| Ziggy Astoni | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Home and Away character | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Sophie Dillman | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2017–2023, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 20 June 2017 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 9 March 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular (returning) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Lucy Addario | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Ziggy Astoni is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Home and Away, played by Sophie Dillman. Dillman was working as a day surgery nurse in Sydney when she auditioned for the role of Ziggy. She booked a holiday to Vietnam shortly afterward, but four days before she was due to leave, she was informed that she had won the role. Dillman joined the cast alongside Rohan Nichol, Kestie Morassi and Anna Cocquerel, who play Ziggy's parents Ben and Maggie Astoni and sister Coco Astoni respectively. The Astonis were the first nuclear family to be introduced to Home and Away in 17 years. Ziggy was the first member of the family to appear and she made her debut during the episode broadcast on 20 June 2017. She is portrayed as feisty, rebellious, and confident. Dillman felt that she and Ziggy were quite similar, but she admitted that unlike her character she could not surf and was not into cars. The Astoni family relocate from the city to Summer Bay and are given immediate links within the community. Ziggy is reunited with Brody Morgan (Jackson Heywood), who helped her hide from Ben after she stole a car, while Maggie finds employment at the local high school.
Writers soon established a romantic relationship between Ziggy and Brody, which is tested by Brody's drug addiction and Ben's opposition. Ziggy is brought into Brody's addiction storyline when she is kidnapped and held hostage by his dealer William Zannis (Caleb Alloway). Ben's continued opposition to Ziggy and Brody's relationship leads them to continue it in secret. When Ben finds out, he asks Ziggy to leave the house, which leads to the couple's break-up, as Brody does not want to be responsible for tearing a family apart. Heywood commented that his character loves Ziggy, but in order to do his best by her he feels that he has to keep away. Writers then used Ziggy to explore the issue of drink spiking, which Dillman described as "a really heavy storyline". The plot also explored the family's fictional backstory, as it emerges that Ziggy is partially responsible for an incident that left Maggie with PTSD. Ziggy's guilt over this drives her away from the Bay to a bar, where a man spikes her drink with the intention of assaulting her. Ziggy and Brody's reconciliation scenes aired towards the end of 2017. A brief love triangle was introduced into the story arc when Ziggy's former boyfriend tries to win her back.
The following year, Ziggy and Brody get engaged, after Ziggy is prompted to propose by her mother's cancer diagnosis. The wedding ceremony was filmed at the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. The couple's marriage immediately faces challenges from their struggle to live together and questions over whether they rushed into it. Dillman said that while Brody is focused on their future, Ziggy wants to have some fun. Further problems arise when Brody begins spending time with budding chef Simone Bedford (Emily Eskell). Ziggy is shown becoming suspicious of the closeness between Simone and Brody, and she tries to fix her marriage by considering having a baby to make Brody happy. The marriage comes to an end when Ziggy discovers Brody is having an affair with Simone. Dillman said the moment leaves her character "absolutely heartbroken". She also called the scenes challenging to film and said they took an "emotional toll" on her personally. She also received massages from viewers who were going through something similar and found that the divorce resonated with those of a similar age as Ziggy. Producers soon established a relationship between Ziggy and Dean Thompson (Patrick O'Connor). The pair initially grow close when Ziggy parties to forget her marriage breakdown, but their romance is solidified when they take part in a car rally together. Dillman thought the couple were well suited, as they shared the same interests and were very similar people.
The relationship faces its biggest challenge when Ziggy is offered a trial as a pit crew mechanic, which means she has to leave the Bay and Dean. Dillman believed Ziggy was torn between her heart and her dream job. Dillman enjoyed filming the storyline at the track and was taught how to pull the tyres off the car. The end to the couple's relationship aired in September 2020, as Ziggy learns that Dean helped cover up a murder. Dillman admitted that she and O'Connor found the break-up scenes to be really sad, but they were proud of their work. Ziggy is later paired romantically with Tane Parata (Ethan Browne), after he begins working at the garage. Both actors thought their characters were good together. However, after Dean is seriously injured in a car accident during the show's 2021 season finale, Ziggy ends the relationship with Tane to reconcile with Dean. O'Connor believed the pair to be soulmates. Towards the end of 2022, writers scripted an unexpected pregnancy for the character just as she is offered a surfing sponsorship. Dillman said the plot showed how a lot of women feel like they have to choose, especially those in professional sports. After opting to go through with the pregnancy, Ziggy gives birth to her and Dean's daughter in January 2023. The following month, Home and Away aired Ziggy and Dean's exit after both Dillman and O'Connor decided to leave the show. For her portrayal of Ziggy, Dillman has earned Logie Award nominations for Most Popular New Talent and Most Popular Actress. She also received a nomination for Best Daytime Star at the Inside Soap Awards in the UK.