A new promo for Brax and Ricky’s Home and Away return has left fans wondering if their history is about to be rewritten.
Darryl “Brax” Braxton (Stephen Peacocke) and Ricky Sharpe (Bonnie Sveen) are set to return to Home and Away next month, as we head to Western Australia and find out where life has taken the pair since we last saw them together in 2016.
But a new promo and press release has left fans (and us) wondering whether their 2016 exit storyline – which saw Brax return to Summer Bay a free man after being cleared of murdering Dean Sanderson, before whisking Ricky away for a fresh start – is about to be rewritten.
The release reveals that the pair are now living in hiding, and suggests that they left “chaos” behind:
“A world away from his surfer days in Summer Bay, Brax is now working on a remote cattle station deep in the outback. Brax, Ricky and their son Casey (Austin Cutcliffe) have quietly built a whole new life in hiding, far-removed from the chaos they left behind.
But the peaceful existence they’ve managed to maintain is about to come to an abrupt end, when a crisis from the Bay finds its way to Brax’s doorstep.
While Ricky sees danger in jeopardising the trouble-free life they’ve worked so hard to protect, Brax finds himself torn between keeping his family safe and his loyalty to his River Boy brothers.
Will the call of the River Boys bring their picture-perfect outback life crashing down?
Once a River Boy, always a River Boy.”
Meanwhile, the new promo which you can watch below, sees text appear on the screen reading: ‘Far away from anyone, they’ve been hiding. Their perfect escape is about to end.”
However, unless Brax – or, we suppose, Ricky – has committed some further crimes since the pair left Summer Bay with baby Casey in 2016, we’re unsure why they would be in hiding.
While Brax did briefly go into hiding in 2015 after faking his own death, he returned to Summer Bay in 2016 as a free man.
Darryl “Brax” Braxton first arrived in Summer Bay in 2011 as the leader of the River Boys, a surfer gang from nearby Mangrove River, whose storylines would end up dominating Home and Away for many years.
In 2014, he was sentenced to fifteen years behind bars for accidentally killing Josh Barrett’s (Jackson Gallagher) father Johnny, which Ricky’s brother Adam (Martin Lynes) had supposedly covered up.
However, while Brax was inside, his half-brother Casey (Lincoln Younes) organised to meet with Adam to get his version of what happened the night Johnny died and asked Ricky to accompany him.
Reluctantly, she agreed, and they learnt that Johnny was still alive when Adam arrived to bury the body, and it was in fact Adam who had killed him.
Brax was released from prison, but it was his next stint behind bars which eventually led to his and Ricky’s departure from Summer Bay.
The following year, in 2015, he was sentenced to 20 years for killing Dean (Kevin Kiernan-Molloy), the then-boyfriend of Ash’s (George Mason) sister Billie (Tessa de Josselin).
Brax had travelled to the outback with his mate Ash (George Mason), who had just been released from prison, in an attempt to track down Ash’s missing sister.
Ultimately, Brax was charged with killing Billie’s ex, though the real killer was Sam Kennedy (Wade Briggs).
Ricky was pregnant when Brax was sent down, and she gave birth in the bay while Brax was sent to solitary confinement.
Thankfully, Brax was released back into general population in time to meet his son and agree to name him Casey.
It soon emerged that Brax had orchestrated a plan to break out of prison, and Ricky agreed to go on the run with him. Yet tragedy struck when Brax’s escort vehicle was run off the road, and Ricky learnt that he was missing, likely dead.
However, unbeknownst to Ricky, Ash was aware that Brax had survived and helped him go on the run.
Ricky struggled in the wake of Brax’s “death”, but eventually moved on with Nate Cooper (Kyle Pryor). The pair got engaged, but the moment was ruined the following year, when Ash revealed that Brax was still alive.
Desperate for answers, Ricky agreed to help find Brax, and he returned, asking her to go on the run with him once more.
With Casey ill, Ricky refused, but allowed him to see their child one final time. Nate and Ricky eventually wed and lived briefly in marital bliss until Brax returned once again.
In 2016, it was revealed that Brax had been exonerated of Dean’s murder after Sam confessed to killing him, and was now a free man.
After his and Ricky’s marriage broke down, Nate summoned Brax back to the bay, knowing that he had always been Ricky’s true love.
Brax and Ricky decided that they’d like to move closer to Heath, Bianca and Kyle, so bid farewell to Ash, Nate and Phoebe (Isabella Giovinazzo) and embarked on a new journey.
Thus, when they and young Casey departed Summer Bay for the final time in 2016, Brax was free, had no reason to hide away, and the pair drove off ready for a fresh start.
So why have the trio been hiding “far away from anyone,” and why is Western Australia “their perfect escape”? The question has left fans wondering.
“They weren’t hiding I thought. They just got back together and left,” posted on fan on the Home and Away Facebook page.
“He was found not guilty as the guy who killed Billie’s ex confessed and Brax was cleared from all charges so Ricky left with him,” added another, with a third fan summing up: “He was cleared and left happily.”
Did bad boy River Boy Brax never change, and go on to commit further crimes, forcing him to take his family into hiding once again?
Or, have Home and Away‘s writers simply forgotten that Brax no longer needs to be on the run after being cleared of killing Dean?
It won’t be long until we find out, with the pair set to make their highly-anticipated return next month.
A picture released last year from the Western Australia filmset showed Bonnie and Stephen filming episode 8688. That means that Brax and Ricky will appear approximately 50 episodes into the 2026 season.
