Naomi Rukavina, who stars as Dr Remi Varga-Murphy in Neighbours, is making a splash on Amazon Freevee's recently-revived soap that also stars The OC's Mischa Barton.
She plays one half of the soap's first lesbian parenting couple, alongside co-star Sara West, who portrays Cara Varga-Murphy and their sons JJ (Riley Bryant) and Dex Varga-Murphy (Marley Williams).
The actress feels like she's scored a win by being cast as part of a family in a mainstream show, especially after TV bosses previously told her they "couldn't see it", purely because of her colour.
Speaking to The Guardian, she shared: "At one of my first castings for TV, an agent said to me, 'You'll never really work on TV, because we can't cast you in any family. We can't see it.' I was so shocked. When I got the call the first thing I said to myself, to that casting guy all those years ago, was 'f**k yeah'.
"They don't know the impact that a comment like that has. I'm a pretty robust human. It's not an easy industry. And that has stuck so hard, like a little barb. I'm not just a look, I'm an actual person."
Naomi, who plays a key role in the show, shared her excitement about making history: "Feels b****y excellent Obviously, as an actor of colour, and as a queer actor for Sara, it's really important to have real-life humans represented on our shows that go out internationally. We have this gorgeous little biracial, queer family. It's really so heartening to have that representation come to such a loved show."
The Varga-Murphys are currently in the middle of a thrilling storyline. Ramsay Street – once home to residents including Henry Ramsay and Des Clarke – was closed off due to a HAZMAT emergency, but there was an even bigger surprise waiting for the family members. Remi is shocked after being put in a potentially dangerous situation.
After opening a letter in her living room, surrounded by her wife Cara and sons JJ and Dex, Remi was terrified to not only get a paper cut, but to also be covered in white powder almost immediately afterwards. Now, she's on high alert. Telling Cara to take the boys outside, Remi found herself dealing with the seriousness of the situation.
Realising that the potential Anthrax is all over her open wound, Remi found herself alone, scared as she waited for the authorities to take the next steps. With the boys outside washing their faces and hands, Cara rushed to No. 26 to inform Andrew Rodwell (Lloyd Will) of the situation that has unfolded two doors up. Straight on the phone, the Sergeant called in the police, paramedics and Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) teams.
In a tense moment, Andrew approached the house with his face covered and called out to check on Remi. He tried to reassure her that it was unlikely to be Anthrax, but Remi wasn't taking any chances. After calming down, Cara pleaded with Andrew to let her into the house to see her wife, but he refused.
Once the powder was removed, they waited anxiously with masks on for the test results. But soon enough, Cara, JJ, Dex and Andrew burst in with the news the tests were back and the powder was just baking soda.
New episodes of Neighbours are available on Amazon Freevee every Monday to Thursday from 7am
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