Andy Barrett is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by Tai Hara. The character made his first screen appearance on 28 August 2013. Hara relocated to Sydney to take on the role. Kyle Pryor who plays fellow character Nate Cooper originally auditioned for the role. Andy and his half-brother Josh (Jackson Gallagher) were introduced to viewers through a series of online webisodes titled Home and Away Extras, prior to appearing in the main series. Andy is characterised as a troubled man because of his upbringing and disappearance of his father. Hara has described his character as "extremely unpredictable" and very protective of his brother. Andy has spent time in prison and causes trouble from his first episode. Andy's initial storyline was a feud with the Braxton family which had been ongoing before he was born. Through this story, writers involved Andy in crimes ranging from fights and car chases to explosions and shootings. Hara announced he would be departing from the show on 22 February 2016, after over three years in the role and Andy made his final appearance on 5 July 2016.
Producers created a romantic partnership between Andy and Hannah Wilson (Cassie Howarth). Their on/off relationship has been focused on heavily during his tenure. Andy is also involved in drug dealing which saw him temporarily separated from Hannah. His involvement leads to the death of Casey Braxton (Lincoln Younes), which prompts Andy to want to change his life. He sets on course to become a gym instructor, become literate and maintain a relationship with Hannah. The latter rarely goes well as they face problems such as Hannah's paralysis, her infidelity and Andy's temper. The character became popular with viewers as the Barrett brothers gained a fan-base. A reporter from The Daily Examiner said that Andy continually causes friction on the show. A writer from TV Soap noted that trouble follows Andy everywhere. They concluded that writers transformed the character from "rough customer" to "respectable citizen".
Casting The character and Hara's casting was reported by Debbie Schipp from The Daily Telegraph on 3 August 2013. Hara relocated from Gold Coast to Sydney to take on the role. Of being cast in Home and Away, Hara commented "I thought how lucky I was. It's just a real privilege to be on a show that is so loved." Andy was introduced to the show along with his brother Josh (Jackson Gallagher). The characters first appeared in online webisodes, which explored their backgrounds. The Barretts were initially rivals of the Braxton brothers and Hara said "There is a lot of history behind both the families. I carry the secrets of what our whole relationship is with them." Andy's debut on the main show was broadcast on 28 August 2013. British actor Kyle Pryor also auditioned for the role with an Australian accent. But producers thought he was better suited to the role of Nate Cooper.
Development
Characterisation
Andy is characterised as an over-protective brother to Josh. He has an uncontrollable temper which leads gets him into trouble. His anger issues date back to the disappearance of his father which changed him and eventually led to him being reprimanded by the law. He is a "feisty" resident of the infamous Mangrove River who "thinks with his fists before thinking of consequences". He is a "loose cannon" and harbours a "volatile mood" which has gained him a significant criminal history. They added that his attitude would only carry on adding to his criminality. Hara told a Yahoo!7 reporter that "he's an extremely unpredictable and protective character and regardless of his circumstances, family always comes first." Andy was forced to take care of Josh in the absence of their father. Hara added that "although sometimes he lacks morals and normal social behaviour, everything he does for his brother, despite how reckless, it comes from a place of love."
Home and Away Extras Andy and Josh were introduced to viewers in a series of four special online episodes titled Home and Away Extras, which were made available online from 7 August. The episodes gave fans a chance to see the characters prior to their on-screen arrival. They were written by Supervising Script Producer, Louise Bowes and directed by Danny Raco.
A promotional article stated that the footage would reveal a shared history and angst with the established characters of Brax (Steve Peacocke), Heath (Dan Ewing) and Casey Braxton (Lincoln Younes). To coincide with the content the show produced a series of additional content such as spoilers and cast interviews as extra promotion. Series Producer Lucy Addario created the "webisodes" because she wanted alternative ways for viewers to interact with the Home and Away brand. She added "we're going to reveal dramatic details of the characters' back-stories before they are introduced as a major storyline." Home and Away Extras completed its run on 26 August and Andy was introduced into the main show two days later.
Feud with the Braxton family To introduce Andy and Josh into the main series Home and Away developed a feud storyline between the Barrett and the Braxton brothers. The established Braxton family were popular with viewers and garnered a large fan base. Hara was not worried about their popularity ruining the chances of his character being successful and believed the Barretts would gain their own fans. He warned that Andy does not get intimidated by anyone and would comfortably rival the Braxton brothers. Ewing told a TV Week reporter that the Braxtons would still be the "top dog" but the Barretts would give them "a run for their money". He believed his family had the advantage because they learned to carefully think about their actions whereas Andy is an "act first, think later" type of character.
