Home and Away star Sophie Dillman speaks about isolating with boyfriend Patrick O’Connor

Home and Away star Sophie Dillman is currently isolating at her home in Queensland with her boyfriend and co-star Patrick O’Connor amid COVID-19.

And on Tuesday, the actress, 26, opened up about making the decision to fly back to her hometown from Sydney, where the soap is filmed, before the borders closed.

Speaking to TV Week, Sophie said: ‘Luckily, we packed up and left, because the next day they [the borders] were shut. We are lucky we got up here in time to be with our families.’

She went on to say that ‘it was a really weird time’ when they couple received a call informing them filming for Home and Away had to be suspended.

‘I don’t think it hit home what that meant. I think there was a thought of, “Oh, we’ll go away for two weeks and be back to normal.” But that’s not the case,’ she said.

She added: ‘It feels like the world has stopped; everything is on pause. Currently, we technically don’t have a job.’

Production for the show was shut down in March over coronavirus fears, with Seven saying that the health and wellbeing of the cast and crew was a priority, and filming would be halted.

A spokesperson said in a statement to TV Tonight: ‘Seven Studios advised today that it would halt filming of Home and Away immediately.’

‘It confirmed that no cast or crew had tested positive for COVID-19, but that the decision was made due to the increasing logistical hurdles related to the COVID-19 situation,’ a Channel Seven spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, Sophie and Patrick, who play loved-up couple Ziggy Astoni and Dean Thompson on the long-running soap, have been dating since 2019 after meeting on set.

Sophie has been a cast member for slightly longer than Patrick, having portrayed Ziggy Astoni since June 2017.

Dean and Ziggy initially didn’t get along well on Home and Away, before becoming close friends and eventually, lovers.