Home and Away Spoilers – Olivia leaves Summer Bay
It’s time for Summer Bay to bid farewell to another of its residents on Home and Away next week, when Olivia Fraser-Richards (Raechelle Banno) departs for an exciting new career in Melbourne.
We first reported on Olivia’s impending departure back in April, with paparazzi shots from February showing Raechelle and Lynne McGranger (Irene) embracing on the seaplane wharf whilst filming one of Olivia’s final episodes.
Olivia was born on-screen to the late Lachlan Fraser (Richard Grieve) and Chloe Richards (Kristy Wright) in 1998, and first returned for an initial guest stint alongside Chloe in 2005, played by Ivy Latimer.
Olivia with parents Chloe Richards (Kristy Wright) and Lachie Fraser (Richard Grieve) in 1998
When Chloe was tragically killed in a car accident, what followed was a heart-wrenching custody battle between Irene and Olivia’s paternal grandmother Diana Fraser (Kerry McGuire). It was only when Chloe’s ex-husband (and Olivia’s uncle) James Fraser (Michael Piccirilli) showed up, with a copy of Chloe’s will, that Olivia was saved from Diana’s clutches and went to live with James.
Ivy Latimer as Olivia in 2005
Raechelle Banno’s first scene as Olivia in October 2015
In October 2015, Irene was shocked when Olivia turned up in Summer Bay, having flown herself from London courtesy of her uncle’s credit card, to announce that she had come to live with her. It was later discovered that Olivia had been self-harming after being sexually abused by a friend of James’, Kirk Shepherd.
During her time in the bay, Olivia has mostly found herself in an on/off relationship with Hunter King (Scott Lee), to whom she once fell pregnant resulting in a termination, as well as a brief relationship with Mason Morgan (Orpheus Pledger).
Her past abuse was also cruelly exploited by a stalker, Tabitha Ford (Eliza Scanlen), who she had met in group counselling. The episode where Olivia found herself trapped in her bedroom at the mercy of an online predator (Tabitha, masquerading as Kirk), won a prestigious AWGIE award for scriptwriter Faith McKinnon.
Over the past year, Olivia has continued working towards a career in fashion design at Uni, whilst starting up her own label, Liv Designs. It was this that brought her to the attention of fashion house The Find, who she naively agreed to sign a rather unfavourable contract with despite them initially ripping off her designs. When things went pear-shaped, Olivia slept with her manipulative boss Axel Boyd (Matthew Pearce) in the hope it might save her career—and whilst it did in the short-term, it cost her her relationship with Hunter and she eventually quit.
Things have looked up for Olivia in the past couple of weeks of Australian episodes, after her design for Ziggy Astoni’s wedding dress brought about more orders and attention from a wedding fashion company in Melbourne, who flew her out to interview for a designer position that had opened up.
Despite Olivia’s fears that her past experience with The Find had probably cost her the job, Olivia was later offered the position.
Next week, with not much time to prepare for her departure, Olivia’s loved ones quickly rally around to throw a farewell party in Salt.
When Olivia departs in Monday’s episode, her tenure will have lasted a total of 623 episodes, equating to just over two years and nine months on-screen.
Elsewhere in Summer Bay, as we also reported back in April, Mason Morgan’s life will be turned upside-down this week when he learns that he’s going to be a father.
Viewers will recall that Mason hooked up with Dempsey (Sophie Don) after Brody and Ziggy’s wedding back in June, and he is stunned when she reappears this week to announce that she is pregnant.
Also this week, it’s safe to say that the honeymoon period for newlyweds Brody Morgan (Jackson Heywood) and Ziggy Astoni (Sophie Dillman) hasn’t been all it’s cracked up to be. Whilst Brody and Ziggy are technically living together, it hasn’t exactly been marital bliss with Brody having to share Ziggy’s bedroom in the somewhat chaotic Astoni household.
With barely any time or space to themselves, the couple have been struggling, and after another visit back to his old home for some timeout with sister Tori (Penny McNamee), Brody believes he has the ideal solution to their living situation—and it lies in the Morgan’s backyard! But will Ziggy be persuaded…?
Episodes 6935–6938*
Australian air dates: Monday 13th to Thursday 16th August 2018 on Seven
UK air dates: Friday 31st August to Thursday 5th September 2018 on Channel 5
*Please note that these episode numbers apply to Sydney. Due to AFL, Home and Away episodes will vary depending on region, check local guides for further information.
For other storylines and a full rundown of what’s to come over the next couple of weeks, visit our Australian Spoilers page.
Visit Summer Bay!
If you’re heading to Sydney anytime soon, why not take the time to visit the beautiful Palm Beach (Summer Bay) yourself – along the way you’ll get to see such filming locations as the Morgan House, the Pier Diner and the famous Surf Club, and you may even be lucky enough to spot some filming and take some snaps with cast members!
The Official Home and Away Tour departs from central Sydney five days a week (Mon-Wed, Fri-Sat), and costs just $105 per person. For more information, and to book tickets directly through the official tour provider, click here or on the button below.
