As Hollywood lures another one of our Home and Away favourites, Samara reflects on her time in Summer Bay.

“The Hawaiian Wedding was my favourite story line. Also my most memorable times are those with the rest of the Walker clan and crew. I can't imagine a more amazing bunch of people to work and play with!

And my most challenging storyline was Romeo leaving and subsequently his death. I have no personal concept of loss on that scale so a lot of research and hard work went into trying to make that as honest as possible”

On-air, Indi is about to be re-united with Chris Harrington.

The last time Chris appeared in Summer Bay, Indi Walker was a broken woman. She had been shattered by the disappearance of her Romeo and, in a time of needing some affection, succumbed to the charms of Chris. “That really was all it was – something very physical to get over her heartbreak,” Samara says. “She certainly wasn’t ready for anything serious."

But time may have changed, Indi wants to pick herself up from the trauma of the past months, move on and get her life back together.

And that is when Chris arrives back in town. “Whether it can really be a true romance between this pair is not yet clear,” Samara adds. “Chris might be in that place, and she not or maybe the other way. Just how this one pans out this time, we will all have to wait and see.”

For Samara, acting out the romance with Johnny Ruffo required a shift in the gears after a long stint of playing supercouple Indi and Romeo with Luke Mitchell.

“Johnny and I get along really well outside of work and we’ve hung out a few times,” Samara says. “We do have a chemistry but it was different to the chemistry I had with Luke on-screen because there was not that history there.

“But I do believe that worked for the characters because when you meet someone new and there is a spark there, it can be quite awkward as well. All that worked with Johnny.

“With Luke, we had a familiarity. My first scene I ever did on location was with Luke and it was then on going for us. So we had a long time to get to know how each other worked.”

For Samara, the past three years since that day she arrived in Summer Bay as frightened young Indi has been a dramatic journey. Not only has Indi changed in that time, from being a young girl rebelling against her family to becoming a bride and now as a widow, but also so has Samara.

At that time, her only previous screen appearance had been in the BBC soapie Out of the Blue.

Now at age 21, Samara says the past three years on Home and Away have offered her one giant career leap. “If I could go back three years ago and give myself some advice, it would be to understand that the adventure would go very fast,” she says with a laugh.

“I learned quickly you have to do your homework on this series because there is just no time for you not to know what you are doing. You need to know where your character is at and why she is doing all the things she is doing at any given time. It has been the best lesson of all.”

It has also been a lesson of another kind in learning to cope with the way her off-screen moves have been followed as well. She has been romantically linked to former co-star Axle Whitehead and recently with British model Rob Moore.

“That is just one of those things that goes with it when you have a profile working on a show,” she says. “It is going to happen so you can’t get annoyed or upset about it. It is what it is.”

Wise words from her family, including film legend uncle Hugo and her filmmaker dad Simon, along the way, Samara admits, have also helped to keep her on track. “Hugo is really smart about it and is known for his work, and that is what I would like as well,” she says. “I always remember after I started on the series, my dad said, ‘you have a three year contract, so use this time wisely’. And that is what I have tried to do, to be as creative with the role as I can.”

“I want to say thanks to the fans for being there and watching us every night you guys are the only reason I'm where I am today and I can't thank you guys enough. I love all of your feedback and if I don't write back I'm so sorry I try to get back to everyone!”