Classic Home and Away episodes to stream on My5
Channel 5 is set to add 35 classic episodes of Home and Away to its streaming service to celebrate the show’s upcoming 35th anniversary.
‘Home and Away Classics: Celebrating 35 Years of the Legendary Soap’ will begin on Monday 21st November, three days after the UK season finale.
A different classic episode will be added to the My5 streaming service every day for six weeks, one episode for each of the show’s 35 years.
The cast of Home and Away’s pilot episode from 1988
An iconic episode from each of the years Home and Away has been on air will drop every weekday, starting right back at the beginning with the 1988 pilot.
Cast and producers have helped pick the most memorable episodes from the show’s three and a half decades.
The 2002 school bus crash left a number of characters injured
There’s a heady mix of weddings, births, deaths and tragedies, with highlights including the great storm and the 2002 epic bus crash.
The first week of episodes are as follows:
Monday 21st November
Pilot episode, 1988Tuesday 22nd November
Frank and Bobby’s Wedding, 1989 (Episode 243)
Will Bobby’s mother appear at the wedding?Wednesday 23rd November
Ben and Carly’s Wedding, 1990 (Episode 582)
Ben finally makes it back to Summer Bay and he and Carly are married at last.Thursday 24th November
Pippa and Michael’s Wedding, 1991 (Episode 757)
Pippa and Michael exchange vows. Does Carly and Ben’s marriage stand a chance?Friday 25th November
Blake and Meg, 1992 (Episode 975)
Adam’s kind gesture goes terribly wrong. Blake and Meg plan to watch the sunrise together.
Home and Away’s 2003 cast
The first two series of Home and Away are currently available on Amazon Prime Video, but this marks the first time in a while that episodes from later years have been made available.
Classic episodes aired on Australian network 7Two until 2017, from the pilot episode to the week of Shane’s death in the 1996 season.
When the episodes stopped, Back to the Bay were told that Seven had reached a batch of episodes where all the available “runs” under existing agreements have been used up.
Various collections of classic episodes have been added to the 7Plus streaming service at points, typically focussing on births, marriages and deaths, but this marks the first time that a large number of classic episodes have been added to Channel 5’s streaming service in the UK.
In 2013, the UK’s 5* began airing a number of episodes from the mid-2000s, but they were dropped just one month later.
Home and away’s 1995 cast
Home and Away will celebrate its 35th anniversary on 17th January 2023. The pilot episode aired in Australia on 17th January 1988, and it made its UK debut a little over a year later on 11th February 1989.
In the UK, Home and Away aired on ITV from 1989 until 2000, before moving to Channel 5 on 16th July 2001 after a year off the air. Episodes currently air on Channel 5 every weekday afternoon and 5STAR every weekday evening.
The synopsis for the pilot explains the show’s initial premise: “When 42-year-old Tom Fletcher is retrenched, he and his wife Pippa sell up and buy a derelict caravan park in Summer Bay, taking their five charges with them.”
35 years later, the show is still going strong, and a recent presentation by its Australian network – Seven – stated that almost one million Australians watch every episode of the show.
The final cast of Neighbours. The show ended in July 2022 after 37 years on the air.
While rival soap Neighbours was cancelled earlier this year after Channel 5 dropped the show in the UK, it is understood that the UK broadcaster has a lifetime deal to broadcast Home and Away for as long as it’s being made.
Little is known about what else producers have in store for the show’s 35th anniversary, but fans recently spotted the entire cast congregating at Sydney’s Palm Beach – the location of the show’s outdoor scenes – suggesting that something special was being filmed.
Joining them at the famous beach were Series Producer Lucy Addario and Executive Producer Julie McGauran.
Back in 2018, the whole cast came together at Palm Beach to sing the theme tune in a special promo which aired after that year’s season finale down under.
Home and Away’s 2016 cast, and the most recent full cast photo
The final regular episode of the year will air on Channel 5 and 5STAR this Friday 18th November, with a special UK finale which sees Marilyn and her friends fall into Heather’s trap.
The date of when the show will return to UK screens in 2023 hasn’t yet been announced.
However, with the 35 special episodes set to be added over a 6-week period from Monday 21st November until Friday 30th December, it seems likely that the show will return to UK screens on Monday 2nd January 2023.
This would fit with last year’s UK schedule, which saw the show return on Monday 3rd January.
Meanwhile, the Australian season finale is believed to be airing on Monday 28th November. Read more on what’s in store in an explosive final week.
Here’s the full spoilers for the final week of Home and Away episodes in the UK:
Monday 14th November (Episode 7896)
Felicity is shocked by Tane’s proposal. Marilyn blames Leah for losing her daughter.
Tuesday 15th November (Episode 7897)
Felicity crumbles under engagement pressure. Eden bares her heart for Cash. Bree welcomes a surprise visitor.
Wednesday 16th November (Episode 7898)
Roo wants answers from Marilyn. Remi fears for Bree’s safety. Dean learns Ziggy has cancelled her ultrasound.
Thursday 17th November (Episode 7899)
Ziggy’s baby fears keep the doctor away. Are Marilyn’s friends walking into a trap?
Friday 18th November (Episode 7900) – 2022 UK SEASON FINALE
Ziggy and Dean announce their big news. Lyrik’s new song is a hit, but could it be bigger? Unhinged Heather holds Marilyn’s friends hostage.