Home and Away New Characters, Romance and Danger – All the drama for this year

Home and Away is set to get some new faces over the coming months, while there’s major drama in store for our Summer Bay favourites.

Recent months have seen the departure of guest character Kerrie Matheson, the brief return of Brax, Ricky and son Casey, and the arrival of new recruit Richie (Rocco Forrester-Sach) at Yabbie Creek police station.

There are still two previously-announced new characters set to arrive – Beau (Blake Richardson) and Dr Amelia (Nicole da Silva) – but we’re also set to welcome to at least two additional newcomers, plus a returnee.

Plus there’s some major drama in store for Cash (Nicholas Cartwright) and Eden (Stephanie Panozzo), and what is Marilyn’s (Emily Symons) connection to one of the new arrivals?

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A health scare for Eden?

On 30th March, YouTubers R&F Adventures 2.0 saw a peculiar scene being filmed at Sydney’s Palm Beach, with Eden at the forefront.

The YouTubers saw Cash helping Eden out of a ute, with Eden appearing unsteady on her feet as Cash escorted her towards a gathering of her friends and family on the grass nearby.

Cash then gently lowered her down into a camping chair before placing a blanket over her legs.

Cash then walks off with Mackenzie (Emily Weir), leaving Eden with her immediate family – siblings Levi (Tristan Gorey) and Abigail (Haily Pinto), and her dad Jimmy (Aaron Jeffery), who has returned for the gathering.

Jimmy was last seen at Cash and Eden’s wedding back in September last year.

With something seemingly wrong with Eden, has Jimmy returned to the bay to help his daughter with a health issue?

Later on in the day’s filming, Eden was seen getting teary, before being helped back down to her seat by Cash.

In a later scene, Eden collapsed after trying to walk unaided. Cash was able to catch her, as Levi rushed over to help.

Soon after, the YouTubers witnessed an ambulance pull up as part of the scene.

Eden was taken inside, with Cash jumping in the back to escort her to hospital as their friends and family watched on.

In more recent months, Eden has been seen walking more confidently during filming, suggesting that her condition will begin to improve as she deals with her mystery illness.

Last month, on 20th April, Nicholas Cartwright and Stephanie Panazzo were spotted filming walking along the beach arm in arm, with their characters looking loved up.

Before Eden’s mystery ailment, there’s another big storyline on the way for Cash and Eden as they discuss whether to become foster parents.

In a recent promo, we heard Eden ask: “Will our marriage survive this?” suggesting a major conflict is on the way for the couple.

Back in February, YouTubers R&F Adventures 2.0 witnessed Nicholas and Stephanie filming a scene on the balcony of North Palm Beach Surf Life Saving Club, which doubles up as the balcony for Salt.

While the dialogue is difficult to make out, it’s possible to hear Cash asking Eden: “How do you feel about fostering?”

In one of the takes, Cash continues by adding: “We don’t have to have children of own…”

Will Mackenzie and Levi’s recent pregnancy issues cause the pair to consider fostering rather than having a baby of their own?

Cash and sister Felicity (Jacqui Purvis) were both fostered by Gary (Peter Phelps) and Katherine Morrow after the death of their parents, and it looks like Cash is keen to foster the next generation.

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Trouble for Remi?

On 27th February, the YouTube channel witnessed an intriguing scene featuring Remi (Adam Rowland) being thrown out of a mystery black car, a black bag over his head.

A stuntman filmed the scenes of Remi being thrown from the car, before Adam Rowland stepped in to film the aftermath.

His character was seen lying on the ground, as Levi and Mackenzie ran over to help.

Levi tended to Remi as Mackenzie called for an ambulance.

Later, Eden rushed to her friend’s side as Remi was placed a stretcher and taken off in an ambulance.

Has Remi gotten himself into some serious trouble?

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A mystery for Marilyn as a new character arrives

In early March, the R&F Adventure guys saw Kyle Shilling – aka Mali – filming a scene with a new character, believed to be played by artist and actor Angus McColl.

In the scene, Angus’s character is seen running out of the surf club, with Mali in pursuit.

Mali tries to stop him, telling him that he’s bleeding and that there’s a first aid kit inside, insisting that he help him get cleaned up.

The new arrival is reluctant to accept Mali’s help and seems to want to get away as quickly as possible.

“I don’t care about that, okay, I’m not gonna call the cops,” Mali is heard saying, as he eventually manages to convince the new arrival to come back inside.

What is going on? Watch the scene being filmed on YouTube here.

Angus was later seen filming at the beach alongside Kyle Shilling, suggesting that the new character and Mali are either already friends, or are set to grow close.

Whoever the new character is, he has an intriguing connection to Marilyn (Emily Symons). In late March, the guys at R&F Adventures spotted Emily Symons filming alongside Angus.

As the pair walk along the beach, the as-yet-unknown character hands Marilyn a large brown envelope, which she proceeds to open.

