Home and Away’s James Stewart gushes over co-star as he welcomes 'Australia’s finest'

Home and Away star James Stewart was full of praise upon welcoming Mandy McElhinney to the cast of the Channel 5 soap as he branded her ‘one of Australia’s finest actors’

James Stewart of Home and Away has gushed over co-star Mandy McElhinney as she fits into life on the Australian soap.

The 52-year-old actress joins the Channel 5 show’s roster as Margot Dafoe, the head of the infamous Vita Nova cult who posed as Andrew Lawrence’s (Joshua Hewson) mother.

Cash Newman (Nicholas Cartwright), a police officer, went rogue earlier this week, stealing secret information about Andrew despite being removed from the case.
After informing Justin that they needed to back off and let the task force find Andrew, Cash changed his mind and arrived at Justin’s, ready for a rescue mission.

When they arrived to the facility on Thursday’s (July 27) episode, Cash was surrounded by cult members and ringleader Margot, who had no intention of letting Andrew go.

Despite the fact that they released both men with no broken bones, Cash and Justin returned to the Bay beaten and deflated.

James, 47, rushed to compliment his new co-star when she made her debut as the villain, posting a photo of them on set with Andrew actor Joshua Hewson.

James, who has portrayed Justin Morgan since 2016, penned alongside the snap: “So very very excited that Mandy McElhinney has come to the bay!

“I’ve always loved her work.. she’s one of Australia’s finest actors! We’re all in such a buzz watching her do her thing! Bucketlist [tick emoji].”

James is no stranger to throwing support behind his co-stars and took the time to praise Joshua, 19, after making his debut as Andrew.

Posing alongside their co-star Matt Evans, who plays Theo Poulous, James warned fans to “keep an eye out” as he recognised Josh’s incredible talent.

He penned: “Are you havin a laugh?! Is he havin a laugh?!! – This is Josh Hewson.. this kid is a natural man! I’m so stoked he’s come onto our show. He’s funny as.. bright.. cool to hang out with and is definitely goin places!”

The Aussie actor signed off the post by saying: “Keep an eye out for this guy!”