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. They made a brief return in March 2025 for a storyline filmed and set in Queensland. 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.
Casting On 4 June 2017, Karlie Rutherford of The Daily Telegraph reported Sophie Dillman had joined the cast of Home and Away as part of the Astoni family, alongside Rohan Nichol, Kestie Morassi, and Anna Cocquerel. The actors had been photographed filming their first scenes earlier in the year. Dillman was working as a day surgery nurse when she received the role of Ziggy. She had moved to Sydney to pursue her acting career and spent her evenings attending auditions. When she first auditioned for Home and Away she immediately fell in love with the character of Ziggy. Feeling "disheartened" about her lack of acting work, Dillman booked a holiday to Vietnam, but four days before she was due to leave, she learned she had been cast as Ziggy. She was swapping her scrubs after a patient vomited on her when she noticed that she had missed a call from her agent. She said "I couldn't believe it, I got the role of Ziggy on Home And Away. I screamed and swore so loudly that I got in trouble from one of the doctors. But I told them I didn't care and I wasn't coming back." The Astonis were the first nuclear family to be introduced to Home and Away in 17 years. Their arrival was preceded by a promotional trailer, which showed them visiting the fictional town of Summer Bay. Dillman made her debut as Ziggy on 20 June 2017.
Development Characterisation and introduction Ahead of the character's introduction, a press release stated "Ziggy is a feisty and passionate 19-year-old who often feels like the odd one out in her family. She feels driven to rebel and act-out. She's confident and fierce, but she's lost in herself." The show's official website at 7plus states that Ziggy is "a high school dropout working casual jobs". Although lost, she is a "fierce female who doesn't take no for an answer." Karlie Rutherford of The Daily Telegraph described Ziggy as a "wild child" and a "rebel teenager". The character's profile at TVNZ states that she "has a sharp wit, and is often driven to lash out". They also stated that she loves her family and is particularly close to her father. Dillman felt that she and Ziggy were quite similar and she admired her character's fearlessness and confidence, saying "She doesn't worry about what she looks like, who she is friends with or what she says. Ziggy has really found herself and her stride from a really young age and I love that." Unlike Ziggy, Dillman cannot surf and admitted that she had tried several times, but she was uncoordinated. She also did not share Ziggy's passion for her job as a mechanic. Dillman thought Ziggy deserved "to let off a little steam and enjoy herself" in 2021. She pointed out that Ziggy has been working hard in the garage and had not had a lot of time off to do the things she loves, likes surfing and spending time with her friends.
Ziggy was the first member of the Astoni family to be introduced when she bursts into a public bathroom and asks Brody Morgan (Jackson Heywood) to help hide her. Dillman explained to Tamara Cullen of TV Week that Ziggy is running away from "an issue" she has caused in the city and happens to run into the same bathroom where Brody is "having a moment." Brody helps Ziggy to hide in his car as her father Ben Astoni (Nichol) comes out looking for her. Dillman told Cullen: "Brody questions what he's doing, but Ziggy doesn't give him a choice. She's only worried about not getting in trouble." When Ziggy returns home, she finds Ben waiting for her and he chastises her for stealing a car and fleeing the scene. Ziggy's mother Maggie Astoni (Morassi) and her younger sister Coco Astoni (Cocquerel) return home and it emerges that Coco has been suspended from school, leading Cullen to comment that the girls appear to have a rebellious streak. Dillman added that "They're a normal family. But they're trying to make things work with two kids." The family take a trip away from the city and end up in Summer Bay, where they spend the day at the beach. When it is time for them to leave, they discover their car will not start and they are stuck in the Bay until it is fixed. Brody and Ziggy meet again at the Surf Club, where Ziggy turns down Brody's offer to show her around. The family stay at the caravan park and Ziggy "makes her own entertainment" by stealing from the local residents and receiving a warning from the police. Ben and Maggie soon move the family to the Bay permanently, after Maggie secures a job at the local high school and Ben decides on a career change. Ziggy is against the idea and flees back to the city, where she finds her boyfriend Jarrod McGregor (Joel Davies) in bed with another girl. She soon returns to the Bay.
Relationship with Brody Morgan
The trailer promoting the Astoni family showed Ziggy becoming a love interest for Brody. Brody and Ziggy spend time together and agree not to talk about their pasts. They eventually share a kiss, however, Ben puts a stop to a potential relationship when he discovers Brody is a drug addict. Brody's addiction directly affects Ziggy when she is kidnapped by his dealer William Zannis (Caleb Alloway). After noticing that she and Brody are close, Zannis approaches Ziggy at the beach and has her bundled into a car, before holding her hostage at a motel. Zannis instructs Ziggy to send a text to Brody asking him to meet her, but she initially refuses until Zannis produces a gun. Dillman told Inside Soaps Sarah Ellis: "Ziggy won't go down without a fight! When she figures out that this is a kidnapping, she tries everything she can to protect Brody." When Brody arrives at the motel, he is grabbed by Zannis' henchmen and tied to a chair. Ellis noted that Brody feels "terrible guilt" for dragging Ziggy into his problems, especially when Zannis tells them that he plans to kill them both with an overdose. Constable Kat Chapman (Pia Miller) soon find the pair, after tacking Brody to the motel, but she is knocked out by one of Zannis' henchmen. Dillman told Ellis that Ziggy and Brody are "scared beyond belief" because "it's clear Zannis is dangerous and out of control." Zannis then decides to move the hostages, but as they reach the car, the group are confronted by Robbo (Jake Ryan), who was waiting in Kat's police vehicle, and Ziggy and Brody are rescued.