Home and Away favourite Sam Barrett has opened up about the recent shock twist that blew open a sinister secret about Chloe Anderson’s past.
As far as we knew, she was brought up by mum Mia Anderson (Anna Samson) and stepdad Ari Parata (Rob Kipa-Williams) and her biological father was never in the picture.
But all that changed when Chloe’s real dad Matthew Montgomery (James Sweeny) turned up out of the blue to confront Mia and demand he gets to know his child!
Mia confessed to Ari the shocking truth that she fled from Matthew after falling pregnant. He took advantage of her while she was blackout drunk and she was the victim of a sexual assault.
“While Chloe was growing up, Mia only told her that both she and her dad were young and he didn’t want any involvement in Chloe’s life,” Sam explained.
“I don’t think Chloe’s ever wanted to find him. She figured that wasn’t possible, so she hasn’t dealt with those feelings about her father and maybe pushes them down a bit.
“She’s also had Ari as a father figure. When Ari wasn’t in the picture for a while when he was in prison, it made it push all those feelings down even deeper.”
With Mia desperate to keep the terrible truth under wraps, Matthew’s presence in the Bay is a ticking time bomb. Determined to get to know his daughter, Matthew approaches Chloe in Salt!
“When Matthew first starts talking to Chloe she just thinks he’s a regular person. Although she’s intrigued because he’s a bit different to a typical Summer Bay resident so she’s not sure what his deal is,” claimed Sam.
“When Matthew reveals he’s her dad he seems genuine to her. But the whole thing is kind of intimidating and just staring her in the face.
“I think she’s like, ‘I don't know how to feel because that’s not what I’ve believed my whole life.’”
Desperate for some answers, Chloe calls her mum and when she arrives it’s all too clear that Matthew is telling the truth. Will it cause a rift between her and Mia?
“Chloe is disappointed in Mia and has some repressed feelings that come to the surface.
"It just isn’t the narrative that she has believed her whole life and Mia becomes the target for all of Chloe’s feelings she’s not yet dealt with,” Sam shared.
“But the bond that Chloe and Mia have is quite unbreakable. It’s the one thing both the audience and the characters can hold onto throughout all of this.
“In terms of Mia keeping what happened to her secret, I think there’s no perfect way to handle any situation, especially when it’s so difficult.
“I deeply respect Mia’s strength and understand her reasons for doing so.”
Sam joined Summer Bay only a year ago, and has already been involved in some big storylines including a romance with Ryder Jackson (Lukas Radovich), being kidnapped by thugs and ending up impaled by shrapnel when her food truck exploded!
Is this new storyline set to be her most challenging yet?
“It is! It’s great to have so many layers to work with and hopefully for people to get to know Chloe a little more and why she is the way she is,” Sam revealed.
“But we’ve gotten to know Chloe in one way, and I feel like there is quite a character arc coming up.
“We will get to know Chloe in a very different light to how we’ve seen her, which will also have an impact on those around her.”
Home and Away airs weekdays at 1:15 pm on Channel 5 and 6:00 pm on 5Star followed by a 'first look' episode on 5Star at 6:30 pm.
