Home and Away has teased its ‘Biggest Week’ in a new promo, as Cash faces the River Boys, Xander collapses, Harper realises she’s pregnant, and Eden faces a tense reunion with her dad.
The drama is set to air next week in Australia, and from the end of August in the UK.
The River Boy mystery
Tonight’s triple episode of Home and Away in Australia saw Cash (Nicholas Cartwright) discover that Felicity’s (Jacqui Purvis) new boyfriend is a River Boy.
Rory (Joshua Orpin) and Dingo (JK Kazzi) recently stepped in to help Mali (Kyle Shilling) get revenge on the Allen siblings, after Mali turned to Dean (Patrick O’Connor) for help. Dean offered up his old River Boy mates, calling on the infamous Mangrove River gang he used to head up.
Rory stuck around in the bay, and Felicity quickly caught his eye. He made a bad first impression as he wolf whistled her, Eden (Stephanie Panozzo) and Kirby (Angelina Thomson) from the balcony of Salt, but he persevered and left his number with Eden to give to Flick. She eventually caved and called him, and they’ve been nigh on inseparable ever since.
However, as Cash started his first shift at Mangrove River police station after deciding to return to the police force, he was shocked when he discovered that not only does Rory live in the dodgy suburb, but he’s a member of the region’s most infamous gang.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Cash had already learned that the officer he was replacing, Franklin McGrath, had been murdered with no firm suspects yet identified.
However, Cash’s colleague Jo (Ariadne Sgouros) explained that McGrath had been conducting an investigation into one of the River Boy hangouts, convinced they were moving product through it.
The case had become something of an obsession, with McGrath staking out the location on his nights off, until one evening he went missing. His body was found floating in the local dam the following day.
It was clear that Jo had her own theory on what happened but was refusing to say it out loud. As Cash questions why they weren’t being given the resources to investigate their colleague’s death fully, Jo pointed out it was the reality of working at Mangrove River, the worst police station in the entire state.
The new promo repeats the question that Cash had asked of Jo during Thursday’s triple episode, wondering what Rory was capable of.
“My sister is involved with this guy. Do you think he’s got anything to do with this murder?” Cash asks.
Jo replied that as Rory was the current leader of the River Boys, she had no doubt that he was in it up to his eyeballs.
Having already had his car vandalised, Cash is then seen being given a further welcome to town from the River Boys, as they follow him en-masse outside the police station.
As Flick continues to cavort with Rory despite her brother’s warnings, will Cash be able to convince her to stay away?
The secret affair
Elsewhere, Remi (Adam Rowland) and Bree (Juliet Godwin) continue their secret affair next week.
This week’s episodes saw Kirby enlist Theo (Matt Evans) to help get the exes back together, as Kirby invited Bree for a drink at Salt, with Theo extending the same offer to Remi. They then simultaneously stood them up, leaving Remi and Bree alone with their apparently undeniable chemistry.
The rather rudimentary plan worked, and Bree and Remi ended their night in Remi’s bed back at the Lyrik sharehouse. However, they had no intention of giving Kirby and Theo the credit, and instead pranked them by pretending to argue as they stormed down the stairs of Salt and out into the night.
The new promo shows the pair having fun with their secret romance, as Bree turns down Remi’s offer to come clean, instead telling him that she “just wants to enjoy this.”
We then see the pair on the back of Remi’s motorbike, as Bree realises that life’s too short to let her fear of the two-wheeled death traps ruin her relationship.
Yet Remi’s new romance won’t stay secret for long. As they ‘speed’ through the roads of Summer Bay at a gentle 25 km/h, they’re spotted by Kirby, who exclaims: “Who is that woman on the back of his bike?”
The Accident
The dramatic new promo also shows that Xander’s (Luke Van Os) life is set to be on the line as he suffers a surfing accident.
The promo shows him lying face down in the water, unconscious, before Theo spots him and drags him into shore.
Dana (Ally Harris) rushes down from the Surf Club, screaming her boyfriend’s name.
“I need you to call 000,” she tells Theo, before reassuring her boyfriend: “Xander, you’re doing good, okay, help’s on the way.”
“I can’t feel my legs,” Xander replies, suggesting he’s about to have a serious health scare.
It comes a little over a year since Xander was last fighting for his life, after being brutally attacked with fellow paramedic Jamie (Hugo Liu), who died at the scene.
Thankfully it would appear that Xander’s injuries are not permanent, as he was present at scenes being filmed on Palm Beach during our visit back in March, which we anticipate to be airing in around 3-4 weeks time.
©Back to the Bay
The Pregnancy
As we’ve previously revealed, Harper (Jessica Redmayne) was spotted filming at Sydney’s Palm Beach with an obvious baby bump earlier this year.
The scenes in question saw Tane (Ethan Browne) fussing over her as she pulled his hand to her stomach, suggesting that she was set to fall pregnant with his baby.
With thanks to Natalie Sharon Hance
The new promo has now confirmed suspicions, as Harper looks up from a positive pregnancy test.
“I’m pregnant,” she tells Dana.
“It is Tane’s, right?” Dana clarifies, to which a flustered Harper responds, “Of course it is.”
“So what are you gonna do?” Dana asks her sister.
“I’m not sure,” she replies.
Tane and Harper had slept together on the night before his sentencing for the kidnap of baby Poppy, certain that he would be facing several years in prison.
The liaison saw Harper realise that she had feelings for Tane, but she has chosen to distance herself from him after he revealed that he was not in the right headspace for a relationship.
How will Tane react when he learns that he’s finally set to realise his dream of becoming a father?
The Family Reunion
The promo finishes with our first sighting of Levi (Tristan Gorey) and Eden’s (Stephanie Panozzo) father Jimmy, played by Aaron Jeffery.
Back to the Bay were the first to reveal the former McLeod’s Daughters actor’s casting earlier this year, with Aaron’s CV listing him as portraying James ‘Jimmy’ Fowler.
Eden has been estranged from her father since she was 15 years old, after he left the family home to move in with the woman he’d been having an affair with. Levi had gone with his father, with Eden accusing him of taking sides and cutting him off as a result.
Next week’s spoilers indicate that Jimmy could be hitting the bay next Thursday, as he seeks out Levi. The promo shows the two having dinner together in Salt when they are interrupted by an infuriated Eden.
Jimmy is clearly choked up to see his daughter after so many years apart.
“I love you,” he states as he struggles to hold it together. “I’m proud of you, and that is never going to change.”
“You destroyed our family,” a tearful Eden replies. “I never wanna see you again.”
Whether Eden will ever manage to make things up with her father remains to be seen, but we’re confident that he isn’t the only new Fowler to be hitting our screens.
©Back to the Bay
We exclusively revealed earlier this year, after witnessing filming at Palm Beach, that Hailey Pinto is set to appear as a character named Abigail, who we believe is Eden and Levi’s younger sister.
Although there’s currently nothing signalling Abigail’s arrival on-screen, we expect she will be making her debut within the next couple of weeks.
