Home And Away’s Ethan Browne opens up about filming WA episodes
Ethan Browne fully embraced his time filming in WA’s stunning Coral Coast — including building a home gym in the desert.
Home And Away’s long-awaited WA episodes hit screens this week, with show favourites Stephen Peacocke and Bonnie Sveen returning to reprise the roles they famously left a decade ago.
Right alongside them is Ethan Browne, whose character Tane Parata — currently on the show, and also a favourite with viewers — is central to what unfolds.
“It was a literal dream come true,” Browne says of his two weeks filming in Western Australia for the drama “special event”.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“Every time there is an ‘away shoot’, it’s always fingers crossed you’re going to be in the story.
“To be the lead of that story — you can’t ask for anything better.”
Browne was one of 38 cast and crew who temporarily relocated to WA to film the special episodes.
Filming began at Elizabeth Quay before heading to the picturesque Coral Coast, with spectacular spots including Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area, Coral Bay, Charles Knife Canyon; and Yardie Creek, Turquoise Bay and Shothole Canyon in Cape Range National Park used as shooting locations.
Browne says he is now smitten with the State.
“It’s probably my favourite thing I have done in my six years on the show,” he says.
“You kind of get sick of seeing the same old beach, and the same old . . . set.
“Being over there, it was a totally different world.
“It kind of felt like we were shooting a movie. It felt amazing.”
In the storyline hitting screens this week, Browne’s character has fled Summer Bay after being accused of a crime he didn’t commit. He’s on the run, heading west to seek shelter with Brax and Ricky (Peacocke and Sveen), who have been asked to help him hide out.
The couple are now living on a remote cattle property in WA’s north with their young son Casey (Austin Cutcliffe). They know what a life on the run feels like, and they are in two minds about whether to help Tane start again.
Doubling for the couple’s outback home is Bullara Station, a real-life working cattle property and camping destination outside of Exmouth. It serves as Brax and Ricky’s remote home in the episodes.
The day the official tourism season ended for the folks on the station, cast and crew rolled in to begin shooting for 10 days. The timing couldn’t have been better.
“It’s like we were in another world,” Browne says of his time staying at the sprawling 250,000-acre station, 90km south of Exmouth.
“Being out there in the desert, waking up — it’s beautiful.
“You look outside and it’s just dirt, and then sand, and then there are the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets.
“It was like, ‘Are we really shooting Home And Away? Where’s the beach?”
It’s there — the show used many nearby coastal locations for filming, including some on the property itself — but it’s a world away from Summer Bay.
Browne says he loved the change of scenery. Now a convert to the Coral Coast, he has been singing the region’s praises to friends and family since his return to Sydney.
“It was the best experience I have had,” he says of his stay in the region.
“Those beaches — Turquoise Bay, my goodness!”
Though the days on set were long, Browne still had an opportunity to unwind on the property.
“Everyone was sort of in their own cabin — Nick Cartwright and myself, we were way at the back, behind everything,” he explains.
“I had my own backyard in a way, this little bit of desert — I actually made my own gym!
“I found this massive tractor tyre and rolled it about a kilometre from the front down to my house, and I would train with that every day.
“I found bits and pieces around, like big rocks, and I was throwing that around in my downtime, literally training after work, and going for runs — it was awesome.
“I actually made some gains throwing around tyres and rocks.”
Browne doesn’t want to reveal too much about the WA-based storyline, but says fans will be thrilled with the way his story intersects with Brax and Ricky’s — there is much drama ahead.
“It’s uncertain times for Tane,” he says.
“He’s about to go to prison, and he has the opportunity to run and start a new life elsewhere and it just so happens to be with Brax . . . the two characters come together and form this cool relationship.
“Obviously Brax is super loved, and Tane is quite loved as well, so you have these two popular characters coming together, and I think that will be pretty exciting for fans for sure.”
Home And Away’s WA episodes start March 9 at 7pm on Seven and 7Plus.
Originally published on The West Australian
