Next week on Home and Away in the UK, Brax, Ricky and son Casey head back to the bay in the hope of finally putting their past to rest – but will John Palmer spoil everything?
Recent weeks have seen Tane (Ethan Browne) head to Western Australia to hide out on Brax (Stephen Peacocke) and Ricky’s (Bonnie Sveen) remote cattle station, after being set up on a drugs charge by Kerrie Matheson (Sara Wiseman).
With all evidence stacked against him—other than the obvious ones the police have missed—it was almost inevitable that Tane would be found guilty.
It was best mate Mackenzie (Emily Weir) who offered Tane an escape route, having asked brother Dean Thompson (Patrick O’Connor) to contact his River Boy mates to help Tane disappear.
Brax and Ricky agreed to help, with Brax having been through a similar situation himself when he was locked up for killing Dean Sanderson (Wade Briggs) back in 2015.
Yet it wasn’t long before Tane’s face was plastered over social media, threatening to bring unwanted attention to them.
Ricky immediately panicked when Cash (Nicholas Cartwright) approached her in Coral Bay with a picture of Tane, and even moreso when she relayed this to Tane and he realised that it must have been his mate who happened to be a cop.
Having spied Brax’s ‘Blood and Sand’ tattoo at a nearby beach, Cash and Jo (Maddison Brown) followed Brax back to the cattle station and intercepted Tane as he tried to leave.
The pair convinced Tane to return home, whilst Cash assured Brax that he wasn’t interested in his and Ricky’s situation.
Feeling he could trust Cash, Brax asked him a favour.
Next week, it quickly becomes clear to Ricky that something is on Brax’s mind, as he repeatedly checks his phone, waiting for an update.
Brax admits he asked a favour of Cash before he departed with Tane. After a decade of lying low, he wants to know where he stands with the police and whether there’s any chance they could live a normal life, particularly for the sake of 10-year-old son Casey (Austin Cutcliffe).
Although he was cleared of the charges laid against him after the real culprit confessed, Brax had already escaped custody at that point, and didn’t stick around long enough to find out if he’d face any consequences.
Ever since, the pair have been looking over their shoulders in case the police came calling.
Back in Summer Bay, Cash follows through with his promise. Although he cannot access the database himself for now after being suspended, he gets in touch with his former Mangrove River colleague Jo Devlin (Ariadne Sgouros)—now working at Reefton Lakes—who is all too familiar with the River Boys.
Brax later tells Ricky what Cash has discovered, and it’s as he feared. Although the confession is still on record, things were never officially signed off—and because Brax escaped custody, there is still an active warrant out for his arrest.
Brax and Ricky have a difficult decision to make. Staying hidden keeps things as they are, but it also means continuing to live under restrictions—something that they’re already worrying is affecting 10-year-old Casey’s childhood.
Returning to Summer Bay, on the other hand, offers a chance to deal with things properly, but with no guarantees of Brax’s freedom.
The decision is quickly made, and the following day Brax, Ricky and Casey drive along the coast road passing the famous ‘Welcome to Summer Bay’ sign.
Heading to the quieter northern end of the beach, Brax steps back onto the sand and has a moment to himself to take it all in.
Whilst Casey is keep to head in for a swim, Brax and Ricky know they need to keep things low-key for now, and instead head back to Saxon Avenue, where Cash has arranged for them to stay in Tane’s empty house.
As they pass No. 55, now home to Cash and Eden (Stephanie Panozzo), Brax points out to Casey that he and Ricky used to live there—and that Casey did too, when he was a baby.
Casey wants to go and have a look, but Brax puts him off, aware that they can’t draw attention to themselves.
Their plan soon finds it’s first hurdle however, when they arrive at Tane’s place to find Jo waiting for them, and learn that Cash has been dragged off to the city by David (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor) to face his superiors.
Once Jo goes to get supplies, Brax lays down the rules. Casey is to stay inside unless he is with them, not answer the door, and not speak to anyone he doesn’t know.
Casey struggles with the restrictions. He thought they were on holiday and can’t understand why he can’t even use the pool.
