Home and Away heart-throb Nicholas Cartwright has lashed out at the show’s former boss after he sent ‘rude’ messages about a gritty, new storyline involving his character.
Dan Bennett, who ran the Seven soap staple as Network Script Executive between 2016 and 2017, says he unexpectedly provoked the ire of the Summer Bay star on Friday after responding to one of his posts of social media.
‘I’d seen him promoting an upcoming (Home and Away) storyline about the River Boys coming back,’ Bennett told Daily Mail Australia.
‘The show’s trying to re-energise that whole crime tone – the drugs and the devilishness – and all I’ve done is send him a message saying, ‘zzz’ – as in, ‘that’s a bit boring, we’ve seen all that before’.
‘Of course, that’s just my view; I’m just a fan these days. But next thing you know, I’ve got Nicholas Cartwright – one of the supposed stars of the show – sending me DMs and calling me ‘a c**t’.
‘I don’t know Nicholas, I’ve never met him… so to think that’s how he talks to fans is deeply concerning.’
In excerpts of the fiery exchange seen by Daily Mail Australia, Bennett sparks the row with a number of ‘zzz’ messages.
Cartwright, who plays Summer Bay’s resident cop, Cash Newman, then replies by saying: ‘Rude response from someone in the industry’.
Bennett then hits back, saying: ‘Or perhaps an informed response from someone who knows that show better than anyone else on the planet and is bereft to see it reverting to River Boy nonsense.
‘The notion that we should support productions simply because we’re in the ‘industry’ as opposed to supporting them because the quality is A+ is nonsense.
‘How does anyone fair (sic) by applauding mediocrity as opposed to excellence?’
Cartwright responds: ‘Okay mate try not to be a c**t about it next time.’
Bennett said he had since raised the exchange with Cartwright’s bosses at Home and Away and considered the matter closed.
‘I don’t want to p*** on anyone’s career, or get anyone in trouble, but I’ve messaged his seniors and been told that it’s been dealt with and I’m happy with that,’ he said.
‘He was probably just having a bad day, and p***ed off about something else. But it wasn’t a nice experience and I would hate to think he’d message anyone else something like that.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Seven for comment.
The unseemly dispute comes amid ongoing disquiet among some Home and Away cast members about the direction of the show’s storylines, with some of the soap’s biggest stars openly criticising the decision to move away from its original ‘family values’ premise.
Home and Away legend Ray Meagher, who holds the Guinness World Record for the longest-serving actor in an Australia serial with his portrayal of Alf Stewart, railed against the inclusion of the ‘River Boys’ as far back as 2018.
In a TV special filmed to celebrate the show’s 30th anniversary, Meagher said he thought darker storylines featuring sex, drugs and firearms were a mistake.
‘I thought that there was a period of about three years where I just thought that the show’s strayed off its basic tracks for a while,’ Meagher told ‘Endless Summer’ host Steve Pennells.
‘I think when three characters have 80 percent of the storyline and there are 21 to 23 regular characters, plus another 4 or 5 guests, and they are scrambling for maybe 20 percent of the screen time, the show is a little bit out of whack.
‘Sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll wasn’t the basic mission of Home and Away and so to have the show weighted heavily that way, in my opinion, was a bit of a mistake.’
‘Every town has somebody that people go, “Oh, god, not him again” or whatever, or, “What’s he up to now?” that sort of thing, there will always be a little bit of bad, but you can’t have guns to heads, bank robberies, drug deals as you know, the basis for a show like this. ‘
Bennett, who has also held senior positions on Neighbours and Winners & Losers, said he to bring Home and Away back to its core values during his tenure.
‘When I was on the show, I was proud of its history and tradition,’ he said.
‘It was about foster kids – and the elderly people on the program helping the younger ones overcome problems and fly to great heights.
‘I made a conscience decision to bring back those traditional values. I put Kate Ritchie back in the big house and gave her foster kids because that’s what Home and Away was about.
‘For a long time Kate resisted and would say, “Please don’t make me the new Pippa”. But she had there so long that it was natural for her to become the new face of the show.
‘That’s what I always felt was the heart of Home and Away.
‘The current writers on the program have made a clear decision to move away from that and go down a different path. And, hey, they’re rating really well – so what do I know?’