Neighbours Spoilers – Leo wants to give up baby Abigail
Coming up next week on Neighbours, when Leo can’t cope with looking after Abigail on his own, he shocks David and Aaron with a proposal.
Recent episodes have seen Leo Tanaka (Tim Kano) struggle to cope after Britney’s shock death during the recent storm. Since then, he’s had to juggle looking after baby Abigail with running his fledgling winery, and is failing on both counts.
The vineyard suffered substantial damage in the storm, but, as countless others in Melbourne’s wine growing region were also damaged, Glen (Richard Huggett) has struggled to get a team of contractors in to start the repair work.
While Glen is happy to take on more responsibility at the winery, and David (Takaya Honda) and Aaron (Matt Wilson) would be overjoyed at the chance to spend more time with Abigail, Leo has been determined to do everything himself.
This week in the UK (Thursday 27th January / Aus: Wednesday 2nd February), Leo adds another thing to his to-do list as he decides to sue Lassiters, blaming Terese (Rebekah Elmaloglou) for Britney’s death as she didn’t evacuate the Flamingo Bar quickly enough.
Then, the following day (UK: Friday 28th January / Aus: Thursday 3rd February), it all gets too much for him. On the brink of exhaustion, he takes his eye off the ball. Suddenly, he’s in the middle of every parent’s nightmare as Abigail tumbles off the sofa and lands hard on the floor.
She’s rushed to hospital, and, while she’s going to be fine, it seriously shakes Leo up. He finally realises that he’s struggling… but whether he’ll admit it to anyone else is a different matter.
Next week in the UK (Monday 31st January), and one week later in Australia (Monday 7th February), David and Aaron realise they need to change direction with him; they can’t let him destroy himself any longer.
Yet things go from bad to worse, as they realise that he’s started to distance himself from Abigail in the wake of the accident.
It becomes clear that he doesn’t want to spend time with her as he’s scared of injuring her again, but he doesn’t have much choice – with Britney gone, Leo is all that she has.
They try to relax him with a fishing trip, but even that can’t cheer him up – he’s well and truly down in the dumps, and his friends and family are beginning to run out of ideas.
When the whole extended family – Leo, David, Aaron, Chloe (April Rose Pengilly) Nicolette (Charlotte Chimes) and Jane (Annie Jones) – head to the park for an attempt at some father-daughter bonding time, it looks like it could be just what Leo needs.
That is, until he shocks them with a bombshell.
Leo has nowhere to turn, and sees only one way out. He finally wants to take David and Aaron up on their offer of help – but not in the way they’d envisioned.
He explains that he can’t cope with being a single parent, and wants to hand Abigail over to David and Aaron!
The pair had already forming a bond with Abigail during the baby swap, and initially struggled to give her up. In Leo’s eyes, they’re the perfect pair to take over parenting duties.
Are David and Aaron about to end up with two babies?
And is Leo really ready to walk out of Abigail’s life for good?
Neighbours fans have been predicting that David and Aaron would find themselves with both babies, ever since the baby swap storyline came to a climax late last year.
Viewers will remember that Abigail was the first baby that the couple looked after, believing her to be their actual baby, Isla Fay.
The initial plan was for Nicolette to give birth to a baby that would biologically be her and David’s. She would hand the baby over to David and Aaron, who would be the primary care-givers in a co-parenting agreement, with Nicolette involved as an “aunt”.
However, Nicolette decided to flee to Canberra shortly before giving birth. Just before leaving Erinsborough, she met Britney Barnes (Montana Cox), Leo’s ex-girlfriend. Britney and Leo had a short but passionate relationship when Leo was living in New York, but had broken things off a while ago.
When Britney discovered she was pregnant with Leo’s baby, she initially kept the news from him, but eventually came to Australia to track him down.
She suffered from post-natal depression, and Nicolette took her to Canberra, where she helped her through her first few weeks of motherhood. However, despite Nic’s best efforts, Britney failed to form any emotional connection to her baby.
When Paul arrived in Canberra and demanded that Nicolette hand over baby Isla, Nic handed over Britney’s baby instead.
