Long-time fans of Home and Away will be pleased to learn that Salvatore Coco will reprise his role as Dimitri Poulos in Summer Bay next year. A shot from the set may have indicated the departure of another character.
Dimitri Poulos, the eldest of the Poulos siblings (Leah (Ada Nicodemou), Chris (Alex Blias), and Alex (Danny Raco), was last seen on the show in 2005, at Leah’s wedding to Dan Baker (Tim Campbell).
Although there hasn’t been much mention of Dimitri since then, the recent introduction of his son Theo (Matt Evans) has reintroduced his name to fans’ thoughts, sparking discussion over whether he may return in the near future.
Salvatore Coco is a musician, actor, and master of ceremonies who is most known for his role as Con Bordino in the 1990s adolescent drama Heartbreak High, in which he co-starred with Ada Nicodemou.
Last month, Salvatore confirmed a new filming gig on Instagram, saying that he felt “blessed” to be back on set, but when asked for details on the role by fans, he kept his cards close to his chest.
“I can’t say at this point,” he exclaimed, “but these scripts are a cracker!!” “Well written and a pleasure to work on.”
While an image of a company’s unit cars may not reveal much to the casual viewer, those acquainted with Home and Away’s filming process couldn’t help but notice the all-too-familiar settings.
A recent Instagram post by a crew member revealed a peek of a filming schedule, indicating that Dimitri’s antics will be causing complications with Leah once more, with her presumably making the tough decision to’report’ her brother for some unknown misdemeanour.
Any rumours about Dimitri’s comeback were all but verified over the weekend when a photo of Salvatore on set with Lynne McGranger (Irene) and Harley Bonner, captured by a fan in Palm Beach, surfaced on social media (Logan).
In May 2003, Dimitri made his debut appearance during a family gathering to commemorate Alex’s 21st birthday. Dimitri soon established himself as the most fiery of the four siblings, as well as a stickler for following Greek family customs.
We learned from Alf that Dimitri had married his childhood sweetheart, Melinda, and that they had two children together, one of whom we now knew was Theo, during a chat. Melinda was unable to attend since she was expecting her third child any day now.
Tensions between the brothers immediately increased when Dimitri drove up from the city in the fancy automobile that his parents Theo (Silvio Ofria) and Helen (Peta Toppano) had purchased Alex for his birthday. Despite Alex’s request that his father not give him a car, it was one of many family traditions, and Dimitri worked tirelessly throughout the day to ensure that standards were maintained, much to Alex’s chagrin.
Things came to a head when the two brothers clashed over Leah’s relationship with ex-criminal Jesse McGregor (Ben Unwin), whom the family would never approve of. Alex, in Dimitri’s opinion, should have called a halt to their relationship. As Leah attempted to diffuse the situation, their father Theo fell from a heart attack.
After their father was stabilised in the hospital, Dimitri told Alex that he had always strived to be the perfect, faithful son that his father desired in order to give his younger siblings more freedom, and the two brothers reconciled.
Later that year, Dimitri, Chris, and Theo met Leah at the airport as she was leaving for the United States with VJ, who required a surgery to save his hearing. When Leah realised she’d forgotten the passports, there was a little glitch, but when Jesse showed there and rescued the day, he was redeemed in her family’s eyes.
Dimitri’s last appearance was in July 2005, when he and other Patterson family members arrived to the Patterson home to discover chaos—the priest’s mother had had a stroke, and Leah had announced that her wedding to Dan had been cancelled. Summer Bay came together in the end to make Leah and Dan’s wedding day one to remember.
Dimitri attended the wedding with an anonymous and uncredited lady, who may or could not be his wife Melinda.
When Dimitri’s son Theo (named after his grandpa) showed up on Leah’s doorstep sixteen years later, she was taken aback. After getting caught speeding, the 20-year-old made a big appearance, led by local officer Cash Newman (Nicholas Cartwright).
