Next week on Home and Away in the UK, new arrival Sergeant Langham causes problems for Cash and Lacey, while Abby’s birthday celebrations leave Mali feeling inadequate.
There’s a new sarge in town next week, but there’s one Summer Bay resident who isn’t lining up to give him a warm welcome.
Since the final appearance of Sergeant Philip McCarthy (Nicholas Cassim) in early 2020, sightings of the No.1 at Yabbie Creek police station have been very rare.
We briefly met his successor, Sgt Cooper, in a single episode appearance in 2021, and it was a further three years until we clapped eyes on Sgt Callan (Grant Lyndon) for one episode last year.
But all that’s about to change as we welcome Sergeant David Langham (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor), who is the latest addition to the show’s regular cast.
As Cash strolls into Yabbie Creek station next week, with time to spare before his shift, the newly arrived Sarge is in the process of introducing himself to his fellow officers. David is quick to take Cash to task on his apparent tardiness.
Cash points out that he’s actually twenty minutes early, but it seems as though David already has his card marked, as he notes his name and asks Cash to wait for him in the interview room.
A few minutes later, David enters carrying a file—Cash’s personnel record—and places it on the table as he takes a seat opposite.
He gets straight to business, methodically going through the file and pointing out several past infringements and questionable calls from Cash’s time on the force. Cash responds where necessary, offering brief explanations, but David isn’t impressed.
David’s particularly interested in Cash’s most recent case with the River Boys, where he notes that Cash allowed a civilian—Tane (Ethan Browne)—to assist in taking down Diesel (Harrison Pearse) and his fellow gang members.
Cash explains that there were extenuating circumstances. But as David digs further into the details of the incident, he lingers on the name of one of the key witnesses, a certain Lacey Miller (Sophea Pennington).
After insisting Cash tell him everything about Lacey, and with no explanation offered, he orders Cash to bring her back in for questioning. Cash hesitates—it doesn’t make sense to drag someone in over a closed case—but David’s tone makes it clear this isn’t up for discussion.
Meanwhile, back in Summer Bay, Lacey and Theo (Matt Evans) are beginning to settle into a new normal now that the threat of the River Boys has apparently passed.
Following his big fallout with aunt Leah (Ada Nicodemou) over her trying to stop him seeing Lacey, Theo has now settled into the pier apartment on a permanent basis. When Leah offered an olive branch, asking Theo to join her and Justin (James Stewart) for dinner, Theo accepted so long as Lacey was also invited.
As Leah nervously prepares for the evening, Justin voices his concerns, knowing how heated things got between her and Lacey.
Lacey reluctantly agrees to attend, but it’s Theo who arrives at Justin and Leah’s place already on the defensive.
The atmosphere around the dinner table remains awkward, with Justin and Leah struggling to say anything that doesn’t rub Theo up the wrong way.
The focus eventually shifts to Lacey as they try to break the ice, but even then, the mood stays strained.
When Lacey tries to politely excuse herself, Leah stops her and offers an overdue apology for blaming her over the River Boy debacle. It’s enough to soften the edges, and after dinner the two find themselves clearing up together—and, for the first time, genuinely connecting.
By the time Lacey and Theo head off, loaded with leftovers, the evening ends on a far better note than it started. But for Leah and Justin, the moment is bittersweet, as they take in the quiet of Theo’s now-empty room.
Back at the apartment, Theo brings up Lacey’s family, hoping to learn more, but she shuts the topic down almost instantly. It’s clear there’s something she’s not ready to share.
The next day, Leah offers Lacey a casual job at the Diner, a small gesture that catches her off guard. She politely declines, but then has to excuse herself and rush back upstairs.
With a bit of gentle coaxing from Theo, Lacey eventually opens up. She admits that Leah’s kindness reminded her of her late mum, who died in an accident two years ago.
As Lacey finally lets her grief surface, Theo pulls her in to comfort her, but the movement causes a flash of pain from his still-healing injuries. Lacey immediately pulls back, suddenly reminded of everything he’s been through.
Insisting he doesn’t need to take on her pain too, she begins to emotionally retreat.
Frustrated and feeling useless, Theo later tracks down Tane outside the surf club, hoping for help to push along his rehab and speed up his recovery.
Tane explains that he cannot do anything for him unless he has official medical clearance, but in the meantime he can start putting together a program.
Lacey’s thrown when Cash then approaches and requests that she accompany him to the station once again, claiming there’s some loose ends to tie up.
At the station, Lacey’s still trying to make sense of it when she turns around and comes face-to-face with David, standing in the doorway—his usually stern expression noticeably softer.
Her guard shoots straight up. She knows instantly she’s been set up, and she’s furious.
As Cash looks on, completely in the dark, David reveals the truth… Lacey is his daughter!
She accuses him of transferring to Yabbie Creek to follow her, but he insists it was pure coincidence—her name just happened to be in a case file. He wasn’t even sure it was her, given that she’s now using her late mother’s maiden name.
Lacey isn’t interested in excuses. When David tries to question her over her involvement with the River Boys, it backfires completely. She storms out, visibly shaken, while Cash watches on in confusion.
Back at the apartment, an overwhelmed Lacey starts packing a bag. Will she flee from Summer Bay?
Later in the week, it’s Abigail’s (Hailey Pinto) birthday, and she wants everyone to know it.
As Abby, Levi (Tristan Gorey) and Mackenzie (Emily Weir) head to Salt for a celebratory birthday breakfast, Abby is on top of the world as she proudly announces to a bemused Alf (Ray Meagher), and the rest of Summer Bay, that it’s her birthday.
Abby’s sure to also pass on the news to John (Shane Withington) as she passes en route to the club, as Levi comments to Mac that he thought she would have grown out of this by now!
She breezes into the surf club with Levi and Mackenzie in tow, greeting Mali (Kyle Shilling) with a big hug and catching him off guard as he quickly hides what he’s been working on behind the counter.
Mac clocks the odd behaviour and, once Abby and Levi head upstairs to Salt, she investigates. Lifting the cover, she uncovers a hand-painted portrait of Abby—Mali’s been putting serious effort into his gift.
Upstairs, Mac lays on a birthday breakfast spread, while Levi shares stories from the day Abby was born.
The baby chat hits a nerve for Mac, who’s still waiting on her fertility test results, and she quietly steps out to the balcony.
Levi follows, doing his best to support her, but they’re soon interrupted by Abigail, who wants to know when Eden (Stephanie Panozzo) will be arriving. Levi realises, too late, that he forgot to invite her, though he doesn’t share that with Abby.
Mac presents Abby with a small gold box as a birthday gift, and Abby is somewhat puzzled when she finds a keyring inside. When Eden eventually turns up, Abby turns her focus to Mali, eager to know what he’s got her. He tells her he’s saving it for later, when they’re alone.
Meanwhile, Eden quietly admits to Levi that she forgot her own sister’s birthday, and begs him to let her go halves on whatever present he’s got her. Amused, he agrees, and the group head outside to reveal what Abby’s present actually is.
Eden’s jaw drops as Abby finds a brand-new car parked out front, immediately beginning to regret her request to chip in.
Abby is stunned… but so is Mali, as he wonders how on earth his portrait is supposed to compete with that…
