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As Summer Bay prepares to have a much-loved character back on the small screen, it will be a moment of art imitating life for returning soap star Stephen Peacocke.

It’s been 10 years since Peacocke left his bad-boy-come-good character, “Darryl ‘Brax’ Braxton”, on the set of Home and Away, but will reprise the role for what the Seven Network has spruiked as a blockbuster two weeks.

“It was like a day hadn’t passed. We always had good fun on set and had a good laugh when we worked together,” he said.

Reuniting with Bonnie Sveen, who plays on screen love “Ricky”, the pair’s life in Western Australia is revealed, along with their son “Casey”.

The new storyline also gave Peacocke a chance to use his real-life jackaroo skills, a job he once did that paid him $3 an hour.

“Every time the manager who I worked for reads that, he says ‘You didn’t get $3 an hour’, but it was $3 an hour plus we got an old place to live in and a bit of food as well,” he laughed.

But his former life as a jackaroo between Bourke and Louth, in outback NSW, also helped producers keep Brax’s job authentic.

When they told him his character would be on a motorbike with a mob of cattle he agreed – with some requirements.

“I said, ‘Yeah, as long as it’s a two wheeler, and as long as I don’t have wear a helmet’,” he said.

“When I was a jackaroo … you’re out in 40 degree heat … you’re always on a two wheeler. You’re rarely on a four wheeler, and you’re always wearing an Akubra.”

Peacocke is a country boy at heart, growing up in Dubbo, NSW before getting a scholarship to board and play rugby at the prestigious Scot’s school in Bathurst, NSW, from years 10 – 12.

He continued playing the sport while completing his degree in Communications at the University of Newcastle – but caught the acting bug when he took some drama electives.

He even went on to win a prestigious CONDA theatre award in Newcastle.

“It’s still on the shelf at mum and dad’s,” Peacocke said.

And it’s his “love” of regional and outback Australia that has helped him in his roles on Home and Away and on RFDS, he said, and why loves “shooting in those beautiful locations”.

And it’s not just Australian audiences responding to the Dubbo boy’s down-to-earth character portrayals – European fans also love his roles.

“I went over and did a promotional tour early last year [2025] in Belgium, Norway and Ireland. It was a meet and greet,” he said.

“They were fans of Five Bedrooms and RFDS, which was bizarre, because prior to that was these sort of die hard fans who loved Home and Away.

“I was surprised that lots of them love those shows. And The News Reader was really big over there – it’s really interesting.”

Peacocke is also passionate about quality Australian drama still being available on free-to-air television – something he grew up with in the 80s.

“We make really good Aussie dramas, but they all seem to be either on streaming services or it’s reality TV … but you don’t want Australian drama or scripted television to just be something that’s only ever on Netflix,” he said.

“If you get to do what you love for a living, I just don’t know how you could ever not just pinch yourself … I still get so nervous going to work.

“A producer or a director cast you out of all these people, you want to repay their trust with knowing your stuff and giving it the best you can.”

And what has show biz got planned for Peacocke after the cameras turn away from Brax and Ricky?

The star seemed coy about an upcoming project but noted all his work is in Australia and believes a new season of RFDS will likely go ahead this year.

“Yeah, a few things, few things on the horizon, which it’s always nice to have.”

Brax and Ricky’s Home and Away return starts Monday 9th March, 7pm on Seven.