Reallife TV couple makes unexpected return to series in which they found love | Soaps

Big news for Home and Away fans, as Sophie Dillman and Patrick O’Connor return to the show.

The stars, who play couple Ziggy Astoni and Dean Thompson, have reprized their roles in the Australian drama ahead of their return to our screens in 2025.

The show, which airs on Channel 5 in Britain, will begin filming a top-secret storyline in Queensland in the coming weeks.

Sophie joined the show in 2017 and Patrick joined the cast a year later.

Their characters left Summer Bay in 2023 after their on/off romance became hugely loved by fans.

After the birth of their daughter Izzy, Ziggy and Dean chose to leave and move to Queensland so Dean could be closer to his son Jai.

Although Izzy’s arrival was a happy time for the couple, Ziggy struggled to adapt to motherhood, as Sophie told us last year:

“As we saw, Ziggy wasn’t necessarily interested in getting pregnant at the time, so it was a big shock,” Sophie said. ‘She embraced it, but like many people she struggles with connecting with her baby, lack of sleep, hormone changes and everything in between.

‘She’s really scared, alone and doesn’t have her own mother there, even though Karen is fantastic. She got lost for a while. She is lucky to have Dean around and Karen to help her, but she struggles a lot.

‘Becoming a new mother or father is probably the hardest thing you can do in your life, so I’m not surprised that it really takes a while for many people to adjust.

‘I felt really honored to be able to tell that story, and hopefully as honestly as possible, because it’s so common – and can be so scary for so many people, so it really needs to be talked about more. ‘

Discussing their exciting return to the show, Sophie said: “It feels so good to be home!”, while Patrick added: “I can’t wait for the action and for fans to see this storyline play out.”

While Sophie and Patrick play a couple in Home and Away, they are also together in real life and bonded when they joined the soap.

Previously, Sophie revealed to The Morning Show that she knew Patrick when they ‘went to drama school together years ago’

‘We were friends at the time, and we were in different years at the time, so we didn’t really see each other – but then we found each other on the show. And conveniently, our characters came together on the show,” she added.

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