The storyline began when Josh meets Maddy Osborne (Kassandra Clementi) at a party and she refuses to leave. Her friend Casey does not approve of Maddy trying to lose her virginity and starts an argument with Josh. Younes explained that Andy gets involved and they fight, but he manages to defuse the trouble. He added "Casey has no idea who these guys are. He's never met them, but they say that they have." When Casey and Maddy drive away Andy decides to start a car chase and runs Casey's car off the road causing an accident and explosion. He is left with life changing injuries. The crash and subsequent explosion were big stunt scenes for the show. The car chase scenes Andy featured in were filmed at night on location down a narrow road, the cast described the shoot as a "scary" scenario. When Casey's brother Brax learns that Andy and Josh caused the accident he attacks Josh. Bianca Scott (Lisa Gormley) intervenes but Brax hits Andy instead. Hara stated that "hot head" Andy is not afraid of a fight or Brax because of his upbringing. Andy and Brax have known each other for a long time and there was "bad blood" between them. He added that "revenge is something they've all grown up with. You strike someone and they strike back. I think Andy will be prepared whatever happens." Gallagher added that there is a "lot of unspoken history" between Andy and Brax.
The writers then decided to cause a divide between the Barrett brothers and added a new dynamic between Brax and Josh. Realising that Josh is homeless, Brax asks Josh to stay at his home. Gallagher explained that it was Andy's hatred that influenced Josh's feelings towards the Braxtons. His attitude does not change but he begins to see another side to Brax. The actor added, "deep down he doesn't hold the same anger and resentment Andy does." But the effect the Barrett's arrival has on Brax becomes apparent and he visits Debbie Barrett (Olivia Pigeot) to confess that he killed Andy's step-father Johnny Barrett (Stephen Anderton). Andy attacks Brax in retaliation. When Brax appears in court Andy considers shooting Brax. But Debbie steals the gun and tries to shoot Brax, but Josh is hit by the bullet but survives. The cast were not allowed to reveal who fired the shot before the episode aired. After this Andy becomes jealous that Josh is spending all his time with Maddy and spikes her drink. A reporter from TV Week wrote that following Maddy behaving erratically Josh punches his brother for his crime.
In a later development it is revealed that Johnny had slept with Cheryl Braxton (Suzi Dougherty) and had fathered Casey. Andy was angry with this and Hara told Shayn from The Edge that "he is never going to be considered a Barrett in Andy's eyes" and "Brax is not happy to learn his mother slept with their dad". He also explained that the Barrett and Braxton feud had been going on long before Andy was born.
Drug dealing The show decided to begin Andy's journey through 2014 by exploring his "dark past". A guest character, Sean Green (Khan Chittenden) was introduced on-screen as Andy's old prison enemy. He targets Andy's livelihood by vandalising the gym he works at. Hara told Miller that it comes at a point in Andy's life when things were "looking up for him". It becomes apparent that Sean wants revenge because Andy made a deal to leave jail at Sean's expense by naming him for a crime. He threatens to hurt Josh and Maddy if he does not tell the truth. Hara added that "Andy feels responsible for putting them at risk, he doesn't want Josh involved in this." Andy tries to reason with Sean but he gathers a gang to punish the character. The storyline marked a turning point of the Braxton/Barrett feud as Casey gathers his family to help Andy and Kyle Braxton (Nic Westaway) rescues him by attacking Sean.
The show created a drug dealing storyline for Andy, which saw him trying to raise money to move out of the Summer Bay caravan park. He begins selling marijuana but his girlfriend Hannah Wilson (Cassie Howarth) destroys the drugs when she finds them in her home. This gets Andy into debt with the drug gang. In retaliation Josh is seriously assaulted by the gang. Hara told an Inside Soap reporter that Andy knows that the attack on Josh is a warning. He added that "he's incredibly protective of his little brother, so of course he feels responsible for what's happened." Despite Josh becoming involved in his predicament he cannot afford to pay his debt. Hara explained that his character is "dead broke" and "in some deep debt".
The storyline developed chaotically as Andy's debt continued to grow. He believes he can prolong paying his suppliers off by meeting up with them and pleading for more time. Hara said that it does not go according to plan and Andy is left with severe injuries following an assault and being thrown from a moving vehicle. The story sees Andy turning to Casey for help, Hara explained Andy's out-of-character actions were because the dealers are "unpredictable so everyone close to Andy is at risk." The storyline made way for a different dynamic between Andy and "arch-nemesis" Brax as he is forced to accept money from him to clear his debts. But Hara warned that his character would become more erratic, adding "Andy's heading down a path of self-destruction - and someone will pay for his mistakes."
Brynmor Pattison from the Irish Mirror observed the storyline as a "dramatic development that pulls many other characters into a vortex of trouble." While Hara explained that the drug dealing "will cause a domino effect that implicates numerous people and puts their lives at risk".
Casey's death