Tim Kano, who plays Leo Tanaka on Neighbours, has teased new tensions between his character and Terese Willis.
Leo is now mourning the loss of his on-again, off-again girlfriend Britney Barnes (Montana Cox) in the recent storm calamity.
Terese (Rebekah Elmaloglou) had already blamed herself for what happened, knowing she might have evacuated the Flamingo Bar faster before the telegraph pole collided with it.
Terese was reassured by Chloe Brennan (April Rose Pengilly), who pointed out that the timeframes in question would have made no difference.
“Leo goes through different stages of sorrow, and there’s obviously an element of blame when someone’s death could have been avoided,” Tim told Digital Spy of the aftermath of Britney’s death.
“If safety procedures had been in place prior to the storm, the tragedy at the Flamingo Bar may have been avoided.” And who better to run Lassiters than Terese Willis?
“She had an opportunity to leave the pub earlier than it was, but she was preoccupied with her own personal problems.”
“Leo is on a warpath against Terese, and he wants someone to pay for it.” As a genuine Robinson would, he ends up performing his own study by sneaking around to see what else may have been done.
“When the conclusion is reached that it could have been Terese’s fault, he sees red and rushes after her.”
Tim noted the terrible timing of the occurrence, noting that Leo and Britney had only recently begun to work over their previous troubles and look forward to the future.
“It’s heartbreaking for Leo,” he said. He’d begun to see his future with a family, managing this beautiful vineyard, and creating this wonderful future together.
“Leo let his defences down around Britney, making her death all the more difficult for him.”
“I’d adored working with Montana,” Tim said when asked if he would have liked Britney to remain longer. It was her first acting role, but she embraced it wholeheartedly. We had a great time and did a lot of night shoots together.
“As Tim, I would have like for her to stay longer and examine the family dynamic.” It would have been lovely to have seen that blossom last a little longer.
“However, it’s been a fantastic opportunity for me as an actor to explore these other paths that I haven’t had the opportunity to do with Leo previously.” We’re portraying him as a single father who has lost the love of his life.
“Exploring those feelings has been difficult and challenging for me. It was definitely a catch-22 situation! I joked with one of the producers about bringing in Britney’s wicked twin sister in order to bring Montana back! But the fact that I liked Montana as a person helped with the pain I was experiencing as a result of her death.”
