Colby finds Bella in Home and Away - but she tries to kill him! Tim Franklin on "heartbreaking twist"
Evil Ross has brainwashed Colby's sister when they track her down
Colby Thorne (Tim Franklin) finally tracks down missing sister Bella Nixon (Courtney Miller) in Home and Away next week when the siblings are reunited six years after she was kidnapped by her evil dad, Ross Nixon (Justin Rosniak). However, the teenager is so traumatised by being on the run with Ross she attacks her brother with a crossbow when he tries to rescue her!
Through her copper dad's contacts, Chelsea Campbell (Ashleigh Brewer) gets hold of a last known address for Ross on Thursday 7 February and tells fiance Colby to pass it on to the authorities as part of their official investigation - but Dean Thompson (Patrick O'Connor) convinces his mate to do things the River Boy way and the pair head off hoping to find Bella themselves…
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"It's not the fairytale family reunion Colby had pictured after all these years," Tim Franklin, aka Colby, told RadioTimes.com on a recent visit to the UK. "Chelsea is so down the line and wants to leave it to the homicide squad to track Bella and Ross down, but Colby is not averse to bending the rules so him and Dean sneak off and rock up to the address.
"They go into the house but Bella pulls a crossbow in Colby's face. He's absolutely terrified - and so was I when we filmed it! There wasn't much acting required, it was pretty scary!"
Years of Ross pouring poison in his daughter's ear has left her confused, paranoid and borderline feral, and Bella flies at Colby believing he is the enemy. "Bella has been brainwashed," continues Franklin. "She hasn't been properly schooled, is wise beyond her years in terms of street smarts but regressed in social interaction. It's heartbreaking for Colby, he never imagined she'd be that far gone for her to think Colby is the bad guy and attack him.
"Colby and Dean are faced to extract Bella from the house against her will. She is very aggressive and puts up a fight, Colby is shocked at her reaction to seeing him so Dean takes control and they bundle her in the car to get away before Ross comes back."
Does Ross catch Colby kidnapping Bella?
The drama continues in the episode showing Friday 8 February when the boys manage to escape in the nick of time, but there's a near-miss when they pass Ross driving back towards the house. Thankfully their cover remains intact as they try to explain to raging Bella the truth about her dastardly dad.
"When Colby sees Ross from a distance, that is a big moment for him," shares Franklin. "This is the big villain in his life, the man who killed his parents, took Bella and destroyed everything."
Bella warns her brother and Dean that Ross will not let them get away with this, and they should prepare for a terrifying reprisal, and it's certainly not the last viewers have seen of the nasty Mr Nixon who is sure to come looking for his daughter… Franklin teases Colby now has his work cut out de-programming Bella - and explaining to future wife Chelsea why he took matters into his own hands.
"Colby now has to chip away at the wall Ross has built between them. Bella is super guarded, like a feral animal. It is devastating for Colby and he's at a loss."
Can Colby get inside his sister's head and make her see Ross's sinister true colours? And what revenge does Ross have in mind for his stepson?
Visit our dedicated Home and Away page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers.
