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Packed to the Rafters is Erik Thomson’s second major production with Channel 7. Before he joined the cast of Australia’s number one drama, he played the role of Dr Mitch Stevens on All Saints from1999-2003. “It’s great to be back,” he says. “I spent four solid years at Seven and met a lot of good people.”

After reading several scripts for PTTR, Erik was quick to jump on board. “There’s a lot of heart in this show,” he says. “There’s nothing like it on Australian television at the moment. It’s not a cops and robber show or a medical drama. It’s about family and love. There aren’t a lot of things on television that are intergenerational and appeal to everyone.”

Born in Inverness, Scotland, Erik was seven when he and his family moved to New Zealand. It was then he began performing in school plays, a pastime he continued to pursue as he got older. After finishing school, he studied performing arts at the New Zealand Drama School, as well as English Literature and Drama at Victoria University in Wellington.

“There was no eureka moment where I thought, ‘Acting is for me!’” he says. “Someone said, ‘Why don’t you audition for drama school?’ So I did and got in. Since then I’ve continued to work and haven’t stopped.”

Erik accumulated a long list of theatre and TV credits in NZ, including a recurring role on the Hercules and Zena – Warrior Princess series. In his early 20s, he moved across to Australia. Roles in Wildside, 13 Gantry Road, Water Rats, Pacific Drive and, of course, All Saints followed. His role on the hit drama earned him the Silver Logie Award for Most Popular Actor in 2003.

He went on to star in the mini-series Through My Eyes – The True Story of Lindy Chamberlain and The Alice, playing another ex-rock star Jack Jaffers opposite his real-life partner actress Caitlin McDougall.

He wed the Always Greener Star in January 1999 after meeting through mutual friends at a pub in St Kilda.

In 2004, Erik won the AFI Award and a Film Critic Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor for his first feature film role in the multi-award winning Somersault.

More recently he played the role of Simon Mollison in the Australian film The Black Balloon opposite Toni Collette and Gemma Ward, which earned him an AFI Best Supporting Actor nomination. In 2008, he completed work on two feature films. He starred alongside Clive Owen in the Scott Hicks movie The Boys Are Back and Oscar winner Geena Davis in Accidents Happen.

Showcasing his diversity, he was also a presenter on the Australian travel show Getaway in 2006.

Erik and Caitlin are proud parents to baby daughter Eilish, 1, and they call McLaren Vale in South Australia home. In his spare time, Erik enjoys spending time with his family and playing the guitar.