Marco Astoni, played by Tim Walter, made his first appearance on 12 March 2020. Walter previously appeared in the show in 2008 as Aaron Copeland. Marco is the brother of established character Ben Astoni (Rohan Nichol) and his introduction helps explore Ben's backstory further. Daniel Kilkelly of Digital Spy said Marco has been in love with Ben's wife Maggie Astoni (Kestie Morassi) since he was a teenager. After witnessing an argument between Marco and Maggie, Ben assaulted his brother, who then reported him to the police and left him estranged from the family. Producers described Marco as "confident" and "smooth-talking". He runs the family business, but as he "doesn't always make the best decisions", it has suffered and Marco now needs money. Kilkelly reported that Marco "arrives in the Bay under the guise of repairing his relationship with Ben and opening the door to family reconciliation through a joint business venture, but his arrival puts Maggie on edge." He added that Marco's introduction would "shake up the entire family."
