Who is leaving and joining the Home and Away cast
It's a revolving door over in Summer Bay.
*Spoilers ahead*
Home and Away has graced our screens for almost four decades, and while longstanding characters like Alf Stewart and Irene Roberts will always have a place in our hearts, there’s a little room in there for a new character or two.
As always, the show has lots of twist and turns while new characters join and others leave, so if you’re needing a little explainer, look no further.
The new arrivals to Home & Away
Rookie cop Richie is back!
One of the newest faces on the show this year was Richie Brezniak (played by Rocco Forrester-Sach).
He first entered Summer Bay as the new police officer at Yabbie Creek Police Station, and despite Constable Cash Newman initially offering to take him under his wing as the new recruit, his rookie enthusiasm started to irk his senior.
Richie made his Summer Bay appearance on April 28, and saw him strike up a romance with the newly-single Abigail.
However, after a recent climactic shooting plotline led to Richie being fired from the force, this new recruit took a small hiatus from the Bay.
Now, the young cop is making his grand return, with Channel Seven announcing on Monday, September 14, that Rocco will be returning as Richie next week! Tune in to see this character reunite with everyone he left behind.
Dr Amelia Carlisle made a climactic entrance
One of the most hotly anticipated arrivals to the show was Dr Amelia Carlisle, played by Nicole da Silva.
She is best known for playing Franky Doyle in Wentworth, and fans were excited to spot the actor on the Home and Away set back in January.
Nicole first entered the show during the season’s climactic shooting episode, stepping in as Dr Amelia Carlisle from Northern Districts Hospital to help save David’s (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor) life after Richie’s rookie mistake.
“It is a rite of passage for most Aussie actors, I think,” she told WHO about joining the soap.
Although the actress admitted joining a show with such a deep fan lore was “terrifying” – “Hopefully everyone plays nice,” she joked – Nicole said on-set, the cast and crew have “been very welcoming”.
However, she stops short of naming the first cast member who made her feel at home on the series.
“If I told you one person specifically, you might figure out who plays my love interest – and it’s best you discover that when you watch,” she teased.
Now that Nicole’s character has spent some time on the show, you can probably guess who that love interest might be!
Who will be leaving Summer Bay?
Harper Matheson has officially left Summer Bay
After rumours circulated for weeks about her departure, Harper Matheson (Jessica Redmayne) has officially left the Bay.
The rumours started after sisters Harper and Dana (Ally Harris) weren’t seen filming recently, and news dropped of Jessica’s new project, starring as Shelby in Steel Magnolias Australia.
In the end, Harper left Summer Bay with her son Archie and sister Dana as she no longer felt safe, even after her ex-boyfriend, Beau, was arrested when she reported him for abuse.
While Harper’s storyline was an intense one, with the character leaving on heartbreaking and sudden terms to escape Beau, Redmayne has reflected on both the “sad” and “grateful” reality of saying goodbye to this character.
“It’s, of course, sad to see Harper go – especially on terms like these – but I’m grateful as Jessica the actor to have experienced the immense challenge,” she told TV Week. “I particularly love telling true stories and this one was very real and raw.”
Who knows what’s next for Harper! She may return when Summer Bay settles down, but we’ll have to wait and see.
Harper’s new beau… Beau
Beau was also a newbie welcomed to the show this year, with the character played by Blake Richardson.
Beau was introduced as Harper’s new boyfriend, and their relationship kicked off with a wholesome start as they spent time together loved-up at the beach and spending time with Harper’s baby, Archie.
However, Beau quickly stirred trouble for single-mum Harper. After Beau landed himself in jail, Harper made the decision to leave Summer Bay for good to protect Archie.
While there doesn’t seem to be a return date for Harper anytime soon, the jury is still out on whether Beau will continue to cause trouble in Summer Bay when he’s let out of the slammer.
Time will tell!
Why did Richie leave Summer Bay?
In one of the most climactic episodes of the season so far, rookie cop Richie (Rocco Forrester-Sach) accidentally shot his boss, David (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor), while on duty, sending him to urgent care. Since this (almost fatal) mistake, Richie has been suffering the consequences.
After having his gun license revoked and being let go from his dream job in the force, the aspiring cop spent his days applying for new opportunities, but continued to fall short as he couldn’t provide a reference.
As he sought out Cash (Nicholas Cartwright) for help, he was instead met with some hard truths and made the tough choice to leave Summer Bay and his girlfriend Abby behind in search of a fresh start.
However, this is not the last we will see of Richie! Rocco Forrester-Sach is still filming, signalling to fans that Richie will be back in the Bay later this year.
Abrupt departure for Tane
Tane’s exit is currently playing out on screen, with storylines involving Mackenzie and him sharing the news with others that he’s heading off.
The reason for his swift departure centres around being framed on drug charges by Harper’s mum Kerrie, being imprisoned and ultimately going on the run with Brax’s help.
It leaves the future of his business in jeopardy and his relationship with Jo in shambles.
It’s likely Tane (played by Ethan Browne) will be exiting the show in the next few weeks.
Brax and Ricky
Fan favourites Brax (Stephen Peacocke) and Ricky (Bonnie Sveen) returned earlier this year for a special Western Australia storyline, produced in partnership with Tourism Western Australia.
The couple were reintroduced living on a remote cattle station with their now 10-year-old son Casey, living in hiding after Brax never actually handed himself into police after that dodgy ordeal when he was last in Summer Bay.
The characters were on our screens for 10 weeks and exited on May 15.
Stephen and Bonnie spoke to WHO about their return and said it was a very emotional moment for them.
“I reunited with old crew friends,” Bonnie told WHO. “I shared a lot of hugs and a lot of chats. It was amazing working with old friends again, and then there were the new faces.”
“The dynamic was really beautiful between the new crew and the cast. Home and Away really is a beautiful place to work.”
Source: https://www.who.com.au/
