Home and Away star James Stewart has hinted that Justin could be headed for a long stretch in jail after a shock arrest.
The surprise twist is the culmination of a dramatic storyline that kicked off when his teenage daughter Ava Gilbert (Annabel Wolfe) came to stay.
Justin was stoked to see Ava, but she’s completely played her gullible dad in order to pursue a dangerous crush on Lyrik lead singer Theo Poulos (Matt Evans).
Despite concerns from both Theo and Justin’s partner Leah Patterson (Ada Nicodemou), he's turned a blind eye to Ava’s obsession.
“There’s definitely some daddy-daughter issues as he hasn’t been there for a lot of the important times in her life,” explained James.
“When Ava arrived in the bay she started to gaslight Justin, and he felt very happy that she had chosen to stay with her dad.
“He doesn’t want to believe that she’s exhibiting stalker-ish behaviour. He wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt.
After Theo made it clear to the delusional 16-year-old he had no romantic feelings for her, Ava smashed up his girlfriend Kirby Aramoana’s (Angelina Thomson) music equipment in a jealous rage and then hitched a ride with a stranger!
When Justin finds out, he’s horrified…
“The cops won’t do anything about it as they think she’s just blowing off steam, so it’s all ramping up,” revealed James.
“Theo shows Justin a message from Ava saying, ‘Help me, I’m in trouble’. At that moment, the audience should be screaming at the screen, ‘Justin, don’t do it, it’s a lie!’
“He finds his way to where the van is and when he arrives the poor bloke is just going surfing.
“Justin sees Ava in the back of the van on a bed and a guy pulling his shirt off. It’s the worst thing he could ever have seen and he just becomes this monster.”
In a blind rage, Justin lays into the surfer, Connor, leaving him severely beaten. After Connor is rushed to hospital, the blinkers drop from Justin’s eyes.
“The moment Justin is told about Ava’s lies, he calculates the lies all the way back,” commented James.
“He knows he needs to be charged with assault, he knows he’s done the wrong thing.
“The story from there on is really about how do you have hope of reprieve when you don’t deserve it?"
When Justin is charged with GBH, Ava realises she’s gone too far and father and daughter open up.
“It’s unfortunate that this situation had to happen for this to come about but it is one of the good things that they’re able to be upfront and honest,” James insisted.
“Whether or not Justin does go to prison or how the court case goes, even if he does get let off then he’s still done a really bad thing.
“But if he does go to jail then what’s going to happen to him and Leah? You’ll just have to watch and find out!”
Although Ava’s reappearance has been a nightmare for Justin, James has enjoyed working with up-and-coming actress Annabel Wolfe.
The role of Ava was recast after the character’s last appearance in 2020 and Annabel was signed up for a short stint.
“I was the first one to put my hand up to the producers and say, ‘How can we get her back?’,” admitted James.
“The one thing the Bay has been missing is that generation, and Annabel is fantastic. I would love Ava to return.
“That’s where Home and Away began, it started with fostered kids, the elder generation teaching the young.
“Having that dynamic goes back to the core values of the show.”
Home and Away airs weekdays at 1:45 pm on Channel 5 and 6:00 pm on 5Star followed by a 'first look' episode on 5Star at 6:30 pm.
