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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
National
Amy Martin

From Summer Bay to Yass: Home and Away returns with Canberra region episodes

Harley Bonner as Logan and Kadee Hollis as Sarah, on set in Yass. Below: Harley Bonner plays Logan, a trauma doctor. Picture: Supplied

While sports lovers were glued to the Olympics for the past two weeks, Home and Away fans have been waiting to see the outcome of the soap opera's mid-season cliffhanger.

But rather than this year's dramatic plotline playing out in the all-too-familiar Summer Bay, what viewers will see are scenes filmed in the Yass region when it returns on Monday evening.

Residents were alerted to the seven-day shoot in March when notices of major road disruptions in Wee Jasper were issued.

Home and Away is the latest crew to head to the region, joining the growing list of productions setting up shop in the Canberra area.

In January, Canberra played host to the US production of Blacklight - a thriller starring Liam Neeson - when the crew filmed multiple car chases in the city centre. Horror film Sissy, starring Aisha Dee from The Bold Type, also filmed in the capital late last year and it wasn't that long ago that Canberra caught the fab five fever when Queer Eye filmed in Yass.

While the Home and Away cast and crew were tight-lipped at the time as to what the Yass episodes would entail, it is now known the regional area is the scene of a car accident involving the characters Nikau, Dean and a pregnant Mia - played by Kawakawa Fox-Reo, Patrick O'Connor and Anna Samson, respectively.

Fans were left two weeks ago with scenes of Dean's car rolling down an embankment, Nikau flung from the back seat and the two other passengers unconscious as the car balanced on the edge of a cliff.

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Monday's episode will not only reveal the fate of the characters but it will also introduce the character of Logan Bennett, a trauma surgeon portrayed by Harley Bonner.

It's an interesting start to a career with the Australian soap opera famously set by the beach, with the regional scenes among some of the first the actor shot.

"It wasn't the first scenes but it was certainly the most intense stuff that I'd done," Bonner said.

"Usually we shoot the location stuff and then we shoot in the studio, but because it was such a massive project, we shot some of the studio stuff beforehand."

Harley Bonner's character Logan Bennett will be introduced in Home and Away's upcoming episode, which was filmed in Yass. Picture: Supplied

When the audience meets the character of Logan, he's on the scene of the crash before helping to load one of the characters into a helicopter to transport them to the hospital.

"That's why people are thinking that he's a paramedic. He's not a paramedic. He's a trauma surgeon who has served some time overseas," Bonner says.

"That's the main brunt of the character at this point. He's coming in and he's got some more uncouth ways of operating - figuratively and literally - than what Australia is used to and particularly what Summer Bay is used to.

"But he is effective and he's very confident in what he does. He's a real cheeky character and he's a lot of fun to play."

Bonner is no stranger to Australian soap operas. Not only did he play Josh Willis on Neighbours from 2013 to 2016, but he also spent his childhood on the soap opera's set.

His mum is Carla Bonner who portrayed Stephanie Scully on Neighbours from 1999 to 2018.

Home and Away fans were left with the characters of Dean and Mia balancing on the edge of a cliff. Picture: Supplied

"When I was shown around after getting the role on Home and Away and stepped into the studio again because I've been in those types of studios since I was about eight with mum, it felt like home," Bonner said.

"It was a bit of a sigh of relief when I got into that dark studio.

"I've been there for nearly five months now and it's been great. I've got to work with an array of the cast which has been really fun. I really love the job.

"Establishing the character and understanding and figuring out of the character has been a lot of fun."

  • Home and Away is on Prime 7 on Monday 7pm.
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