Home and Away spoilers follow from Thursday's 5STAR first look episode (UK-pace).
The following article contains discussion of themes including self-harm that some readers may find upsetting.
Home and Away star Courtney Miller has hinted at Bella Nixon's future after the big turning point in her storyline.
Thursday's 5STAR first look episode (May 28) saw Bella receive the news that she needed full-time psychiatric care after self-harming at home.
Bella's brother Colby Thorne (Tim Franklin) was encouraged to secure support for her at a specialised facility following her latest troubles, which came after she tried to take her relationship with Nikau Parata to the next level and was reminded of her past ordeal with evil Tommy.
Speaking to Digital Spy about these big scenes, Courtney explained: "I always love getting a heavy and topical storyline to portray. It's so important to open up conversations like this for families watching at home.
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"The Tommy attack will always have reoccurring effects on Bella. It has formed who she is and unfortunately she will need to seek help in order for it not to define her.
"When Bella tried to be more intimate with Nikau, the physical and emotional memories of the Tommy event came flooding back. The kissing and Nikau's weight on her forced the memories to rush in.
"I remember I got the scenes a couple of weeks before shooting the self-harm event. I had no idea how it was going to turn out. The difficult thing about shooting is that you don't have a clear idea of what's going to take place – for example, the physicality of the action, the specific location for sometimes it might change, and the reactions of the other actors.
"For me, it is not until I have blocked the scene and am ready to shoot that I have a clearer understanding. The physicality turns into a dance and the acting a response. Preparation was necessary, just like any scene for me.
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"I talked to a few people who had gone through similar events in order to cognitively understand why someone would self-harm. On the day, I put my research aside and focused on reaching the emotional peaks that had been explained to me. The hardest thing is to do justice to a scene that so many people emotionally connect with."
On whether Bella's psychiatric care will be a turning point for her, Courtney continued: "Any form of help is necessary for Bella. Intensive support was needed for her mental state as she was beyond helping herself. This will definitely serve as a turning point for Bella.
"Having her entire childhood ripped out from under her when she was taken away, Bella clung onto the most stable thing around her, Colby. Along with Colby, Willow and Dean were a huge part of her childhood that she remembers.
"The three of them serve as a protective barrier for Bella. Therapy could force Bella to learn to stand on her own two feet."
Home and Away's first look episode airs weeknights at 6.30pm on 5STAR, with the scenes repeated the following weekday at 1.15pm and 6pm on Channel 5.
We would encourage anyone who identifies with the topics raised in this article to reach out. Organisations who can offer support include Samaritans on 116 123 (www.samaritans.org) or Mind on 0300 123 3393 (www.mind.org.uk). Readers in Australia are encouraged to contact Samaritans on 135 247 (thesamaritans.org.au) or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 (beyondblue.org.au).
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