1996 Season Debuts on 7TWO
Monday 27th March 2017 will see the debut of the 1996 season of Home and Away on 7TWO, the ninth season to begin airing on the Australian channel.
The ‘Early Years’ repeats began with the Pilot episode from 1988 on the day of the channel’s launch in 2009, and have run largely uninterrupted through the first eight years of the show. The airings have proven to be extremely popular on our forum, so once again we must praise 7TWO for their ongoing commitment.
Continuing the ‘golden era’ fondly remembered by many long-term fans, the season will see some of the show’s most memorable storylines, including the tragic death of Shane Parrish (Dieter Brummer), the Summer Bay flood which claims the life of Michael Ross (Dennis Coard), the departures of Angel (Melissa George) & Dylan (Corey Glaister) Parrish in Episode 2000, Chloe Richard’s (Kristy Wright) drug struggle and rape, the controversial relationship between Steven Matheson (Adam Willits) & Selina Roberts (Tempany Deckert), and the wedding of Donald Fisher (Norman Coburn) & Marilyn Chambers (Emily Symons).
We’ll also be bidding farewell to two more regular characters, Jack Wilson (Daniel Amalm) and Alex Bennett (Nick Freedman).
There’ll be plenty of new regular characters to take their place though, in the form of Liam Tanner (Peter Scarf), Jesse McGregor (Ben Unwin), Stephanie Mboto (Fleur Beaupert), Joey Rainbow (Alex O’Han), Casey Mitchell (Rebecca Croft) and Rebecca Fisher (now played by Belinda Emmett).
We’ll also see some other new faces appearing as some of the season’s memorable guest characters including Simon Broadhurst (Julian Garner), Shannon’s biological mother Katherine Walker (Linden Wilkinson), Constable Terri Garner (Alyson Standen), Kylie Burton (Roslyn Oades) and her daughter Rachel (Kelly Glaister), Brad Cooper (Bruce Samazan) and Sebastian Harrison (Dominic Elmaloglou).
As well as new characters, there’ll be a whole host of familiar faces returning to the bay for guest stints at various points throughout the year, including Finlay Roberts (Tina Thomsen), Damian Roberts (Matt Doran), Haydn Ross (Andrew Hill), Joanne Brennan (Kimberley Joseph), Bert King (Peter Collingwood), Mandy Thomas (Rachael Blake), Max Richards (Rob Steele) and Barbara Stewart (now played by Rona McLeod).
Viewers may do a double take as we move into October, when Selina Roberts gains a temporary new head, due to actress Tempany Deckert coming down with glandular fever during filming. The role of Selina is taken over by Louise Crawford for a period of six weeks.
We can also expect to see the beginning of a new era for the show in Episode 1921 (currently set to air on 24th July 2017), in the form of a complete revamp of the opening titles, which boldly move away from the traditional characters shots used since the beginning of the show and take on a surreal beach theme.
The following list will give you a glimpse at when some of the storylines and arrivals/departures can be expected to air throughout the season.
All dates presume that there are no transmission breaks. If a breaks occur, as it likely will in the new year for tennis, then we will endeavour to update the article accordingly.
You can discuss the years episodes with other members of the forum in this dedicated thread.
UPDATE – 22ND MAY 2017:
Please note that the Early Years will go on a break after Friday 26th May 2017. Any dates in the list below from that date onwards will be incorrect until we know of the show’s return date.
