As Home and Away airs its final episode of the year in Australia, we take a look at everything we know about the show’s return in 2024.
There are some new faces coming to Summer Bay, along with two surprising new romances, career changes, returnees and a big wedding. Plus, find out if Remi and Eden survive…
Tonight saw the 2023 Season Finale air in Australia, with Remi (Adam Rowland) and Eden’s (Stephanie Panozzo) lives on the line.
Eden’s disastrous camping trip with Cash (Nicholas Cartwright) saw her call Remi to come rescue her.
As he raced through the bush on his motorbike, Remi crashed, just hours after telling girlfriend Bree (Juliet Godwin) that he wouldn’t be accompanying her on her trip abroad.
Wes (Josh McConville) and Mickey (Travis Jeffery), the men whose car Remi collided with, believed he was dead. They began digging a hole to hide the body, before being discovered by Eden, who had left her tent to answer the call of nature.
Wes bashed Eden over the head before he and Mickey bundled her into the back of their car, where she found Remi’s motionless body lying next to her.
The season ended with Cash waking to find Eden gone, and panic set in as he realised she was nowhere to be found. A dramatic promo for the new year saw her hidden away in a remote house, as her captives decided what to do next…
It brings to an end another dramatic year in Summer Bay, which saw the arrival of Haper (Jessica Redmayne) and Dana Matheson (Ally Harris), as well as the sad departures of Nikau Parata (Kawakawa Fox-Reo), Ziggy Astoni (Sophie Dillman) and Dean Thompson (Patrick O’Connor).
Now it’s time for a look at what’s to come in 2024, with some new faces, new relationships, career changes and a big wedding.
When does Home and Away return in 2024?
Home and Away returns to Australian screens on Monday 8th January 2024 on 7 and 7Plus.
Do Remi, Eden and Mackenzie survive?
The season finale saw Remi’s life on the line after he crashed his motorbike. Mackenzie, meanwhile, had just undergone a second operation after being rushed back into hospital.
As for Eden, she finished the season being knocked unconscious and bundled into an unknown car.
In Home and Away’s 2024 season premiere on 8th January 2024, we pick up exactly where we left off. Cash calls in the SES, as well as his sister Felicity (Jacqui Purvis), to help scour the remote bushland for any sign of Eden.
But the search party are completely unaware Eden is being held captive at the mercy of the same men who left her best friend for dead.
When she overhears the men making plans to “get rid” of her, Eden realises that her time is running out. Will Cash track down Eden before it’s too late?
As Home and Away films most of its external scenes at the publically accessible Palm Beach in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, fans often get to see filming many months in advance of it hitting our screens.
Thankfully, we’ve seen that Adam Rowland, Stephanie Panozzo and Emily Weir are all still filming, meaning that Remi, Eden and Mackenzie all survive their near-death experiences and will be on our screens well into 2024.
Remi and Bree split up as Bree finds a new man
However, there’s bad news in store for fans of Remi and Bree.
A fan of the show who watched filming at Palm Beach recently saw Juliet Godwin, who plays Bree, kissing another actor, suggesting that we’re just months away from a Bree and Remi split.
With thanks to Danielle Stevens
The as-yet-unknown character is believed to be played by Perth-born actor Mahesh Jadu, who previously played recurring character Dr Doug Harris in Neighbours between 2010 and 2011, and Ahmad in the Netflix series Marco Polo.
Mahesh is followed on social media by a number of Home and Away‘s cast and crew, including Juliet Godwin, Jacqui Purvis and Stephanie Panozzo.
With thanks to Danielle Stevens
There’s no word yet on what causes Bree and Remi to split, and the pair were seen loved up in the Season Finale, with Bree conquering her fear of motorbikes after they took a trip out of Summer Bay together.
However, Remi was then forced to tell Bree that he wouldn’t go with her if she left Australia to work for Doctors Beyond Borders. Will their differing views on a new life abroad lead to a split?
Thanks to Danielle Stevens of the Home and Away Spoilers and Info Facebook page for the photos.
Xander and Dana get together
Bree and her new man aren’t the only surprise new coupling in 2024.
While fans initially suspected that newly-single Tane (Ethan Browne) would hook up with Dana (Ally Harris) next year, after photos showed him sitting next to the Matheson sisters at a formal event filmed earlier this year, new photos show that it’ll actually be Dana and Xander (Luke Van Os) who end up together.
Photos taken by fan Danielle Stevens at Palm Beach in mid-November showed Luke and Ally filming a scene in which Xander approaches Dana, sitting next to her before the pair share a kiss.
With thanks to Danielle Stevens
With thanks to Danielle Stevens
Hopefully this relationship will go better than Xander’s previous attempts at love.
He briefly dated guest character Stacey (Maleeka Gasbarri) earlier this year, but Stacey’s desire for a polyamorous relationship ended up driving a wedge between them, culminating with Rose (Kirsty Marillier) catching Stacey cheating on her brother in a steamed up car.
