The icing on the cake
Home And Away star James Stewart tells Siobhan Duck about Justin and Leah’s big day
WHEN it comes to TV weddings, few have captured the imagination like the 1987 nuptials of Scott and Charlene (Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue) on Neighbours.
There were no explosions or scandalous revelations at the altar – just a celebration of true love in all its 1980s big-hair and taffeta-covered glory. Unlike the majority of soap weddings, it was relatively drama free – and that’s what actor James Stewart loved about it.
“[TV weddings] have become overdramatic,” Stewart explains.
“I’m all for drama but sometimes you just want it to work out. You want that good feeling.”
Stewart says his own impending TV union on Home And Away borrows heavily from the same playbook, and sees his character Justin tying the knot with Leah (Ada Nicodemou) in an outdoor ceremony surrounded by Summer Bay favourites.
“In my lifetime, [Scott and Charlene’s ceremony] was the wedding that really stood out for me, and I still remember the hair,” he says, laughing at the memory of Minogue’s perm and Donovan’s mullet.
“We really wanted to find something like that – something all generations can really enjoy. So, everyone comes to the wedding, and it really is simple and beautiful. I’m really chuffed with it.”
Stewart says viewers have become so invested in Justin and Leah’s five-year love story because they’re one of the longest-running unmarried TV couples on our screens.
“They have always been boyfriend and girlfriend, and we were fine with that,” he adds.
“A lot of people don’t get married these days. They’d prefer to spend their life savings on something else. But there is something of a fairytale about doing it.”
While Nicodemou’s character has become a seasoned marriage expert during her 24 years on the show (Leah arrived in Summer Bay in 2000 as a runaway bride and her wedding to Justin will be her fourth time saying “I do”), Stewart is more of a novice.
“The first time I was a TV groom was on Breakers, a show I did 25 years ago. But this is the biggest one I have done on screen,” he recalls.
“I’ve been a guest at a lot of Home And Away weddings, but never the groom until now.”
As a wedding veteran, Nicodemou gave Stewart some survival tips, particularly as it was filmed in a vineyard in sweltering heat.
“She told me to stay hydrated because it was going to be a long day,” he recalls.