Maz pulls out and looks at a number of pages, before handing one of the sheets back to the man. The pair then engage in a brief conversation, before the man hands the page back to Marilyn and walks off.

In another scene – filmed later in the day but presumably set to appear earlier on screen – Marilyn walks along the parkland and sits next to the new arrival on the bench overlooking the water.

The pair then sit together, deep in conversation, as the male holds the brown envelope in his hand.

In a scene filmed shortly after, the pair walk up from the beach towards the road, where they post the intriguing envelope into a postbox.

As of yet, we’ve no idea who the newcomer is, what his connection to Maz is, or what’s in the mystery letter, but we’ll find out in the months ahead.

In late April, Angus was once again seen filming with Emily, suggesting that he’ll be sticking around for at least two months.

Then, at the end of April, a photo was uploaded to the Home and Away Spoilers & Info group showing Angus’s character being led away by a police officer!

What has he done?

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More drama for Remi, Sonny and Dana

Talking to Inside Soap magazine, Home and Away‘s Series Producer Lucy Addario recently teased more drama for Remi (Adam Rowland), Sonny (Ryan Bown) and Dana (Ally Harris).

Remi and Sonny have had plenty of drama so far in 2026, with Remi learning that he had a brain tumour, whilst Sonny was temporarily paralysed after injuring his spine in the accident that brought the 2025 season to a close.

Things have been looking up for the pair recently, with Remi recovering after surgery, while Sonny is now able to walk again.

Aussie viewers are currently seeing Sonny push himself too far at the gym as he tries to speed up his rehabilitation, despite best friend Remi and girlfriend Dana encouraging him to slow down, but that’s not the only challenge in store for the trio.

“What we can say is that Sonny, Remi and Dana are all heading into a storm, and none of them will come out unchanged,” Lucy hinted to the magazine.

“Loyalties will be tested, truths will surface, and the lines between friendship and love get seriously blurred,” she continued. “In classic Home and Away style, just when they think they’re solid, everything gets shaken.”

Whether the impending drama has anything to do with a certain sibling of Sonny’s remains to be seen…

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Sonny’s brother arrives, played by Noah D’Annunzio

Actor Noah D’Annunzio has recently been spotted on set by fans of the show.

He was first seen by YouTubers R&F Adventures 2.0 back in early May.

He was seen filming one of his first scenes alongside Sophea Pennington, aka Lacey, on the beach, with his character walking over as Lacey collects surfboards. Remi then joins the scene and the trio chat.

He’s since been spotted on numerous occasions, filming alongside Ryan Bown who plays Sonny, and fans have figured out that he’s Sonny’s brother.

Fans watching the filming confirmed his character’s name as Dylan – which has already been revealed to be Sonny’s brother’s name.

Back in September last year, Dana was surprised to learn that her boyfriend even had a brother, as Sonny explained their complex relationship.

“They’re just…they’re trying to guilt-trip me into going to my little brother’s uni graduation ceremony,” Sonny told her after a phone call with his parents. “I mean, it’s not like Dylan will even care if I’m there or not.”

When Dana pressed for details on their relationship, Sonny revealed that he’s “fine. He’s great,” but that Dylan has always been his parents’ favourite.

“He’s always been the golden child, and I’ve always been the better-looking scapegoat with the fluid career style. I’m basically an embarrassment to my parents.

However, he holds no ill will towards his brother, adding: “Yeah, look, I am really proud of my little bro. He’s worked very hard for his degree, to be fair.”

Much of Noah’s filming has been with Sophea Pennington – with fan Jo Staveley spotting the pair filming on the balcony of Salt. 

In this filming from just last week, Dylan and Sonny were seen interacting with Lacey and Jo (Maddison Brown).

It’s not yet known whether Noah has joined the show as a guest or in a full-time role.

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Who gets shot?

A recent promo revealed that one Summer Bay favourite will be shot in the weeks ahead. 20 different characters featured in the promo, meaning nearly the whole bay are at risk, but fans already have a solid theory.

Many of the emotional scenes teased in the promo – such as those between Mackenzie and Levi, and Alf (Ray Meagher) and Roo (Georgie Parker) – have already aired in this week’s Australian episodes, narrowing down the potential victims.

This week, a crime spree gets underway as various reports come in of car break-ins across the bay.

Keen to impress his boss, new Probationary Constable Richie Brezniak (Rocco Forrester-Sach) starts searching online for the stolen items to see if the crims are trying to flog them for a profit.

David (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor) is impressed by the new recruit’s continued enthusiasm, but becomes concerned when he spots Richie looking up gun safes and realises that he’s in the market for a firearm.

Since joining the force, we’ve already seen Richie boasting about his success at the shooting range, and asking Cash if he’d ever had to fire his gun.

The recent promo showed new recruit Richie jump out of his car and give chase to an as-yet-unknown criminal as he tries to crack the case.

We then saw him running back towards his police car, before speeding off in hot pursuit.

Will his attempt at catching Summer Bay’s latest criminal see him shoot someone?