A new relationship isn’t the only development for newcomer Dana, as she gets herself a new job. More on that later…
John gets his job back
John (Shane Withington) quit as manager of Summer Bay Surf Life Saving Club in November, after being taken off teaching duties for berating Banjo Henderson (Michael Cameron), one of his Bronze Medallion students, whose father just so happened to be one of the club’s major donors.
While John wasn’t sacked as surf club manager, the fact that he wasn’t allowed to teach was enough to cause him to resign, resulting in chaos as Alf (Ray Meagher) finally realised just how much John did for the club.
Alf eventually told Banjo’s dad Simon (James Lugton) that he was going against his wishes and reinstating John, leading Simon to promise that there’d be as-yet-unseen consequences.
Thankfully, it seems that John is well and truly back where he belongs in 2024, with recent photos from Palm Beach showing John is still working for the club, as he scoots up and down the beach in his trusty Can-Am.
With thanks to Danielle Stevens
And with John’s star pupil Nikau departing earlier this year, it’s time for someone else to take on the role of surf lifesaver…
Dana gets a job as a lifesaver
Fresh out of completing her Bronze Medallion, Dana Matheson is set to take up a job as a volunteer surf lifesaver, condemning her to a life of dealing with John Palmer.
Pictures and video taken by fan Michelle Matthews in early November saw Ally Harris in full lifesaver uniform, filming scenes in which she rushed into John’s prized Can-Am, which had its flashing lights on.
Dana recently took up a job as a nurse at Northern Districts Hospital, after being cleared of the drug charges she faced when she first arrived in Summer Bay.
The kindness shown to her by the locals during the fight to clear her name left Dana wishing to give back to the community, leading her to sign up to the surf club’s training sessions under John’s tutelage. With Dana now in uniform, we can expect to see her taking on lifesaving duties on top of her shifts at the hospital.
Home and Away heads to the Hunter Valley
Home and Away looks set to head to the Hunter Valley, New South Wales’s wine region, at some point in 2024.
A member of the show’s crew posted an Instagram story earlier in the year, showing what appeared to be a location recce as a number of the crew headed to the famous valley, which is known for its varieties of Sémillon and Shiraz.
More recently, Shane Withington (John Palmer) posted a Tweet reading ‘”Let’s put all the actors up in a winery ” They said. “What could go wrong “? They said…’, suggesting that the cast themselves have now headed there for filming.
There’s no word yet on what the storyline involves, or who other than Shane Withington will be taking part, but let’s not forget there’s a certain big event coming up…
Justin and Leah get married
Home and Away usually features at least one big wedding a year. While Flick and Tane took up mantle in both 2022 and 2023, in 2024 it’s the turn of Leah (Ada Nicodemou) and Justin (James Stewart).
Leah proposed to long-term partner Justin back in September, when the pair were trapped in an abandoned warehouse together.
While they set about planning their wedding as soon as Justin was out of hospital, and even set a date of Valentine’s Day, it wasn’t long before Leah called the whole thing off.
She had begun to have nightmares of their warehouse ordeal and Justin’s subsequent time in hospital, and struggled to sleep.
She initially suggested to Justin that they postpone the wedding until she was in a better frame of mind, but eventually called it off entirely, telling Justin that she didn’t want to marry him and never would.
After a number of weeks of being unable to sleep, Leah started to become paranoid, and after overhearing Justin on the phone at the garage, believed that he was a member of the Vita Nova cult and was out to get her.
She demanded that Rose arrest Justin, but Rose, Justin and Theo eventually managed to convince her that it was just the tiredness talking. On Bree’s advice, Leah decided to head to a mental health clinic, where they would help her through her issues and give her the chance to recuperate without distractions.
This involved handing over her phone, much to Justin’s surprise, meaning he’ll be completely out of contact with his fiancée for “a few weeks, maybe more.”
We’re still expecting the wedding to go ahead, with Ada back filming, and fans have seen scenes being filmed in which Justin discusses the date of his wedding with Kirby (Angelina Thomson).
Whether there’s time for them to still have the Valentine’s Day wedding they originally planned, remains to be seen.
This will be Leah’s 4th wedding, after she married Vinnie Patterson (Ryan Kwanten) in 2001, Dan Baker (Tim Campbell) in 2005, and Zac MacGuire (Charlie Clausen) in 2015. She was also engaged to Ted Simos in 2000, and Elijah Johnson in 2010.
It also looks like some of Leah and Justin’s closest friends and family will be back to celebrate their big day with them…
Tori Morgan returns
Penny McNamee, who played Tori Morgan on the show from 2016 until 2021, was recently spotted by fans of the show at Palm Beach.
Fan Felicity Oliver was lucky enough to meet Penny, who told her that her character Tori would be back on our screens for “a couple of weeks“, leading to speculation that she will be attending her brother’s wedding to Leah.
With thanks to Felicity Oliver
One of the scenes filmed saw Tori talking with Justin as they walked up to Eden (Stephanie Panozzo) and Remi (Adam Rowland).
With thanks to Felicity Oliver
Summer Bay hasn’t been a distant memory for Penny since her departure. Over the past year, Penny has added scriptwriting to her list of talents, and has so far written four Home and Away episodes that have aired.
