Jessica Redmayne has spoken out about the Jessica Redmayne Harper exit from Home and Away, describing the experience as both deeply challenging and a career she is grateful to have had, following scenes that aired in Australia this week confirming her departure alongside co-star Ally Harris.
Harper Matheson and her sister Dana (Harris) left Summer Bay together after Harper’s abusive ex-boyfriend, Beau, hunted her down. Despite Beau’s arrest by police, Harper decided she could not feel safe in the town and chose to begin a new life elsewhere with Dana and her son, Archie.
Jessica Redmayne Harper exit: ‘Sad but grateful’
Speaking to TV Week, Jessica said it was ‘sad’ to see Harper leave under those circumstances, but added that she was ‘grateful’ for everything the role had given her. ‘It’s, of course, sad to see Harper go, especially on terms like these, but I’m grateful as Jessica the actor to have experienced the immense challenge,’ she said.
‘I particularly love telling true stories, and this one was very real and raw.’
According to Wikipedia, Harper Matheson first appeared on 10 August, meaning Jessica has inhabited the character for a substantial run on the long-running soap. That arc has taken Harper from her arrival in Summer Bay through to one of the show’s more visceral domestic-violence storylines in recent memory.
Jessica made clear that the weight of the story was something she took seriously. ‘This story is so devastatingly prevalent within our Australian communities as domestic violence in Australian families is at an all-time high,’ she told TV Week. ‘It was certainly difficult to embody a woman who has found herself in a psychologically toxic and physically violent relationship that she can’t escape.’
The toll of playing Harper, and the support of a co-star
Jessica did not shy away from describing the personal impact of inhabiting such a dark storyline night after night. ‘Truthfully, it did leave me feeling uneasy as I left set each day,’ she admitted. ‘But that is the job of an actor, as it is paramount that these stories get told in Australian homes in order to shed light on the true dangers Australian families are facing from domestic violence.’
One moment that clearly stood out for her was working alongside Lynne McGranger, who plays Irene. Jessica described saying goodbye to that character as a ‘career highlight’, a phrase that speaks to how much the relationship between Harper and Irene came to mean over the course of her time on the show.
She was equally effusive about Ally Harris, who played Dana. ‘I’m incredibly lucky to call Ally my on-screen sister. That girl is so talented, and she taught me a lot,’ Jessica said. ‘She kept me calm and we became a wonderful support system for each other. I couldn’t have done it without her.’
It is a testament to what can happen when two performers genuinely invest in the relationship between their characters: both exits land harder because the sisterly bond between Harper and Dana was built carefully over time.
In the UK, Home and Away drops new episodes on weekdays at 6am on Channel 5‘s streaming service, with a 6.30pm screening on 5STAR. In Australia, the show airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7pm on Channel 7 and streams on 7Plus.
Related Posts