Fans are speculating that David could be the one to be shot, with an earlier promo briefly showing the usually clean shaven Sergeant with stubble.

David looks upset as he rests at home, surrounded by his daughters. Is he taking time off from his job to recuperate after being shot?

The recent promo also showed Lacey and Jo in tears at Northern Districts Hospital, adding weight to the theory that David is the one in the firing line.

Whether Richie is the one to fire the shot remains to be seen, but what we do know is that the character is set to stick around.

Rocco has been seen filming in recent weeks, and it’s believed that he’s now a full-time cast member.

Fans are also speculating that the bay’s newest doctor could be the one to treat David, leading to a new love interest for the single dad…

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Romance for David and new doctor Amelia

Back in April, Home and Away officially confirmed that Nicole da Silva, best known for playing Franky Doyle in Wentworth, was joining the cast.

Nicole had been spotted on set as early as January of this year, when she was seen by attendees of the CelebTime Home and Away tour filming alongside Jeremy Lindsay Taylor and Ada Nicodemou (Leah) at the Coffee Cart.

In April, the show confirmed that Nicola is playing Dr Amelia Carlisle, a new recruit at Northern Districts Hospital.

“My first scene was at Palm Beach with Ray [Meagher], who plays Alf,” Nicole told the Daily Telegraph’s Stellar magazine. “That was a real pinch-me moment. I was like, ‘Oh, wow. I’m definitely in the Bay now. I’ve arrived.'”

“It’s a real privilege to be able to step onto such an iconic show, and the timing was really right for it,” she continued.

With Amelia joining as a new colleague for Levi and Dana (Ally Harris), will she make an appearance as a result of the upcoming shooting?

Fans soon began speculating that Amelia and David could end up an item, after the actors were regularly spotted filming together, such as in this scene from late February.

On 24th March, Jeremy and Nicole were spotted filming a scene together on the Salt balcony, with their characters looking particularly close as they were filmed chatting with one another. See the clip on YouTube here.

Then, in late April, their romance was confirmed.

On 28th April, the pair were spotted kissing at the beach before standing arm in arm, confirming once and for all that they’re set for romance.

On May 4th, they were seen hand in hand walking towards the surf club.

Nicole previously starred on Home and Away back in 2006, playing guest character Jane Sims, a student who interrupted Robbie and Kim’s boys-only camping trip and went on to kiss Robbie.

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Beau arrives

Harper (Jessica Redmayne) will also be getting a new boyfriend in the weeks ahead, with actor Blake Richardson taking on the role of Beau.

Footage from CelebTime in late January saw Harper spending time at Salt with the mystery newcomer – and it seems she’s finally ready to move on from Tane.

The pair’s budding relationship was then confirmed by a promo earlier this year, which showed Harper and the hunky newcomer kissing on the beach.

In early February, travel YouTubers R&F Adventures 2.0 headed to Palm Beach and saw the pair filming a number of scenes together.

The YouTubers caught sight of Jessica and Blake filming together, this time on the parkland by the beach, with the host Rhino Padroth confirming the new character’s name.

A later scene saw Beau and Harper hanging out with baby Archie, suggesting that the newcomer is perfectly happy with the fact that Harper has a child.  

However, the pair becoming Summer Bay’s next big couple looks increasingly unlikely, with rumours that Harper will be leaving town later this year.

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Goodbye Harper and Dana?

Neither Jessica Redmayne nor Ally Harris have been seen on set in recent months, and fans spotted a scene being filmed where Dana and John (Shane Withington) hugged, with John having a tear in his eye.

In addition, back in February it was announced that actress Jessica Redmayne had landed the role of Shelby in a theatre production of Steel Magnolias, which is touring Australia between April to August.

Are we about to say goodbye to Harper and Dana later this year?

The pair arrived on screen in August 2023, meaning they’re coming up on three years in Summer Bay – and it’s far from unusual for characters to depart after that length of time.

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The rest of 2026…

In her interview with Inside Soap, Series Producer Lucy Addario also gave more hints at what’s in store for the rest of 2026.

“New romance, friendships pushed to their limits, secrets that can’t stay buried and ultimatums that change lives forever,” she revealed.

“Lives will hang in the balance, hearts will be broken, and when everything seems lost, the Summer Bay community does what it always does best – pulls together. It’s big, emotional storytelling, and it’s classic Home and Away.”

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Here’s the full spoilers for upcoming Home and Away episodes in Australia:

Wednesday 27th May (Episode 8722)

Lacey misjudges Tane.

Mackenzie needs space.

Richie is welcomed in by the Langhams.

Thursday 28th May (Episode 8723)

Remi appeals to David.

Sonny’s a prime suspect.

Mali snaps.

Monday 1st June (Episode 8724)

John and Remi interrogate Sonny’s strange behaviour.

Dana clashes with Alf.

Mackenzie struggles to process her trauma.

Tuesday 2nd June (Episode 8725)

Eden has second thoughts.

Dana and Alf work together.

Is Justin in danger?

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