Home and Away’s Kyle Shilling landed in Summer Bay only nine months ago as happy-go-lucky board shop manager Mali Hudson and now he’s right in the thick of a horrifying event that will leave the bay reeling!
When The Diner’s Marilyn Chambers (Emily Symons) receives a final package from Stunning Organics, the dodgy sales company she's gone to war with, the box ends up with John Palmer (Shane Withington) and Roo Stewart (Georgie Parker).
As they set off for the dump, Marilyn receives a terrifying text revealing there’s a bomb inside — and it's about to go off!
Panic-stricken, she tells Mali, who doesn't have to think twice before setting off to save them.
“Mali chases John down in his van and he’s flicking the high beams and hitting the horn behind him,” explained Kyle.
“JP is thinking, ‘Who’s this lunatic?’ and then Roo realises it’s Mali’s van.”
“They pull over and Mali gets out of his car and just runs towards them screaming, ‘Get out!’.
“And then… BANG! He's thrown back and he's hit the ground.
“He doesn't he doesn't know if they got out. He's at that point where he has to find them and possibly face the hard truth that they might have died.”
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A former dancer and theatre performer, Kyle shared that filming his first stunt was exciting!
“It was so much fun! They had stunt doubles there ready to go in case I didn’t want to do it, but I told them not to worry in future because I’ll do the stunts myself," he revealed.
“I have a past in physical theatre, where the majority of the show I was flying around the rig and I was getting ripped up into the roof, so I knew what I'd have to do to keep myself safe.
“To be there in the elements, scurrying around open flame and feeling the heat from the fire. It was such an awesome atmosphere to be in.”
Kyle wouldn’t let on whether John and Roo survive, but he pointed out that it would be sad for Mali to lose the famously difficult John Palmer, now that the pair have bonded.
“I love the relationship between Mali and JP. He’s needy. He needs someone that he can chat to and a lot of times he's alone and I think Mali realises that,” he commented.
“JP let down his guard and allowed Mali to come into his life as a good friend and then the friendship just bloomed from that day on.
“It’s great working with Shane, who plays John, as we have a great relationship off screen as well. He’s a laugh and such a genuine bloke.”
As well as the trauma of the explosion, Kyle teased that Mali is affected in a way that could have terrible repercussions.
Could his troubles see Mali get close to Rose again following their sad split? They're so perfect for each other!
“I'd love to see them get back together. This whole situation will show both of them who they really are afterwards, so I think this will either make or break their relationship,” agreed Kyle.
“Mali's stubborn. He likes to prove to people that he can do things by himself without help. I think people are going to be very frustrated with him because I was frustrated with him!
“There's a tough journey for him post-bomb explosion.”
Now that Kyle can tick off a love affair and a deadly explosion from his Summer Bay 'top moments', what storylines would he like to tackle?
“Mali’s a great, switched-on bloke but I’d like to see something quite serious happen to him, whether it be because of his own actions or the actions of someone else,” he mused.
“I think I’d just really love to dive into a deep emotional storyline or even you know, something brutal, that's a bit different to who Mali is. I’d like to explore a deeper side to him.”
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.
