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Cast members past and present give us an insight into their lives

Roman Harris has always been a man of mystery. To the residents of Summer Bay he has been kind and supportive, especially to Aden during his desperate times with his abusive father and when his daughter Nicole turned up on his doorstep out of the blue, he worked hard to catch up on all their missed years as father and daughter.

After his accident with Leah, when a rock catapulted through the windscreen and left him blind, life changed dramatically for Roman Harris. "To actually be blind would be horrible" said Conrad Coleby. "I can’t imagine a more terrifying disability. I mean you can’t tell the time, you can’t read people’s faces or expressions you don’t know what sort of day it is. I really wanted to portray the anxiety that is associated with that.

It’s quite difficult because you’ve got to play it to a camera so you can’t play it as you would in real life, because it doesn’t read on the camera, although I did practice being blind."

Although his sight returned this week, life is not going to get any easier. Conrad has been reunited with an old colleague. Jeremy Sims plays Gardy, Roman’s mate from his days in the SAS and we learn that there is a side to Roman that we never knew existed. In real life as on-screen, the two get on fantastically well but the difference is, Gardy brings out the “darker side” of Roman – a place Conrad was excited to take the character to.

The story links back to the death of Mark another SAS mate. Conrad remembers the scenes where Elliot (played by Paul Pantano), Mark’s younger brother, had Roman dangling from his feet upside down over a cliff and subsequently running through the woods dodging arrows, to be “pretty scary and terrifying. It was physically demanding” explained Conrad "A lot of the time it was just me and the crew working together , which is quite a privilege as you really feel what it is like to tell the story without the confusion of another person, if that makes sense." he laughs.

That’s not to say he doesn’t enjoy working with the rest of the cast. He describes the townhouse dynamic between himself, Todd Lasance (Aden Jefferies) and Tessa James (Nicole Franklin) as lots of fun, saying that they make up a great unit. Perhaps the story lines of “Roman struggling with his childish daughter and rebellious kind of half-son” will better prepare him for the thought of teenagers in his home one day though he does find playing the role of a dad challenging yet “extremely weird” as he is not that old himself.

After years of working alongside one another at the Diner, the writers decided to let Leah (Ada Nicodemou) and Roman engage in a romantic relationship just before the car accident which came as a surprise to Conrad though he thought the storyline was a nice one. In his actual love-life, Conrad says that he and Esther Anderson, fellow cast member who plays police officer Charlie Buckton, "got along really well straightaway" and they are now a couple. He also shares that despite what people might think; working with your partner can be difficult. It seems that scenes of a more intimate nature make the two more conscious than if they were playing the role opposite a stranger and Conrad states almost bashfully that “we’ve got this weird other element that kinda feels strange – like your family’s watching you pash or something!” When asked how he felt about his partner’s gay storyline, the response was amusement but also how great and interesting he thought it was that Home and Away has decided to go down that route.

For the fans out there, you will be pleased to know that Conrad has no problems signing autographs and unlike some other celebrities, he thinks gracious fans are lovely; providing space is respected. Luckily, he has not had any terrible moments with adoring fans to put him off though he does remember the most unusual request was being asked to sign the t-shirt a fan was wearing as there were little pictures of him scanned all over it!

From an acting family himself, we asked if the industry has lived up to his expectations. "I think everyone knows it’s tough to make a living as an actor, it’s a very risky profession - like being a musician; it’s based on people’s whim and fancy a bit as well. It’s just like any other job; if you work hard and push yourself, 9 times out of 10 it’s down to your desire and determination to get there. I think I’ve been extremely lucky in the profession and I am really enjoying playing the darker side of Roman with Gardy."

So how far will do you think Gardy push him? And let us know if you are enjoying Conrad’s work by leaving a comment below.