The situation becomes more awkward when Jo later lets slip that her father is the sergeant at Yabbie Creek.
Brax is immediately alarmed, and whilst Ricky points out that Tane trusts Jo, Brax is unconvinced, worried that any wrong move could bring the police straight to their door.
Ricky heads outside where Casey is glumly eating ice cream, promising him that it won’t be like this forever and they can still have fun.
The next day, while Brax and Ricky are occupied, a bored Casey is watching the world go by from the window when he sees Remi (Adam Rowland)—who’s recovering from his recent surgery—take a tumble outside.
Casey rushes outside to help and John (Shane Withington) arrives moments later.
Though Remi is grateful to Casey for helping, John is intrigued by the unfamiliar boy, unaware he’s the same child whose mother he once helped get to hospital when she went into labour!
When John asks for his name, Casey panics and runs back inside.
When Brax finds out, he’s quick to come down hard on Casey, reminding him of the rules and why they’re in place.
Casey insists he was only trying to help, having called out for them first, but neither Brax nor Ricky had heard him.
Whilst Ricky points out that he did exactly what he’s been brought up to do, the moment only underlines how close to the wind they’re sailing.
With tensions already running high as they remain in limbo, Brax’s attempts to move things forward hit another setback when a lawyer he contacts refuses to take him on.
With little else they can do for now, and aware that Casey is struggling with being cooped up inside, Brax suggests they head up the coast for a couple of days to let the heat die down, offering him something closer to the holiday he had been promised.
As they leave the house, they’re careful not to be seen—but they haven’t gone unnoticed.
Pulling away from Tane’s place, Ricky clocks their former neighbour—and neighbourhood watch enthusiast—John nearby, watching as the car heads off.
Though he can’t make out exactly who is inside, it’s enough to set alarm bells ringing, particularly given his earlier encounter with Casey.
Later, John raises the issue with Eden, questioning whether there’s people staying at Tane’s.
Eden insists the house is empty and claims not to know what he’s talking about, but John isn’t convinced, pointing out that he saw a young boy come from the property and a car leave with what appeared to be a family inside.
Only a few hours after Brax and Ricky set off, Cash returns to Summer Bay, having kept his job by the skin of his teeth but on restricted duties for now. When John later spots him, he’s quick to tell him about the suspicious activity at Tane’s house.
Cash attempts to brush it off, suggesting that a real estate agent is in and out of the property preparing it for new tenants, but John is quick to question the explanation, particularly with the presence of a child.
Cash sticks to his story and encourages him to leave it alone, but John isn’t satisfied.
The following morning, John notices the car is back, this time parked further up the street, and he decides to investigate further.
Finding Brax’s thongs (don’t panic, that’s ‘flip-flops’ in UK lingo) outside the door, John knocks but gets no reply.
From his perspective, it only deepens the suspicion—if everything is above board, why won’t anyone answer?
Convinced something isn’t right, and frustrated at being fobbed off, John heads to the police station where he finds Cash on the front desk, and announces that he wants to make an official report.
For Cash, it’s the worst-case scenario. Despite having arranged for the family to stay at Tane’s, he hasn’t even had chance to talk to Brax yet. But he knows that once a formal complaint is logged, the police will have no choice but to look into it.
Will John end up inadvertently exposing Brax and Ricky?
Here are the full spoilers for next week’s Home and Away episodes in the UK:
Monday 4th May (Episode 8687)
Mali and Abigail clash.
Mackenzie plays with fire.
David’s gifted an important clue.
Tuesday 5th May (Episode 8688)
Brax and Ricky face a difficult decision.
Mali and Abigail have a heart-to-heart.
Cash faces serious consequences.
Wednesday 6th May (Episode 8689)
Casey is bitterly disappointed.
John is forced to own up.
Sonny struggles with intimacy.
Thursday 7th May (Episode 8690)
John grows suspicious.
Brax’s grand plan stalls.
Great news is afoot for Sonny.
Friday 8th May (Episode 8691)
Lacey fights off the press.
John plays detective.
Sonny and Dana celebrate progress.