The number of episodes per week fluctuates throughout the year, typically varying between four and six, and our calculations estimate that Brax and Ricky will arrive on Australian screens between mid and late March.
Meanwhile, their return will air on UK screens in early May.
A number of promos have already given us a look at what’s in store, and how the family are now enjoying a much more relaxed life on a cattle ranch in Western Australia.
We’ve Brax riding through a cattle ranch on a dirt bike, before greeting Ricky with a “missed me?”
“Ah, you wish,” she replies with a smile.
The promos have also shown a now-grown-up Casey – played by Austin Cutcliffe – as he runs up to his dad and gaves him a hug.
Ricky gave birth to baby Casey back in May 2015, meaning their son will be just a month or two from celebrating his 11th birthday when they return.
The promos have also shown Brax and Ricky looking relaxed at the beach, as Ricky dried off after a surf, before scenes of the father and son fixing up a dirt bike.
The scenes have made it clear just how relaxed the trio’s life is in Queensland, as we see Brax driving a boat, while Ricky points out a kangaroo on the shore to Casey.
However, the promos have also hinted at drama ahead, as a blue car cuts across the path of a truck, causing it to come to a halt, as we see Ricky with a concerned look on her face.
And, as today’s release confirms, it’s a “crisis from the Bay” which is making its way to Brax and Ricky’s doorstep. And that crisis looks very likely to involve Tane (Ethan Browne), who’s set to pay the pair a visit.
While there has been no official confirmation that Tane will be joining Brax, Ricky and Casey in WA, Ethan Browne was spotted by fans as filming got underway in Perth back in October last year.
A photo taken in Perth’s CBD by Hannah and posted on Back to the Bay‘s Home and Away Forum showed Ethan and Stephen talking to an assistant director between filming.
Meanwhile, fan Diane Head posted to the Home and Away Spoilers and Gossip group of a photo she had taken with Stephen and Ethan as they filmed outside The Bell Tower tourist attraction in Perth.
The pair were also spotted at nearby Elizabeth Quay by Glennys Marsdon, who posted a series of photos of the filming on Instagram.
While Tane hasn’t been officially announced as featuring in the Western Australian episodes, actor Ethan Browne provided comment for the initial press release, stating: “We’re stoked to be heading across to beautiful Western Australia for Home and Away’s first time ever this October.”
The end of the 2026 promo also showed Brax looking for something or someone in the Perth CBD, which we presume is where he first meets up with Tane.
It also appeared to give us a very brief glimpse of Tane and Brax together, as we saw their silhouettes from behind.
What takes Tane out west isn’t yet clear – however, he’s currently navigating the tense relationship between Harper (Jessica Redmayne) and her mum Kerrie (Sara Wiseman).
Kerrie was estranged from daughters Harper and Dana (Ally Harris) for years, but Harper reached out to her mum late last year after realising that she was the only grandparent that baby Archie had.
After hearing about Kerrie’s past addiction struggles from Cash (Nicholas Cartwright) and Dana, Tane decided to forbid Harper from letting Kerrie be alone with her grandson, much to Kerrie’s frustration.
That boundary was soon tested when Tane later discovered Kerrie with Archie at the diner. Kerrie had dropped by after learning he was being cared for by Marilyn (Emily Symons), who was unaware of the conditions placed on her, a move that left Tane furious.
Kerrie has spent the last couple of weeks trying to manipulate Harper into believing that Tane is the one to watch out for, by digging up his criminal record – which Harper was already well aware of – and claiming to Harper that Tane had threatened to take Archie away from her forever.
However, Harper sided with Tane and sent her mum packing. Yet next week, in Tuesday’s episode, “Kerrie has a final surprise for Tane.”
With Kerrie having one more dastardly trick up her sleeve, will Tane find himself needing to take a break from Summer Bay as a result of Kerrie’s actions? Perhaps by jumping on the first plane to Western Australia?
Whatever Brax and Tane have planned could have huge repercussions for their family. “It could destroy everything we’ve built here,” Ricky reminds him in the new promo.
While it hasn’t yet been confirmed by producers, we know that we won’t just be catching up with Brax and Ricky in Western Australia, as they’ll also be making an appearance in Summer Bay.
In mid-November, the actors were spotted filming at Palm Beach, the real-life beach in Sydney’s north where the external Summer Bay scenes are shot.
Stephen was first seen by fans attending the Celebtime Home and Away tour on Tuesday 11th November, walking away from the surf club building.
Then, on a different day, both Stephen and Bonnie were spotted at the beach by fan Alex Douch, who posted a photo on Instagram showing the pair filming alongside a child actor playing their son, Casey.
The first official confirmation that we’ll be seeing Brax and Ricky outside of Western Australia came from Brook Hall, Seven’s Chief Content Officer, in a recent interview with TV Tonight:
“Their characters will be longer than that, but we will be in Perth on air for that period,” Hall explained, referencing Brax, Ricky and the special WA episodes. “It was a huge effort for the production team, producing 230 episodes of a drama every year, ripping some of their cast and crew to go to the other side of Australia.
“It’s like travelling the whole size of Europe, moving our crew over there, and going to from rural WA to the city of Perth to the beaches but it’s come up really well. A bit of desert, a bit of sun, we’re really excited.”
Brax and Ricky return to Home and Away in March, with UK viewers seeing their return in early May.
