New characters Carl and Claudia will be introduced in Home and Away, and Cash and Felicity’s foster father Gary will make a comeback.
Perri’s dad Carl arrives
Perri Hayes (Cantona Stewart) arrived in Summer Bay a few weeks ago as part of Tane’s scheme for troubled youths, and now his dad Carl (Matthew Holmes) is about to join him.
It soon became clear that Perri had experienced a troubled upbringing, and after the untimely death of his mum, his relationship with his father became fractured.
Perri eventually confessed to Tane that his dad had been beating him for years, and was forcing him into carrying out various illegal activities for him. His recent spell in juvie was the result of his dad ordering him to break into a house to gather goods for pawning.
When his dad then asked him to steal some tools a few weeks back, Perri said no for the first time, and was subjected to cigarette burns on his arm as punishment.
This week, Perri’s dad Carl makes a surprise appearance in Summer Bay as he tracks down his son.
He arrives at the gym and promises Perri that he’s simply there for a catchup, but it soon becomes clear that he’s got something else in mind – he wants Perri to help him out with one last job.
When Perri refuses, Carl threatens to go after Tane if he doesn’t come home with him immediately.
What’s not clear is exactly what Carl wants Perri to do. Will Perri’s fear of his father cause him to do something stupid, and how will Tane react if he finds out?
A promo which aired after Monday’s episode shows a grief-stricken Tane in an angry confrontation with Carl, as Rose (Kirsty Marillier) and Harper (Jessica Redmayne) do their best to prise the two apart.
As Carl urges Tane to hit him, Harper drags Tane away, telling him that he’s got too much to lose.
Tane’s moment of anger prompts Harper to finally confess the secret she’s been harbouring for weeks. As he asks her what he possibly has left to lose after Felicity’s (Jacqui Purvis) death, she blurts out: “I’m pregnant, you’re gonna be a dad.”
Gary Morrow returns
Also this week, Cash (Nicholas Cartwright) and Felicity’s (Jacqui Purvis) foster dad Gary (Peter Phelps) returns to Summer Bay.
Gary has made numerous appearances in the past two years, first appearing in late 2022, shortly before Felicity and Tane’s wedding.
His last appearance was in April 2023, when Felicity went to visit him as she struggled in the aftermath of the car crash she and Eden were involved in on the way to her and Tane’s original and ill-fated wedding day.
Felicity never had a good relationship with her foster father growing up, partly as she’d always been in denial about how their biological father had died.
Although Gary and his wife Katherine loved her unconditionally, Flick never accepted them as parental figures, and left home as soon as she was old enough to do so.
Cash was keen to repair their relationship before Felicity’s wedding to Tane, as Flick had refused to ask Gary to come to the wedding.
Flick hadn’t spoken to Gary since she left home, feeling ashamed of how she had treated him and Katherine, but she was finally able to make peace with him and the two eventually formed a bond.
In Monday’s episode, Cash finally made the heartbreaking decision to switch off Felicity’s life support machine, after she suffered a brain aneurysm a week ago.
Later this week, Gary returns to Summer Bay for the funeral, where he helps carry his foster daughter’s casket.
Much to the dismay of Felicity’s friends, Cash decides that the funeral should be limited to her family.
“I don’t think Cash has quite processed everything, and a big funeral would be too much,” Nicholas Cartwright explained to TV Week.
As a result, Mackenzie (Emily Weir) and Justin (James Stewart) begin planning a ‘Festival of Felicity’, allowing Summer Bay’s other residents to get the chance to say goodbye to their beloved friend.
Claudia Salini arrives
Claudia Salini, played by Rachael Carpani, is set to arrive in the coming weeks.
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While little has been officially announced about the new character, an interview with the Australian Daily Telegraph has revealed that Claudia will “make waves in the Morgan household”, which currently consists of Justin, wife Leah (Ada Nicodemou) and her nephew Theo (Matt Evans).
A promo for upcoming episodes revealed that Claudia will come into the Morgans’ life as she threatens Justin, telling him, “I could sue you for everything you’ve got.”
We first revealed that Rachael Carpani would be joining Home and Away earlier this year. In our May roundup of upcoming arrivals and departures, we confirmed that Rachael’s résumé had been updated to add the fact that she would be appearing as a character named Claudia Salini.
Carpani is best known for playing Jodi Fountain McLeod on McLeod’s Daughters.
She played Jodi over eight seasons of the Nine Network series, and was nominated for a Gold Logie for the role in 2007. More recently she has featured in Seven comedy drama 800 Words and the Ben Affleck movie The Way Back.
Before rising to prominence in McLeod’s Daughters in 2001, Rachael had a small role in Home and Away as Miranda, one of the diner waitresses. She had also previously appeared as an uncredited extra, including as a member of Saul Bennett’s commune in 1997.
Talking to the Daily Telegraph, Rachael revealed that Home and Away’s Network Script Executive Louise Bowes, who was previously a scriptwriter on McLeod’s Daughters, “was at the helm of designing and creating Claudia,” which Rachael believes made her character “far more real.”
“I know we’re talking about a fun soap here where people get kidnapped and people blow things up and crazy things happen, but there was a realness to this character,” she told the publication.
Rachael isn’t the only McLeod’s Daughters alumni to walk the shores of Summer Bay in recent times, with Aaron Jeffery recently making a short guest appearance as Jimmy Fowler, the dad of Eden (Stephanie Panozzo) and Levi (Tristan Gorey).
