Model Montana Cox has revealed she was delighted to find herself at the centre of one of Neighbours’ most explosive storylines for her first-ever acting role.
The newcomer – who is best known in Aus for winning the 2011 cycle of Australia’s Next Top Model – revealed to whattowatch.com more details about the mysterious Britney Barnes and her shock connection to baby Isla Tanaka-Brennan.
Eagle-eyed viewers may spot her in the coffee shop, furtively walking past David, Aaron and the baby a few episodes before we properly meet her.
“When you first see her she’s sneaking around but it takes a little bit of time to realise who she is and what she’s doing there,” shared Montana.
“But there’s been a big lead up to it. When it happens you’re like, ‘Woah!’. There’s heaps going on, lots of other levels to it.”
Fans, of course, will suspect that Britney may be the real mum of baby Isla, who was returned to fathers David Tanaka (Takaya Honda) and Aaron Brennan (Matt Wilson) after mum Nicolette Stone fled Ramsay Street whilst still pregnant.
David’s dad Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis) tracked down Nicolette and secretly paid her to hand over the baby and disappear.
Unbeknown to Paul, Nicolette had given him another baby, not little Isla! And with David and Aaron none the wiser, viewers were left wondering who the baby REALLY belonged to.
After stalking David and Aaron around Erinsborough, Britney takes drastic measures and the couple make a horrifying discovery...
“At the Shorts and Briefs Film Festival, there’s a huge fireworks display and at the same time they discover the baby’s missing,” explained Montana.
“There’s a whole big palaver, which is fair enough when you lose your child!
“They really go through the emotions trying to find her. It would be a really awful thing to go through as a parent.”
Top cop Levi Canning (Richie Morris) finally manages to track down Britney and the baby after some clever detective work.
“He finds her in the community centre and she’s in there, nursing her, because she doesn’t really have anywhere to go,” commented Montana.
“She’s just got her daughter back and she’s having this time with her. She and the baby connect because she hasn’t been around her and she gave her away.
“She has all that guilt over letting her go so it’s quite a nice moment”
With the baby safe, David and Aaron are beside themselves with relief, until they learn the truth about their baby’s real mother.
Not only that, they're left stunned when Nicolette returns to confess all and another huge twist is revealed!
Could 'fake' baby Isla have a closer connection to the Tanaka family than anyone realises?
Montana was only signed up for a short stint on Neighbours, but she insists that it’s given her a real push to take up more acting roles alongside her busy modelling career.
She's appeared in campaigns for luxury brands including Lanvin and on the covers of top fashion magazines – she recently shared her latest Tatler shoot on Instagram.
“Being on Neighbours has been an amazing experience. I’m making the transition from modelling into acting so it’s been a huge learning experience and a really big challenge. I’ve really loved it.
“I was very proud of myself because I never knew whether acting was something I could do. I’ve done some presenting in Australia but it’s always been something I’ve wanted to try.
“The cast and crew made me feel really at home and comfortable and never nervous because they always made it super easy.”
Although we won't be seeing on her Ramsay Street for long, she did drop a HUGE hint that Britney’s story might not be over...
“I think that’s not the last we’ll be seeing of her!” she teased.
Neighbours continues weekdays at 1:45pm and 5:30pm on Channel 5
