Home and Away’s Matthew Little explains how how teen widower VJ will cope with being a single dad now wife Billie is dead…
Young VJ Patterson’s going to need hard core inner strength to get through the next few months. He tragically lost his new wife, Billie, and he’s promised to care for Billie’s baby girl, Luc.
“VJ tries to concentrate on looking after Luc to take his mind off his grief,” Matthew Little told Soaplife. “But there’s Billie’s funeral to plan…”
Billie tragically died in VJ’s arms… How is he coping? “He’s devastated, but he’s also in shock as it all happened so quickly. Just a few weeks ago, he was looking forward to their future together. Now he’s lost her for ever. That’s big enough to deal with, but there’s obviously Luc to consider.”
Luc is a lot for a teenager to take on… “It is. VJ is a 17-year-old lad who had no grip on responsibility. But a child is for life and it doesn't go away. It’s an insane thing to come to terms with.”
And will he? “He’s determined to do all he can for the baby. She’s all he has left of Billie [Tessa de Josselin]. But, practically, he’ll need a lot of help. Fortunately, VJ has good friends in Summer Bay who’ll help him out.”
What’s it like working with the real-life babies who play Luc? “I love it. Luc is my favourite Home and Away character. The babies are beautiful, they’re chilled and they sleep. People always say working with kids can be hard, but I’ve never had a better time. The other thing is it that it puts you ‘in the moment’ more. Instead of looking down at this doll or nothing at all, you’re looking at this baby. It makes you connect more with the situation so it’s been a good learning curve.”
Do you know how things will pan out for VJ and baby Luc? “There’s a nice resolve to it all. But there are quite a few more bumps first.”
You’ve had some heavy storylines since joining Home and Away… “Yes. It’s been one terrible event after another for VJ. I initially thought it was going to be surfing, visiting the gym and having to turn up at school. But I’m loving the dramatic stuff. It feels like I haven’t worked a day in my life in this job. You get to play dress-up with your friends and do amazing scenes. It’s almost like the idea of not being on the show is scary because it’s so good here!”
Home and Away, Channel 5