After an eventful five years in Summer Bay, Tori departed Summer Bay in September 2021 with her new husband Christian Green (Ditch Davey) and her daughter Grace.
It’s not yet known whether anyone else will make a return for the big wedding. While discussing wedding plans a few weeks ago, Leah began compiling a list of potential guests who would be coming from abroad.
She mentioned Tori, Christian and Grace, as well as Leah’s son VJ (Matt Little) and his six-year-old stepdaughter Luc who both live in Cyprus.
A return for VJ should be straightforward, as, like Penny McNamee, actor Matt Little now works behind-the-scenes on the show, albeit as a Production Assistant.
There’s no official confirmation yet on whether we’ll get to see Christian, VJ, Grace and Luc back on screen, but considering Home and Away doesn’t often bring back friends and family for big events such as weddings, the fact that Tori is returning and the others have been namechecked gives us hope that they too may return.
Read more on Tori Morgan’s return…
Justin heads back to community service
He’s had plenty of other things to keep him occupied in recent months, but next year sees Justin Morgan finally return to the community service he was sentenced to after attacking Conor (Tom Dawson), a surfer who innocently gave his daughter Ava (Annabel Wolfe) a lift.
It had initially been put on hold back in May, when Justin was injured whilst attempting to save Andrew (Joshua Hewson) from Vita Nova, but it hasn’t been clear as to whether his punishment had resumed.
Last week however, Justin announced that whilst he had completed his course of anger management, he still had community service sessions remaining.
A video from the Celebtime Home and Away Tour back in September showed Justin litter-picking in the Summer Bay parkland, as Rose supervised.
It looks like another tense session, as Rose clashes with a blonde ponytailed woman who isn’t taking the task seriously, and appears to have taken an unauthorised break.
Photos courtesy of CelebTime
As Rose and the woman argue, Justin can’t help but get involved, as we hear him ask, frustrated, “are we going to get this done?”
Will there be more trouble in store for Justin before he can put his community service behind him once and for all?
Former Olympian Matt Shirvington makes a cameo
Matt Shirvington, the former Olympian who now co-presents Seven’s morning breakfast show Sunrise, is set to make a cameo appearance next year.
The Australian Daily Telegraph reports that ‘Shirvo’ spent Tuesday at Palm Beach, shooting scenes alongside Ray Meagher, who plays Alf. While the scenes in question are being kept under wraps, the publication does confirm that he’ll be playing himself.
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“I’m so excited to take a trip to Summer Bay and be a part of Australia’s most iconic show, a show I watched as a kid,” Shirvington told the Telegraph.
“To be in a scene with Ray Meagher is so surreal, everyone loves Alf. I’ve been practising my lines, Ray has given me a few tips and I think I’m ready for my acting debut – playing myself – what could possibly go wrong?”
Matt competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, as well as the 1998 and 2006 Commonwealth Games, and held the Australian 100m national sprint title from 1998 to 2002.
Formal fundraiser event
Earlier in the year, the cast put on their gladrags for filming of a very special Summer Bay event. While we initially believed this event would form part of the year’s season finale, we now know that it will be a charity fundraiser, organised by Xander, to raise funds for SCAD (Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection), the condition Mac recently suffered from.
Pictures posted from filming in the last week of July show a formal occasion set up on the grass adjacent to the surf club, with cast members including Emily Symons, James Stewart, Ray Meagher, Ethan Browne, Kyle Shilling and Shane Withington present (Marilyn, Justin, Alf, Tane, Mali and John).
A series of photos posted by Emily show that red is very much the theme of the occasion, with Marilyn sporting a red jacket, Justin wearing a red shirt and flower in his lapel, Tane suaving it up in a crimson jacket, and even Alf sporting a red bow tie.
Kyle’s photo from the day shows Mali wearing a white jacket with a red and black bow tie and pocket square.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CvJw-9ZSdNd/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=14&wp=553&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.backtothebay.net&rp=%2Fnews%2F2023%2F11%2F29%2Fhome-and-away-2024-spoilers-whats-in-store-next-year%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A1%2C%22os%22%3A270%7D
Shane Withington, meanwhile, showed off some of the set pieces on his Instagram account.
Via Shane Withington on X/Twitter
A picture posted by a passing bike enthusiast has also given a better sense of the scale of the occasion.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CvLkC8ABmH4/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=14&wp=553&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.backtothebay.net&rp=%2Fnews%2F2023%2F11%2F29%2Fhome-and-away-2024-spoilers-whats-in-store-next-year%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A2%2C%22os%22%3A275.40000009536743%7D
The event is expected to air very early into the 2024 season.
Spoilers in your inbox every weekend!
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And that’s it for 2023!
Home and Away typically releases a number of promos over the summer break, hinting at what’s coming up the following year, so expect lots more spoilers over the next six weeks.
Keep checking Back to the Bay as we bring you more on what’s in store in 2024. To be the first to know, subscribe to our newsletter, Like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter / X.
Home and Away returns to Australian screens on Monday 8th January 2024. It returns to UK screens in early January.
