Ben Astoni is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Home and Away, played by Rohan Nichol. The actor felt the offer of the role was good timing, as he was approaching his 40th birthday and feeling unconnected to anything. He previously appeared in the serial as Stafford McRae in 2004. Nichol relocated from Melbourne to Sydney to accommodate his filming commitments, and he began filming alongside his on-screen family in early 2017. Nichol expressed an interest in staying with the show for a long time. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 20 June 2017. Ben is introduced along with his wife Maggie Astoni and two daughters Ziggy Astoni and Coco Astoni, making them the first nuclear family to be introduced to Home and Away in 17 years.

Maggie Astoni is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Home and Away, played by Kestie Morassi. The character made her first screen appearance on 21 June 2017. Maggie arrives in Summer Bay and takes a job as the School Principal of Summer Bay High. She is characterised as a protective mother and career woman. The Astonis are Home and Away's first nuclear family to join the soap opera in 17 years, since the arrival of the Sutherlands in 2000. The show had long been missing traditional parent-child stories and used them to fill that void. Maggie was introduced alongside her husband Ben Astoni and their two daughters Coco and Ziggy Astoni. Maggie decides to move to the town to offer her family a happier future. Maggie and Ben married when they were young and her mother did not approve of him. Morassi has described the Astoni marriage as a strong union, noting that they still have "passion and electricity" in their relationship.