In fact, the affable pair love poking good-natured fun at each other on their social media accounts every chance they get – much to the delight of their fans.
Here Tim, 29, and Patrick, 26, spill their thoughts on everything from their hilarious‘Insta-feud’ to life in the Bay and their plans for the future.
Can you believe you’re both celebrating your two-year Home and Away anniversary?
Patrick: I can’t! I feel like I’ve lived a second life. I’ve only been in Sydney for five years, and I do feel that I’ve had my Sydney time and now my Palm Beach- Summer Bay time. And Dean’s definitely done so much in Summer Bay.
Tim: It’s gone so quickly. It’s literally flown by.
Did you know each other before joining the show?
Tim: Yes, I’d met Paddy through QUT. There’s a little hub of QUT people that hang around on the weekend sometimes.
Did you try out for the roles together?
Tim: It was really cool – we actually rocked up for the audition on the same day. I saw Paddy there and thought ‘Oh, thank God! A familiar face.’ We went out of the main room where everyone was hanging out and just chatted while we were waiting to go in and had a coffee together. At the end of the audition, everyone else had left and they kept Paddy and me back. We said to each other, ‘Have we got this?’
Do you catch up outside of work?
Patrick: Yes, sometimes. There’s a few of us from the cast who catch up outside of filming.
Tim: Paddy and I had already broken the ice before we got the roles, so when we got on set, it was just easy. There wasn’t much work to be done there.
It sounds like the roles were meant to be.
Patrick: I think they definitely were. After you’ve been on the show for about six months, your character does become like you a little bit. Tim and I were talking before about the storylines that are coming up and I was saying ‘I wonder what it would be like if, for six months, I was Colby and you were Dean? How funny would that be?’ But I don’t think anyone would have a bar of it!
You obviously enjoy playing jokes on each other…
Patrick: [Laughs] Yes, we push the boundaries of brotherhood – we are such good mates.
Tim: I think the energy of Dean and Colby comes from that.
Tell us about those hilarious Instagram videos.
Tim: There’s a definite rivalry going on there to see who can embarrass the other one the most. We always make fun of each other – that’s our form of fun. We’re at a big truce at the moment, but I think it’s only a matter of time before that’s broken!
Patrick: Well, to set the record straight, I don’t know what the public likes to think, but Tim pretty much instigated all of this. He pulled the first punch! But you’ve got to do this kind of thing, especially at work – the banter we all share is really important. We spend so long with each other and you need to be able to joke around.
How have the fans reacted?
Patrick: When I put on my Instagram the videos of Tim, I get some serious heat for ‘offending’ him! Tim definitely has a loyal support base that I can’t mess with!
Are you both recognised everywhere you go these days?
Patrick: Yes, especially if I’m not wearing a hat. But it’s funny – I actually get recognised more in Brisbane than I do in Sydney.
Are you planning to stay in the Bay for the foreseeable future?
Patrick: Oh, definitely. As long as they’ll have me, at this stage.
Tim: I still have so much left to learn and do here, and I absolutely love working on this show. It really is a dream come true.
EXCLUSIVE: Home and Away's Emily Weir and Tim Franklin discuss kissing on set!
For more, see this week's New Idea - out now!
