mmg.com.au

One day, when they’re old enough, Ava and Ella Jarvis will have the mother of all tales to tell.

The Seymour twins are still about a fortnight off their first birthday. But in the next few months they’re going to be known to hundreds of thousands of Australians who watch the Network Ten show Offspring.

Ava (who is five minutes older) and Ella have scored roles — well, one role between them — in the hit show.

The pair will play Isabella, the daughter of Kate (Kate Jenkinson), herself the sister of Patrick, the boyfriend of the show’s lead character Nina (Asher Keddie).

They’ve been to a couple of filming sessions, and more are in the pipeline.

So how did they do it?

Their mum, Mardi Jarvis, takes up the story.

‘‘Everyone kept saying they were cute babies and I should get them some sort of catalogue work,’’ she said.

‘‘So I just registered them with Bettina Management (a talent agency). They rang us up one day and this was the first job I got.’’

It was a long way from the likes of a Target catalogue, but there was an even bigger surprise in store when they turned up on the set in Melbourne in October.

‘‘They told us they were going to be extras, so the first day we went down I was expecting a crowd scene with 20 people in it,’’ Ms Jarvis said.

‘‘But when we got down there it was just Nina, Patrick and Kate.’’

Filming will take place until next month, with the twins having been to Melbourne twice already.

The shoots take four hours and start at 8am and 2pm. One potential issue is that those times are the twins’ sleeping times as well.

But that hasn’t proven to be a problem.

‘‘They use one baby, and the other sleeps in the pram,’’ Ms Jarvis said.

‘‘When one baby gets tired, they use the other one.’’

And however they’re received by viewers, they’ve already been a hit with those on the set.

‘‘The cast and crew love them and talk to them, they’ve been great,’’ Ms Jarvis said.

‘‘(Ava and Ella) are really good on set too. They love being with other people.’’

Proud grandparents Pam and Phil Jarvis are likely to take the twins to Melbourne when Mardi goes back to work next month. Not that there has been any shortage of volunteers.

While the prospect of seeing Ava and Ella on screen should certainly get Offspring quite a few more viewers in this region — ‘‘We’re just waiting with bated breath for when it comes on,’’ Ms Jarvis said — surely the question everyone wants answered is: what are the twins going to do with their newfound wealth?

Well, that’s sorted.

‘‘They get it put into their bank accounts, and when they’re older they can have the money. It’s not a huge amount but it’s good for them.’’

They aren’t going to be one-hit wonders, either. The twins are available for more work — and they’ve certainly got a reference that’s hard to beat.