Former Home and Away child star Indiana Evans has spoken out about her time on the soap as Matilda Hunter, revealing that her years on the show meant “everything” to her.

Evans played Matilda from 2004 to 2008, joining when she was just 14. The actor has now told TV Week that her time in Summer Bay “feels a long time ago, but in some ways completely doesn’t.”

“It kind of feels like a different person [experienced it] now, but it was such a big deal to me,” she said.

“It was kind of everything. I was doing home-school and they [her co-stars] were my peers and friends. So it really holds a big place in my heart. [Acting] jobs come and go, but I think about it all the time; everything I learned from that show I still use today.”

Evans later worked with her co-star Chris Hemsworth, who played Kim Hyde, again when she made a brief appearance in Thor: Love and Thunder, in which Hemsworth plays superhero Thor – and she revealed that “Chris was exactly the same”.

The actor also spoke about her experiences with acting, explaining that while she loves the job, she has “moments” where she considers “switching careers”.

“The auditioning over and over can get you down,” she explained. “It’s a kind of constant rejection. You have to check in with yourself and ask, ‘Is this really what I want to do?'”

Matilda first arrived in Summer Bay with her twin brother, Henry, as they moved in with their mum, Beth, and stepdad, Rhys Sutherland.

She had her romantic advances to Kim and Ric Dalby rejected, although she later started an on-off relationship with Ric which continued after she left the Bay. Matilda also experienced bulimia after she received burns in an explosion caused by villain Eve Jacobsen.

Matilda made her exit when she got a place at a university in Perth, choosing to leave as she was the only member of her family left in Summer Bay.

Home and Away airs weekdays at 1.45pm on Channel 5, with repeat screenings at 6pm on 5STAR and first-look screenings at 6.30pm on 5STAR. Selected classic episodes are available via Prime Video in the UK.

In Australia, the show airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7pm on Channel 7 and streams on 7Plus.