“Ada and I loved working with her.” Home and Away star James Stewart has praised

his co-star Rachael Carpani in a new storyline involving his character Justin Morgan.

Carpani, known for McLeod’s Daughters, plays Summer Bay newcomer Claudia.

Her villainous character will enter a feud with Justin after she gets involved in a car accident.

Claudia blames the mechanic for not having properly fixed her vehicle, serviced shortly before the crash. In reality, Theo Poulos was meant to repair the car, but didn’t finish the job.

Despite Claudia’s suspicious motives giving Justin a hard time, Stewart said that he and Ada Nicodemou, who plays Justin’s wife Leah Patterson, had a great time working with Carpani.

In a chat with The Press, Stewart said the star has “gorgeous energy on set”, adding: “She has done such big work and it’s really kudos to the casting agents here, because they get us these guests that just make you lift your game.”

He continued: “Ada and I loved working with her, they were really great together.”

Speaking about her character, Carpani teased Claudia may be up to more evil schemes and that she will rock the Bay.

“When I heard what Claudia gets up to, I thought, ‘Oh, it might be nice to be disliked as a character for a while,’” she told TV Week. “I’m a little worried about the hardcore fans, though.”