Neighbours star Takaya Honda on David's difficult 2021 storylines as he clashes with Aaron
2021 will be an interesting year for one of the Ramsay Street doctors.
It has been a rollercoaster of a year in Neighbours for David Tanaka (Takaya Honda) as he and husband, Aaron Brennan (Matt Wilson) have explored many avenues on their way to becoming parents and they have ended the year with a bun in the oven - David is just not overly thrilled with who's oven that is.
Nicolette Stone (Charlotte Chimes) has offered to be a co-parent and carry the child and, following a drunken spontaneous decision, they gave it a try. Only David soon learned that Nicolette stole a lottery ticket from a dead patient and he lost all faith in the arrangement. Only it is too late and a now pregnant Nicolette has some ground to make up.
Takaya has been talking to RadioTimes.com about what to expect from the storyline and how it will be a very interesting year for David.
"Honour and respect are major qualities for a person to have for David," Takaya explains. "Nicolette proves to lack in both areas when it is found out that she stole from her deceased patient. It's a very steep climb for her to recover trust with David. Finding out Nicolette is pregnant throws David into a whirlwind he has no idea how to handle the situation or to reconcile who the mother of his future child is."
The clash causes problems for him and Aaron with them both on opposite sides of how to handle the situation. "I think this may be the first storyline where David and Aaron truly have a different point of view, and how they recover from this one will indicate how well they can in future disagreements."
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A medical emergency does thaw the ice somewhat with David and Nicolette, but whether it will be enough to get this unit back on the same page remains to be seen. "David will always step up if it comes to someone’s health and there is obviously a lot at stake here, it’s their baby. He is conflicted because Nicolette has really disappointed him with some of her actions but when he sees her unwell and vulnerable, he realises she is just human and people make mistakes."
As for David and Aaron's previous foray into parenting, Takaya had nothing but great things to say about the two foster children that they took in earlier in the year. "Both Esra Justin (Emmett) and Texas Watterston (Brent) blew both Matt Wilson (Aaron) and I away with their talents. Not only did they bring really strong performances to the screen, but they did so under the pressures of shooting during COVID."
"This made telling the wonderful foster care storyline really truthful and I believe the audience responded so enthusiastically because of this. I would love for their storyline to continue as I think the fans do too."
As for what else is in store for 2021, it sounds like it will be quite the year for David, even without the pregnancy. "Big things are happening in 2021 for David, I’m not sure he will be finishing the year the same person he started as."
Takaya also revealed that he would love a return from his on-screen brother, Leo, saying: "I would love to see Tim Kano return. I mean, who doesn’t want their twin brother around?" He added that the relationship between David and Paul looks set to get even more interesting. "I think it would be difficult not to have clashes with Paul Robinson if you have a relationship with him. But who knows? Maybe some of those clashes will have a lasting impact on David, and maybe he will start to agree more with where his dad is coming from."
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