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Guest Character Profiles > Mia Silvani Petra Yared

When Marco Silvani and his business partner Carmella Cammeniti held a Christmas cocktail party at his apartment, one of the guests was his big sister, Mia. Though happy to meet Carmella, she quickly made it clear that he wasn't relationship material, so single, and pregnant, Carmella would have to back off if she had any romantic intentions. But, the next morning, after Marco and Carmella had slept together for the first time, Mia was horrified to see her brother's new woman walk out into the kitchen, dressed only in a shirt that she had bought for him. Over breakfast, Mia found an opportunity to be alone with Carmella and warned her that Marco wasn't ready to move on from his ex-wife, Marisa - who also happened to be Mia's best friend. When Marco joined them, he quickly picked up on the tension, and Mia explained that she had been warning Carmella not to take advantage of her brother, only for Marco to break the news that it was he who had been doing all the chasing and there was nothing for Mia to worry about. Later that day, Marco met up with Mia at the bar and warned her to stop believing that he would ever get back together with Marisa, and to start treating Carmella with some respect.

A few weeks later, Carmella had given birth to a daughter, Chloe and ended her relationship with Marco, anxious that she had to concentrate on being a mum for the time being. Heartbroken, Marco then decided to leave town and took a job on a winery in Western Australia, leaving Mia to help Carmella run the business, as well as taking care of the fruit and veg deliveries for the Silvani business that Marco was responsible for. When Mia called by Carmella's apartment one day to collect the accounts, she met Chloe's dad and Carmella's ex, Oliver Barnes. Having heard a lot about Oliver, Mia admitted that she was surprised to meet him and find that he wasn't the weak, spineless pretty boy she'd envisaged, and it wasn't long before the pair were flirting. Mia then let slip to Oliver about Marco's failed marriage to Marisa, and her belief that they were still in love with each other and he would break Carmella's heart. With Oliver clear about his agenda to protect Carmella, and Mia clear that she wanted her brother and best friend back together, it looked like a new relationship was about to get off the ground.

However, as Mia continued to pester Marco about his break-up with Marisa, he finally admitted the truth - he was infertile, and had left his wife because he knew how much she wanted a family. Mia quickly backed off, surprising Oliver as she began to say that maybe Marco and Carmella were good together. Suspicious Oliver then decided to find out the truth and looked up Marisa's number on Mia's phone, but was spotted and she almost walked out, believing that he was only using her to get Marco out of Carmella's life. Oliver talked her round, and made her see that he just wanted Carmella, and in turn Chloe, to have the best in life, and was worried that Marco might be about to break her heart. Having convinced Mia that his interest in her was genuine, the pair ended up having sex in a hotel room, but decided that it might be best to keep their relationship a secret for the time being, worried that it could cause more harm than good.

After a few days of awkwardness, with neither Oliver nor Mia getting in touch with each other, Mia took an invoice for fruit and veg to the hotel, where she bumped into Oliver. Though they seemed to be making progress, Mia was annoyed when Oliver flirted with a guest in front of her, and accused him of being shallow. Later, she went to Carmella's apartment, where Oliver was babysitting Chloe, and apologised. As they were leaning in for a kiss, Chloe was then sick over Oliver's shirt and, once the baby had been put to bed, and Mia had got the stain out, they returned to their moment of passion, only for Carmella and Marco to walk in. Marco quickly ordered his sister outside, where he told her that she should stop seeing Oliver, believing that he was using her. Mia angrily drove off, and later caught up with Oliver and asked if he was simply using her to get at Marco - Oliver admitted that it had been his intention at the beginning of the relationship, but he had now developed genuine feelings for her.

The pair ended up in a hotel room once again, and Mia decided that she still didn't want Marco to know what was going on. Oliver agreed, and Mia met with her brother, who apologised for not being more sensitive to his sister's feelings, but pointed out that she had pestered him over his break-up with Marisa, so now they were even. As Mia wondered out loud whether Marco's change of heart meant that things with Oliver might be easier now, Marco clammed up again, insisting that he still wanted nothing to do with Oliver and hoped that his sister would have the sense to stop seeing the man too. But the secret relationship continued, and they decided to make their affection known by arriving together, hand in hand, at baby Chloe's Christening. Marco was appalled, and the tension built throughout the day, eventually boiling over when Oliver overheard Carmella's sister Rosie mention that this might be the only Christening that Marco and Carmella would host. Having heard similar comments from Mia, Oliver worked out that Marco was infertile and attacked him, accusing him of only going after Carmella because she was pregnant and could provide him with the child he couldn't have himself. A fist fight broke out, and Mia was disgusted by Oliver's behaviour. She stormed off to the General Store, but Oliver followed her, trying to put across his side of the story. Mia refused to listen, but later agreed to meet him, only to tell him that their relationship was over for good. She then visited Marco and Carmella to apologise, before explaining that she was leaving town for a while to get her head together.

Trivia Notes
• Petra Yared previously appeared in 1996 as Georgia 'George' Brown

Biography by Steve

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