Rafael was initially billed as being "a mysterious loner with dark secrets", who comes to Erinsborough to confront an incident from his past. Greg Barnett, the commissioning editor at Channel 5, described Thomas as "the perfect handsome devil", whose arrival would bring "darker times" to an established character. Thomas was photographed with actors Olympia Valance and Andrew Morley on set, leading Hughes to speculate that Rafael may be involved with their characters Paige Smith and Jack Callahan. He was also pictured filming scenes with Matt Wilson, who plays Aaron Brennan. Publicity photos later showed Rafael with scars covering his back and it was revealed that he is set to target Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis) in a revenge storyline.
