No matter the role, Luke Jacobz always brings a certain charm when he’s on our screens.
But it was his turn as the cheeky cop Angelo on Home and Away that fans love to remember him for.
A decade on from his last appearance on the drama, Luke is back in blue on the shores of Summer Bay.
But while the world is at a standstill, the screen favourite is taking on a new role at home – proving he is all class as he acts as the homeschool teacher to his four nieces and nephews.
“There are seven of us in the house at the moment,” Jacobz said.
“The two parents both work, so I’ve got the kids to do homeschooling, cooking and cleaning – and we’ve got a couple of dogs out in the back as well, so I’m doing all the walking and trying to keep everybody stimulated while we’re in this home lockdown.
“We’re trying to be as creative as we can, so we’re mixing fitness in with Bingo and all sorts of things.
“There’s lots of family time together, and sometimes lots of family time apart – so sometimes two of the kids go outside and then we swap them over, and sometimes just the parents go outside.”
Adapting to homeschooling
“I think the Education Department is doing a fantastic job with adapting to this because they had no preparation for this as well,” Jacobz said.
“Sometimes the system fails, or the classes don’t work – but the teachers are really quick to respond and come up with creative things to do.
“So everyone is doing a great job to keep the kids as focused as possible.”
In isolation with family
Luke normally lives in Bondi – but is now in isolation with his sister’s family.
“A few weeks ago, you were hearing about all this social distancing and people in Bondi weren’t doing it,” Jacobz said.
“There were people having beach parties and doing all sorts of things. So I needed to get out of there because you could hear so much going on.
“My roommate, who’s a dear friend of mine, is in hospital at the moment because he just had brain surgery about three weeks ago. So I would’ve been at home on my own.
“So my sister said, rather than being there in isolation on my own, I should come out here to help out with the family. So I’m doing the best I can.”
Returning to Summer Bay
And unfortunately for Home and Away fans, it’ll be a little while yet before Angelo returns to our screens – but Luke is excited to be back on set and filming with old friends.
“I’m actually not back in blue,” Jacobz said.
“I’ll be back in a suit, so my role may have changed slightly – but I’m still on the force. So there’s a certain type of role that wears a suit all the time.
“But the hard thing is when you film on the beach, you have to wear a suit even when it’s 32 degrees. So it does tend to get quite hot.”