Home and Away's Sophie Dillman spills behind-the-scenes secrets: 'How crazy'

Sophie Dillman is Yahoo Lifestyle Australia's brand new columnist. Sophie will be bringing insider insights into everything from her time on Home and Away to what it's like being in the public eye and falling in love in the workplace.

Let's be honest, we're all staring at the clock waiting for 7pm every weeknight so we can visit Home and Away's Summer Bay - where magical surf meets beautiful faces and the occasional dramatic turn.

Ray feels like your dad, the diner girls know your coffee order and Tane’s asking you for one more rep. As much as some of us may deny it, Summer Bay is a beautiful fantasy. Thousands of helping hands join together to create every single episode. Here are five behind the scenes tricks that keep the magic alive:

Summer Bay uses teleportation (jks but kinda?)

It looks like a walk from the caravan park onto the beach is a quick five minutes and the Farm Houses are just around the corner. TV magic makes it look like everyone can walk anywhere in the Bay within minutes. In reality, getting from the beach to the caravan park is an hour and a half by car on a good day. The Farm House is literally in a paddock and the quickest way to get to the Palmer house from the Surf Club would be by boat.

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There is such thing as a stage kiss

I hate to tell you but a lot of kisses that you see on-screen aren’t entirely real. Most actors choose to use a ‘stage kiss’ to keep a degree of separation with their fellow co-stars. Essentially, the French part of the French kiss is taken out, if you catch my drift. Luckily, Dean and Ziggy didn’t have to do much faking on set ;).

The makeup girls are wizards

No matter how dishevelled you are when you first sit in their chair at 4am, you will leave looking perfect and they won’t even break a sweat. My favourite type of makeup magic is how they can cover tattoos. You would not believe the number of cast members who are covered in tatts, but the audience would never know. It takes many colours and brush strokes and a lot of time but they've got it covered.

The art department are MVP. Always and forever.

They do not seem to sleep, they know where every prop is EVER, and can pull out a concert, plane crash or wedding (complete with blood-covered cake) before you can say Salt. Every little detail is considered. Every plate, every bedside table, every item in the fridge, is there for a reason. Summer Bay would cease to exist without them.

Dean's original name was meant to by Roy

How crazy? When the original character brief was sent out for the next River boy, his name was Roy. Patrick remembers reading Roy’s story and immediately connecting with the guy. For some reason, the producers' decided Dean was better, and I tend to agree. #Riggy doesn’t have the same ring to it.

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