romeo Smith then warns Kieran to back off. Indigo accepts Kieran's invitation for a date, but when he wants to meet up again, Indigo tells him that she is busy. Kieran shows up and Indigo's house and he helps Indigo and her brother, Dexter, put together some furniture. Indigo tells Kieran that she just got out of a relationship and she is not interested in him. Kieran appears to accept this, but when Indigo goes to a club to see a band, he turns up too. Kieran offers to drive Indigo and Nicole Franklin and they accept. Kieran drops Nicole off, but tries to take Indigo somewhere else. She panics and asks him to let her out of the car. Kieran does and he drives off. He later comes back to find Indigo, which scares her. He grabs her and is trying to get her into his car, when Romeo arrives. Romeo goes to fight Kieran, but Indigo tells him not to.
Erin Miller of TV Week called Kieran "freaky" and a stalker. She also said that he "kept hanging around Indi like a bad smell." Miller later said Kieran was "a rather intense suitor" and "crazed."
Marty Jones
Marty Jones, played by Matty Lui, made his first appearance on 27 June 2011. Lui won the role of Marty after an audition in Hawaii. Lui told Yahoo!7, "My agent called me up and said that they are casting a really cool role on the most famous show in Australia and if I was up to auditioning for it, I jumped at the chance and it was awesome working with a super great cast and crew in Hawaii." Lui is a Hawaiian five time surf champion, which the writers incorporated into his character's storyline. While Lui was on the set he taught Samara Weaving to surf.Roo Stewart, Romeo Smith and Indi Walker travel to Hawaii to attend a tourism exhibition. Marty is Roo and Romeo's business acquaintance and Indigo helps win him over. Marty later makes Indi a job offer, but Indi turns it down. Marty is happy for her and Romeo when they get married during their stay. Roo tries to distract herself from talking to Sid Walker by spending time with Marty. When she introduces Sid to Marty, he makes Roo realise that she is actually attracted to Sid, and he encourages her to pursue a relationship with him.