Exclusive – Tim Kano discusses Leo's return to Neighbours: "There are twists and turns you’d never expect"
And Tim looks back on his biggest storyline to date.
Last seen in Neighbours in early 2020 when he made a brief return, Leo Tanaka (Tim Kano) is back on his old stomping ground once again - and he is here for more than just a brief visit this time around.
Said to be in Erinsborough until early 2022, Leo will dive straight back into the thick of things upon his return. His plan is to run a local vineyard, and he wants the help of Chloe Brennan (April Rose Pengilly). But his offer to Chloe seems to have an ulterior motive, with Leo seemingly keen to cause some trouble between her and Nicolette Stone (Charlotte Chimes).
Tim has been chatting to RadioTimes.com about his return, and it seems like life will be rather interesting for him and his family during his extended stay back on Ramsay Street.
One of the big points of contention is his frayed relationship with his dad, Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis) which went south after they both became romantically involved with Terese Willis (Rebekah Elmaloglue). However Tim says putting time and distance between them has been a great healer.
"There’s still a bit of tension, but Paul is trying so hard to rekindle things with Leo. The distance has been great for them both and has given Leo some time to process and move on from the betrayal, and broken heart he got from Terese."
The Leo, Paul and Terese love triangle was a controversial one among fans, but Tim looks back on it fondly and admits he was "stoked" with the plot. "It’s my favourite storyline to date, I love the secrecy behind it," he says. "I enjoyed the meeting of minds with Terese. Bek is such an incredible actress to work with, I had such a good time shooting and having that tension with Paul."
As for Nicolette, she has been on edge ever since Pierce Greyson (Dony Hany) returned and it looks like the soon to be mum - pregnant with Leo's brother, David (Takaya Honda) and Aaron's (Matt Wilson) baby - will stay on high alert for a while longer, as Leo is not a fan before the two have even met.
"Leo is very suspicious of Nicolette from Paul and Pierce warning him about her volatility," says Tim. "He’s definitely going to get to the bottom of it and protect David and the baby at all costs." And his interest does turn out to be a romantic one too, with Tim adding that "he can’t help the feelings for Chloe that are reignited."
Also thrown into the mix is Hendrix (Benny Turland), who will prove to be a thorn in Leo's side as he works to protect Chloe from his interference. "It’s an interesting rivalry as they both have good intentions" Tim says, adding that "Hendrix doesn’t understand Leo is trying to protect Chloe, and just sees a flirtatious side which is misconstrued."
As for how we can expect the rest of Leo's stay to unfold, it seems like he is in for quite the rollercoaster of a journey. Tim says, "There are some really juicy storylines to come and twists and turns you’d never expect. I’m really excited to see how the fans respond!"
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