This week on Home and Away, Ziggy Astoni (Sophie Dillman) faces a crucial decision as she discovers who her biological father is for the first time.
Recent admissions from mother Maggie that she had an affair with her sleazy brother-in-law Marco years ago during an argument with her future husband Ben cast doubt on Ziggy’s paternity because she was born nine months after her mother and uncle’s covert liaison.
Ziggy feels misled, Dillman says in an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com. “She models her life after this wonderful family and the parents she desires to be like, and she is completely brokenhearted, but there is a huge lie in the centre of it all. She is so close to Ben that the possibility that he is not her father kills her; it has left her feeling adrift and surely put a wrench in the plans.”
This particular skeleton has only recently begun to emerge from hiding since Marco unexpectedly appeared in Summer Bay and began extorting money from Maggie for the completion of a business venture. The horrified instructor was compelled to confess her affair to her shocked family.
Technically, I suppose it wasn’t cheating, Dillman ponders. “Ben broke up with Maggie after finding out she had slept with Marco. The following day, Ben told Maggie he wanted her back, and they were married practically immediately. After that, she became pregnant with Ziggy very shortly after.
The relationship between Maggie and Ben has been blissful, but she and Marco have kept it a secret for the entire time. Since Ben will always remain her father regardless of the results of the paternity test, Ziggy initially refuses to take one. However, as time has passed, she has come to realize that she just needs to put the subject to rest.
She is, in fact, Ben’s biological daughter, which is good news, and Dillman calls it a “big sigh of relief.”
This doesn’t mean the drama is over, though, as the rest of Maggie’s family hasn’t forgiven her for keeping this deception a secret for almost 20 years. The close-knit family has previously dealt with cancer, depression, and financial difficulties since relocating to the Bay in 2017. This is one of their hardest problems yet.
Dillman sighs, “The Astonis have been through so much. They are a strong group that nothing can separate; they care deeply for one another and stick by one another no matter what.
“The fact that Marco continues to hang around after destroying everything makes things much more challenging—you’d think he’d get the hint and leave! He has previously gotten Ben into problems, so there is already tension between them, and I believe he is desperately seeking some sort of atonement. Does he still have feelings for Maggie? Who knows, but he’s undoubtedly there for a purpose, and he hasn’t left yet.”
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