| 1836 | Mon 27 Mar 2017 | 1996 Season Opener |
| 1840 | Fri 31 Mar 2017 | Maria & Kathy Wilson’s final episode |
| 1845 | Fri 07 Apr 2017 | Saul kidnaps Selina |
| 1847 | Tue 11 Apr 2017 | Saul Bennett departs |
| 1849 | Thu 13 Apr 2017 | Joanne Brennan returns |
| 1868 | Wed 10 May 2017 | Katherine Walker’s first episode |
| 1869 | Thu 11 May 2017 | Finlay Roberts returns |
| 1874 | Thu 18 May 2017 | Simon Broadhurst’s first episode |
| 1878 | Wed 24 May 2017 | Shane Parrish dies |
| 1879 | Thu 25 May 2017 | Damian Roberts returns |
| 1880 | Fri 26 May 2017 | Damian Roberts’ final episode |
| Mon 29 May 2017 | HIATUS – all dates below TBC | |
| 1884 | Thu 01 Jun 2017 | Peter Moss’ first episode |
| 1888 | Wed 07 Jun 2017 | Peter Moss’ death |
| 1891 | Mon 12 Jun 2017 | Bert King returns |
| 1896 | Mon 19 Jun 2017 | Mikki Salter’s first episode |
| 1897 | Tue 20 Jun 2017 | Debbie Salter’s first episode |
| 1905 | Fri 30 Jun 2017 | Kelly is bitten by a funnel-web |
| 1908 | Wed 05 Jul 2017 | Mikki & Debbie Salt’s final episode |
| 1909 | Thu 06 Jul 2017 | Donald proposes to Marilyn |
| 1910 | Fri 07 Jul 2017 | Liam Tanner’s first episode |
| 1911 | Mon 10 Jul 2017 | The Summer Bay flood |
| 1912 | Tue 11 Jul 2017 | Shane Parrish Jnr’s Birth / Michael Ross’ death |
| 1914 | Thu 13 Jul 2017 | Michael Ross’ funeral / Haydn Ross returns / Maureen Richards first episode |
| 1917 | Tue 18 Jul 2017 | Michael Palin’s cameo |
| 1918 | Wed 19 Jul 2017 | Jack Wilson departs |
| 1921 | Mon 24 Jul 2017 | New Opening Titles debut |
| 1926 | Mon 31 Jul 2017 | Jesse McGregor’s first episode |
| 1929 | Thu 03 Aug 2017 | Stephanie Mboto’s first episode |
| 1936 | Mon 14 Aug 2017 | Alex is blinded / Hannah Williams’ first episode |
| 1945 | Fri 25 Aug 2017 | Terri Garner’s first episode |
| 1949 | Thu 31 Aug 2017 | Joey Rainbow’s first episode |
| 1954 | Thu 07 Sep 2017 | The School Siege |
| 1955 | Fri 08 Sep 2017 | Chloe is raped on the beach |
| 1956 | Mon 11 Sep 2017 | Louise Crawford takes over as Selina temporarily |
| 1957 | Tue 12 Sep 2017 | Pippa receives the Order of Australia |
| 1962 | Tue 19 Sep 2017 | Chris Hale’s final episode |
| 1963 | Wed 20 Sep 2017 | Casey Mitchell’s first episode |
| 1969 | Thu 28 Sep 2017 | Max Richards returns |
| 1973 | Wed 04 Oct 2017 | Max shoots dead the man accused of Chloe’s rape |
| 1974 | Thu 05 Oct 2017 | The Summer Bay Earthquake begins |
| 1983 | Wed 18 Oct 2017 | Rebecca Fisher returns |
| 1986 | Mon 23 Oct 2017 | Tempany Deckert returns as Selina |
| 1988 | Wed 25 Oct 2017 | Haydn Ross’ final episode / Joanne Brennan returns |
| 1990 | Fri 27 Oct 2017 | Alex Bennett’s final episode |
| 1992 | Tue 31 Oct 2017 | Margaret Mitchell’s first episode |
| 2000 | Fri 10 Nov 2017 | Angel & Dylan Parrish’s final episode |
| 2006 | Mon 20 Nov 2017 | Finlay Roberts returns |
| 2008 | Wed 22 Nov 2017 | Kylie & Rachel Burton’s first episode |
| 2010 | Fri 24 Nov 2017 | Geoff Thomas’ first episode |
| 2018 | Wed 06 Dec 2017 | Barbara Stewart returns |
| 2024 | Thu 14 Dec 2017 | Barbara Stewart departs |
| 2033 | Wed 27 Dec 2017 | Brad Cooper’s first episode |
| 2036 | Mon 01 Jan 2018 | Donald & Marilyn’s wedding |
| 2040 | Fri 05 Jan 2018 | Stuart Mitchell’s first episode |
| 2045 | Fri 12 Jan 2018 | Sebastian Harrison’s first episode |
| 2050 | Fri 19 Jan 2018 | Sally goes missing on the river |
| 2061 | Mon 05 Feb 2018 | Gabe Farley’s first episode |
| 2062 | Tue 06 Feb 2018 | Sebastian Harrison’s final episode |
| 2065 | Fri 09 Feb 2018 | 1996 Season Finale |