As a result, Paul returned to Erinsborough with a baby he believed to be David, Aaron and Nicolette’s, but who was actually Britney and Leo’s – making her David’s niece.
Britney arrived in Erinsborough a few weeks later, took baby Abigail back, before Nicolette returned with the real Isla. Things returned to normal remarkably quickly, Leo and Britney started to develop feelings for each other once again, and then the storm came along and tragically killed Britney.
Now, things are about to go full circle, with David and Aaron set to look after baby Abigail once again.
When it was first announced that Tim Kano would be returning to Neighbours, it was believed that he would only be back for a few months, and would complete filming in late 2021.
So, when news emerged that a shock death would hit Ramsay Street early in the new year, it seemed to fit that Leo would be the character to bow out. This led fans to speculate that we would be saying a tearful goodbye to Leo, with David and Aaron left as the primary caregivers for both Isla and Abigail.
While that wasn’t quite how the saga played out, it seems the outcome could well be the same. Whether the move is only temporary, or whether David and Aaron really will become fathers to two babies, remains to be seen.
Here are the spoilers for the next two week of Neighbours:
8767 – Monday 24th January (UK) / Thursday 27th January (Aus)
Levi can’t say no when Sheila sets him up on a date with the intriguing Freya.
Amy, stressed about supporting herself and Zara without the Flamingo Bar, makes an impulsive purchase to stay afloat.
Zara’s hopes for a fresh start at Erinsborough High are dashed.
8768 – Tuesday 25th January (UK) / Monday 31st January (Aus)
As Kyle and Roxy embark on their honeymoon, Kyle slaps on extra testosterone patches so he can perform in the bedroom.
Amy is shocked by Zara’s actions at school, but Zara is only acting up because she wants to spend time with Amy.
8769 – Wednesday 26th January (UK) / Tuesday 1st February (Aus)
Abandoned by Zara, Amy is in dire straits, struggling to breathe and unable to save herself.
Will Ned arrive in time to get her to the hospital?
Terese is enjoying taking care of Paul, but she is still conflicted about their relationship.
8770 – Thursday 27th January (UK) / Wednesday 2nd February (Aus)
A grief-stricken Leo juggles work and Abigail, but all he can think about is Britney and his desire for revenge.
Determined, Paul convinces Terese to return to marriage counselling, even though their last session was disastrous, and he actually has a personal breakthrough.
8771 – Friday 28th January (UK) / Thursday 3rd February (Aus)
Leo is burning himself out.
Paul is shocked to learn that Terese not only moved in out of guilt, but also had feelings for Glen.
In the midst of another sexy date, Levi opens up to a sympathetic Freya about his childhood.
8772 – Monday 31st January (UK) / Monday 7th February (Aus)
Leo is consumed with guilt and fear as Abigail is rushed to the hospital, inspiring Aaron and David to change directions with him.
Amidst a Ramsay Street cricket match, Levi uncovers why Freya came to Erinsborough in the first place, but she hasn’t convinced everyone.
8773 – Tuesday 1st February (UK) / Tuesday 8th February (Aus)
Running out of time and money, an impulsive Amy moves in with Toadie without telling Zara, worried that her daughter will have trouble adjusting to the change.
Freya talks Levi into taking her for a joyride in a police car.
8774 – Wednesday 2nd February (UK) / Wednesday 9th February (Aus)
After catching Freya red-handed, Roxy questions her intentions with Levi.
Zara is eager to impress the cool girls on their first beach day.
Paul is shaken when Terese reminds him her stay in the penthouse is temporary, triggering a return to past behaviours.
8775 – Thursday 3rd February (UK) / Thursday 10th February (Aus)
Paul’s deceit pays off, as Terese is acting even more loving towards him than before, but Karl is still baffled.
Ramsay Street is worried about Leo, who is so overwhelmed by grief and guilt that even a fishing trip can’t cheer him up.
8776 – Friday 4th February (UK) / Monday 14th February (Aus)
Paul is thrilled when Terese finally agrees to get back together.
Paul’s strange illness puzzles Karl, who is shocked to hear he has been replaced with a new specialist.
An overwhelmed Leo admits he’s avoiding spending time with Abigail because he’s afraid of hurting her again.