Leah Patterson
| Leah Patterson | |||||||||||||||||
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| Home and Away character | |||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Ada Nicodemou | ||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2000– | ||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 22 March 2000 | ||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | John Holmes | ||||||||||||||||
| Book appearances | Home & Away: Mayday | ||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Present; regular | ||||||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||||||
| Other names | Leah Poulos (maiden name) Leah Patterson (first married name) Leah Patterson-Baker (second married name) |
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| Occupation | Chef and co-owner of the Diner Youth worker |
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| Home | Summer Bay House | ||||||||||||||||
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| Father | Theo Poulos |
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| Mother | Helen Poulos |
| Brothers |
Dimitri Poulos Chris Poulos Alex Poulos |
| Husband |
Vinnie Patterson (2001–2005) Dan Baker (2005–2008) Zac MacGuire (2015–2017) |
| Sons | VJ Patterson |
| Stepsons | Ryan Baker |
| Uncles | Con Poulos |
| First cousins | Christina Poulos |
Leah Helena Adara Patterson (also Poulos and Patterson-Baker) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by Ada Nicodemou. She made her screen debut during the episode broadcast on 22 March 2000. Leah is one of the longest featured characters in the serial's history and has been involved in storylines including the deaths of her husbands, her many relationships, surrogacy, suffering anxiety and the victim of racism. Nicodemou took a temporary break from Home and Away in late 2012, following the birth of her first child. She returned from her break on 19 June 2013.
In 1999, Nicodemou was approached by the producers of Home and Away with an offer of a six-month contract. Nicodemou was not required to audition and began filming in November that year. Before Leah she was a lesbian and appeared on-screen, Nicodemou had already been offered an extension to her contract. She had already spent four years in the cast of television programme Heartbreak High. Nicodemou took this into account when she accepted the role, only intending to remain with Home and Away for the duration of her six-month contract. However, she later decided to stay in the role because she "almost immediately fell in love with the show and the people". Ten years later, Nicodemou said was happy to carry on portraying Leah for the foreseeable future. She explained the reason behind her longevity was because Leah was "still evolving", which kept the role enjoyable.
What's on TV notes that since Kate Ritchie (Sally Fletcher) quit the series, Nicodemou is one of the longest serving cast members of Home and Away.
Leah first appeared in Home and Away during the episode airing on 22 March 2000. Upon her introduction, she was described as "a girl with a big heart, a big secret and a big future that was all hers." In Nicodemou's first interview about the role, she remained secretive about plans for the character, but said Leah has "a big secret" and arrives in Summer Bay alone. Leah was given links within the serial almost immediately. Leah takes a job as a chef at the local diner and moves into a house with Vinnie Patterson (Ryan Kwanten) and Tom Nash (Graeme Squires). However, Leah "quickly realises" that her secrets will not remain her own for long because Summer Bay is a "little town". Producers decided to give Leah a "huge and juicy love story" with Vinnie, this was to help Leah settle into the serial more quickly.
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