Yahoo Finance Home and Away star Emily Symons opens up over challenging new Marilyn story
Home and Away spoilers follow for Australian and UK viewers.
Home and Away's Marilyn Chambers is known for being one of Summer Bay's most kind-hearted residents but that's all set to change as Marilyn suffers from the after-effects of being exposed to the recent poison gas attack at Salt.
Although Marilyn (Emily Symons) initially appeared to be relatively unaffected by the gas she was exposed to, she later collapsed and fell seriously ill. Despite managing to make a physical recovery, Marilyn has been displaying a rather different – and far nastier – personality since, and has been uncharacteristically lashing out at her loved ones.
Actress Emily, who has played Marilyn on and off since 1989, has told TV Week that she was "shocked" when she first learned about the change that her character would undergo, which has happened as a result of organophosphate poisoning.
Related: Home and Away reveals kidnap twist for Felicity
"Apparently, when you get organophosphate poisoning, there can be changes to the brain and to behaviour as a result, whereas everything else remains normal," she said, explaining that the effects are a "very real thing".
This very different version of Marilyn "had to be dragged out" of Emily, who admitted that playing a nasty Marilyn is the hardest thing she's ever had to do on the show.
"This is the most challenging thing I've ever done as Marilyn," she said. "It's a completely different Marilyn, which has been really hard to play, because she's second nature to me now.
"To suddenly have to create another [version of the] character... some days, I was like, 'I can't say that – that's so horrible.' But I had to go there to make the story work."
Related: Home and Away casts Chris Hemsworth's cousin
Emily – who previously played Louise Appleton in Emmerdale – admitted that she has been apologising to her co-stars after having to deliver harsh words as Marilyn.
"It was confronting, but it was a good acting course," she said. "I was playing the opposite of Marilyn. All her character traits evaporated – suddenly, she's argumentative, hostile and furious with John (Palmer, Marilyn's husband, played by Shane Withington). The crew really enjoyed a bit of a change."
The actress added that she feels "a bit nervous" about how fans will react to Marilyn's sudden personality change, but explained: "I hope it will work and I hope they understand."
Home and Away airs weekdays at 1.15pm and 6pm on Channel 5 (UK) and Mondays to Thursdays at 7pm on Channel 7 (Australia). Selected classic episodes are available via Amazon Prime Video in the UK.
Read more Home and Away spoilers on our dedicated homepage
You Might Also Like
