Ada Nicodemou, who plays Leah Patterson on Home and Away, has stated that she and Justin Morgan (James Stewart) are planning to take Leah’s wayward nephew Theo Poulos (Matt Evans) under their wing.
After Theo, Leah’s brother Dimitri Poulos’ kid, shows up brutally bruised, spinning a storey about being carjacked and abused, the couple gets an unexpected visit.
“Leah is a good friend of Theo’s. They are from a large, close-knit Greek family, so she adores him, as she does her entire family, and she wants to help in any way she can,” Ada stated.
But it quickly becomes clear that Theo has gotten himself involved in something shady, and he is being pursued by thugs…
“Theo is a disturbed young guy, but Leah doesn’t seem to think so!” He’s her most beloved nephew. “Justin is concerned because he can see through his charm and how he’s playing Leah,” Ada explained.
“Leah discovers he’s lying to her about why he got beaten up again, which is difficult to hear because she had stood up for him.”
“It’s a typical’mother’ reaction to believe that your child isn’t a nasty person and would never lie,” says the author. It’s heartbreaking to learn of her nephew’s death.”
Leah promises to put him on the straight and narrow as it is revealed that he was targeted as retaliation for an insurance scam he was involved in.
She finds him a place to stay and helps him find work. However, Justin is afraid that Theo is taking advantage of his aunt’s kind nature.
“Leah reminds Justin that whenever he needed help, she was there for him and gave him so many opportunities,” she says. “He has to do the same for Theo,” Ada emphasised.
“Justin recognises the importance of being there for her family, just as she was for his.”
After Leah’s own son VJ Patterson departed Summer Bay in 2018, Ada remarked that she’s appreciated watching Leah’s more motherly attitude come to the fore again.
“It’s really lovely to have a family member come back in and also to be able to exhibit another aspect of Leah, which is her caring side,” she said.
“There’s this fantastic scene when Leah invites Theo over to her place, prepares a supper for them, and they all sit down together.
“Theo is enamoured with the whole family unit concept because he never used to eat supper with his parents.”
“Leah enjoys it because she enjoys having family around her, and Justin is also extremely family oriented, so this allows Leah and Justin to be a family.”
It’s evident that it won’t be easy, since Theo is not only ungrateful when Justin offers him a job at the garage, but he also arrives late for his first shift and does all in his power to irritate him…
When Leah and Justin initially started dating in 2019, it was a seductive covert relationship. Their relationship has been strained since Justin’s tumour shock and subsequent painkiller addiction – let alone having their life savings stolen by thief Susie McAllister!
“They’ve been put to the test!” And then, just as they’ve gotten through it all, Theo shows up and puts their love to the test once more,” Ada agreed.
“However, they’re fairly solid after everything they’ve been through, and they know they want to remain with each other.”
“They’ve been through the worst of it and come out on top, so I believe they’re incredibly resilient.”
Although it’s true that Leah is the smallest of the Poulos siblings, Ada points out that Matt Evans, who plays Theo, makes her appear even smaller!
“Matt is a joy to work with and a great comedian. “However, they couldn’t have cast anybody taller!” Ada cracked a joke.
“Shooting with the two of us is a lot of fun! Matt is a towering figure. It’s hilarious to watch me, who is so small, holding him. He’s as big as a colossus!”
Matt is a newbie to acting, having initially appeared on Australian television in a version of The Voice. Have Ada and James been assisting him in any way?
“He’s naturally gifted, but he also listens, watches, and puts in a lot of effort,” she explained.
“He asks both James and myself a lot of questions, and we’re pleased to answer them.” He has excellent timing and is naturally witty and intelligent. He’s doing fantastic.”
We’re excited to watch how the Patterson-Morgan family will evolve in the future!
