As she and on-and-off-screen love Patrick returns to Home And Away, Sophie gives a relationship update.
Sophie Dillman says she “couldn’t say no” when Home And Away asked herself and on-and-off screen love Patrick O’Connor to return to the soap.
The 31-year-old actress, who’s back on screens in Summer Bay this week, tells Woman’s Day her return will be dramatic.
“We got to come back to our amazing Home And Away family but also film in some of the most beautiful parts of Queensland. It was a dream.”
It won’t be a holiday for her character Ziggy, though.
“There’s no quiet time in Summer Bay,” she laughs.
“I have to expect some drama but it was a really fun storyline and the fans will love it.”
BACK FOR GOOD?
Sophie joined Home And Away in 2017, and struck around for 554 episodes until 2023.
While her latest appearance is short-lived – just two episodes – Sophie would love a permanent return in the future.
“I’ve always said that I wanna be Emily Symons when I grow up, so it’s definitely something that I would love to do,” the bubbly blonde reveals.
“The writers do such a great job creating character storylines that do well in the Bay, but it’s not easy to flick a switch and get characters to dip in and out.”
Since Sophie and Patrick’s characters Ziggy and Dean left Summer Bay in March 2023, they have been living in North Queensland to be closer to Dean’s younger son.
Now, Home And Away regulars Mack (Emily Weir) and Levi (Tristan Gorey) take an unplanned and unexpected trip up north to visit Dean and Ziggy, and tensions are high between the two men.
Sophie says Ziggy and Dean are living the dream with their baby Izzy, fixing cars in the sunshine and surfing.
“It’s the ideal Australian upbringing.”
She also shares that she loves working with her onscreen baby.
“Working with babies means you are really present as they won’t do anything they don’t want to do, and you can’t communicate with them, so you just have to roll with it,” she shares.
“It’s a real gift to be present, and we had such a nice time.”
GRAND ADVENTURE
While their onscreen personas have been enjoying the tropical sunshine and sands of the beautiful Whitsundays region, Sophie and Patrick have been enjoying one of their own, spending the last 18 months exploring Europe.
“We had the best adventures and saw so much stuff!” Sophie says.
“I’m so glad we took the leap to move over there, because it was so awesome.”
With London as their base, Sophie and Patrick’s grand trip took them dog-sledding across a frozen lake in Norway, exploring the coasts of Italy and Greece, reaching the top of the French Alps and discovering the wonders of Slovenia.
While Sophie loved her time travelling and working on London’s West End theatre scene, she admits she was ready to come back home to Sydney for a while, as Patrick continues working in the UK.
“The grey wether was a major reason I had to come back as I kept getting really sick over there,” she shares.
“It’s not bothering Patrick, he’s still got many adventures he wants to do and I’m so happy he’s made that decision.”
After constantly living and working together for years, Sophie admits it’s been a weird experience to be apart from each other.
“[Long-distance relationships] can get complicated sometimes because we don’t know any different,” she says.
“We worked together before we were together and then we started dating, so we’ve never spent this much time apart.”
But despite an ocean and more between them, Sophie says she and Patrick are still going strong, and remain very supportive of each other.
DREAM CAREER
Now back home in Sydney, Sophie is excited to explore new career opportunities, just like her former co-star Lynne McGranger, who recently announced she was leaving Home And Away and her long-time role as Irene Roberts.
“I’m so happy for Lynne, and I hope she goes out with lots of bangs and crashes,” she says.
And while Sophie’s loved being back on Home And Away, she’s truly excited to see what the future holds.
“I’d love to try as many different roles as possible,” she tells Woman’s Day.
“The dream is to have a diverse career full of all different types of roles – so fingers crossed, I guess!”
WEDDING BELLS?
Sophie was maid of honour for her best friend Blaise who was married in Brisbane earlier this month.
“I’m so honoured to be able to do it. I’m so excited for her. It’s like the biggest day of my life,” she says with a laugh.
“We’ve been friends for 25 years. It’s been really fun planning. I remember the first time we talked about weddings. We were like eight years old!”
Sophie says she’s in no rush to head down the aisle herself, “Maybe one day,” she says.
“Not any time soon.”