Home and Away star Emily Symons discusses "challenging" Marilyn and Heather story

 "It's the biggest story I've ever done."

Home and Away spoilers follow, especially for UK viewers.

Home and Away veteran Marilyn Chambers has had her world turned upside down recently, after new character Heather Fraser rocked up on the scene.

Australian viewers will have seen Heather manipulate Marilyn, getting her to do things that have made her friends turn against her and question her sanity.

But Marilyn has cottoned on to what is going on, and confided in Leah that the reason why she thinks Heather is acting this way is because she might actually be her long-lost daughter from an extramarital affair.

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Emily Symons has talked about her character's storyline to New Zealand publication Stuff, stating: "It's the biggest story I've ever done. It was a really, really challenging, uncomfortable different space for Marilyn to be in."

"At first, I was like: 'Wow, when would that have happened?'" she said when asked about when Marilyn got pregnant. "But when you go through the timeline, it actually does make sense.

"Gradually the layers are peeled away and you find out why she felt that she couldn't share this information for all of her adult life. Ultimately, this is a story about shame and secrecy. It's not an unusual story.

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"If it was happening in 2020, everybody would have gone: 'Oh, well, never mind, let's all raise the baby together'. You wouldn't have a problem sharing that with your loved ones and your friends and your support group. So yeah, it's different times."

Although there is more manipulation attempts from Heather still to come, Symons stated that Marilyn "desperately" wants to connect with her estranged child. Will there be a happy ending?

Home and Away airs weekdays at 1.45pm on Channel 5 and 6pm on 5STAR. First-look screenings air at 6.30pm on 5STAR and the show also streams on My5. In Australia, the show airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7pm on Channel 7 and streams on 7plus. Selected classic episodes are available via Amazon Prime Video in the UK.