No Home and Away fan likes to see one of their favourite characters leave the show.
So suffice to say, viewers were shattered when Robbo Shaw (played by Jake Ryan) was dramatically killed off in January.
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Although the 37-year-old actor previously admitted to being a “blubbering mess” during his final day on set, he insisted in a new interview that it was the right time to go.
“I believe there is a timeline of staying [on a soap] too long,” he told Daily Mail Australia this week.
In October 2019, his partner Alice Quiddington gave birth to the couple’s first child, a son named Wolf, and Jake said the timing was ideal to leave the show for good.
“The storyline was good, I was still enjoying it, the audience was still responding well, so for me it was really good timing and plus my baby came not long after, so it gave me the opportunity to be around for that. I think it all fell into the right place when it did,” he said.
“I probably would have stayed a little bit longer, but my contract was up and I already had a few other movies scheduled.”
Jake, who had been part of Summer Bay since 2017, told TV WEEK after his exit that he was ready for the next chapter in his life.
“It’s sad to leave but my time was done there,” he told the publication.
“They did such a great storyline with Robbo and there wasn’t much else to do with him. You want to go out on a high while you can.”
Jake added that his character’s ending – a tragic death after a dramatic car crash – was everything he had hoped for.
“The last scene I shot was extra emotional because Robbo was saying goodbye to Grace and Tori [Penny McNamee], and once they called cut, I was saying goodbye to the cast,” Jake said.
“Everyone bands together on those big, emotional days. It was a nice mood around the set. We all respect those storylines.”
