Australia’s Daily Telegraph reports that Joshua, who is best known for playing Conner Kent (aka Superboy) in the second series of DC Comics’ Titans, has joined the show and will make his debut appearance later this year.
Character details are being kept under wraps for now, but the publication has revealed that he will be “a bit of a bad boy.”
“I can say he is a bit of a bad boy who comes into the show and stirs up some trouble among the Summer Bay locals,” Joshua told the Daily Telegraph. “He is seemingly one thing on the surface but he has a great depth to him that I’ve had a lot of fun exploring.”
Summer Bay has been without a permanent ‘bad boy’ since the departure of Dean Thompson (Patrick O’Connor) last year. Dean arrived in the bay in February 2018 as the newest member of the River Boys, the Mangrove River gang formed by Darryl ‘Brax’ Braxton (Steve Peacocke).
The gang were a major part of Home and Away‘s storylines for a number of years, starting with Brax’s arrival in Summer Bay back in 2011.
Heath was the last remaining member to live in the bay, and his departure in 2017 spelled the end of the gang’s hold over the show.
Dean’s arrival in 2018 saw a continuation of sorts, but while Dean was painted as their new leader, he soon settled into a more relaxed life in Summer Bay, putting his gang past firmly behind him (mostly!).
Dean’s childhood friend Colby Thorne (Tim Franklin) was also a former member, but by the time he made his own debut in February 2018, he too had put his criminal past behind him, and was now working as a Senior Constable for Yabbie Creek Police.
The current crop of younger males in the show – Mali (Kyle Shilling), Levi (Tristan Gorey), Xander (Luke Van Os), Cash (Nicholas Cartwright), Theo (Matt Evans) and Remi (Adam Rowland) – are all squeaky clean.
Even former bad boy Tane Parata (Ethan Browne) has transformed into a loving family man, now on the straight and narrow running Summer Bay Fit and wanting nothing more than a family and children.
It remains to be seen what trouble Joshua Orpin’s ‘bad boy’ character will cause in Summer Bay, and it has yet to be revealed whether he is a full cast member or just a significant guest role.
The Daily Telegraph reveals that Melbourne-born Orpin was keen to take the role as it helped cure his homesickness. The actor was in the US during Covid, and revealed that he was unable to return to his home country even between acting gigs.
“One of the reasons I was keen to do this gig was because of that, I have worked internationally and I have been quite homesick, especially over Covid where I wasn’t able to come back to Australia even when I wasn’t working,” Orpin explained.
“I was really keen to get stuck into some Aussie stuff… I really wanted to get stuck into some Aussie shows, film and TV and this came along and I thought it was the perfect opportunity.”
He also revealed that Home and Away is unlike anything else he’s worked on, with the show filming a mammoth five episodes a week, with the crew working 12 hours a day, 6 days a week.
“It is incredibly fun, it is just an adjustment for someone who hasn’t worked in this style of TV before,” he told the publication. “[It’s] just fast and the amount of television that they produce in terms of volume and in the time frame that they do it is remarkable.
“Being part of that, you have to be fast, efficient and really on top of things. It certainly sharpens you up and improves your skills so I am glad for it.”
Joshua’s character is one of a number of new faces set to arrive in Summer Bay over the coming months.
Last week’s Australian episodes saw the debut of Stevie Marlow (Catherine Văn-Davies), a famous actress who Cash has been hired to protect from her obsessed stalker.
She will make her debut on UK screens in late April.
