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.
After Eden’s disastrous camping trip with Cash (Nicholas Cartwright) ended in her disappearance, Remi—who had just informed girlfriend Bree (Juliet Godwin) that he wouldn’t be going on her trip overseas—accidentally hurt while racing to save her.
It ends another eventful year in Summer Bay, marked by the terrible deaths of Nikau Parata (Kawakawa Fox-Reo), Ziggy Astoni (Sophie Dillman), and Dean Thompson (Patrick O’Connor), as well as the entrance of Haper (Jessica Redmayne) and Dana Matheson (Ally Harris).
It’s time to take a peek at 2024, which promises to be filled with new faces, partnerships, professional transitions, and a large wedding.
When does Home and Away return in 2024?
No date has yet been announced for Home and Away‘s return to Australian screens in 2024.
While the show typically used to return in late January, last year saw us return to Summer Bay on Monday 9th January.
To be the first to know when the show returns, subscribe to our newsletter, Like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter / X.
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.
Since Palm Beach in Sydney’s Northern Beaches is open to the public for filming, fans of Home and Away frequently get to witness filming months before the show premieres.
Fortunately, it appears that Adam Rowland, Stephanie Panozzo, and Emily Weir are continuing to film, so Remi, Eden, and Mackenzie will continue to appear on television long after 2024 and survive their near-death experiences.
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.
Mahesh Jadu, an actor from Perth who previously portrayed Ahmad in the Netflix series Marco Polo and Dr. Doug Harris, a recurrent character on Neighbours between 2010 and 2011, is thought to be playing the character as of yet unidentified.
Many members of the cast and staff of Home and Away, including Juliet Godwin, Jacqui Purvis, and Stephanie Panozzo, follow Mahesh on social media.
Although Bree and Remi were seen getting back together in the season finale and Bree conquered her fear of motorcycles by venturing outside of Summer Bay, the cause for their breakup remains a mystery.
So Remi had to tell Bree that he would not be going with her if she moved out of Australia to work for Doctors Without Borders. Will their differences about moving abroad lead to their breakup?
We would like to thank Danielle Stevens of the Home and Away Spoilers and Info Facebook group for the images.
Xander and Dana get together
Bree and her new man aren’t the only surprise new coupling in 2024.
After pictures of Tane (Ethan Browne) sitting next to the Matheson sisters at a formal event filmed earlier this year, fans initially thought that the newly single Tane would hook up with Dana (Ally Harris) next year. However, new pictures reveal that Dana and Xander (Luke Van Os) will end up together.
Pictures obtained at Palm Beach in mid-November by fan Danielle Stevens showed Luke and Ally filming a scene where Xander walks up to Dana and sits next to her before they kiss.
Hopefully this relationship will go better than Xander’s previous attempts at love.
He dated guest star Stacey (Maleeka Gasbarri) for a short while earlier this year, but their relationship ended badly because of Stacey’s desire for a polyamorous relationship, which culminated with Rose (Kirsty Marillier) discovering Stacey cheating on her brother in a steamy 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.
Fortunately, it appears that John is finally back where he belongs in 2024. New images from Palm Beach indicate that John is still employed at the club and can be seen cruising the beach in his reliable Can-Am.
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.
Ally Harris was spotted in moments where she dashed into John’s beloved Can-Am, which had its lights flashing, in photos and videos that fan Michelle Matthews captured in early November while she was dressed in her lifesaver outfit.
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.
"Let's put all the actors up in a winery " They said.
— Shane Withington. (@ripperriver) November 16, 2023
"What could go wrong "? They said…
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 (Jacqui Purvis) and Tane took up mantle in both 2022 and 2023, in 2024 it’s the turn of Leah (Ada Nicodemou) and Justin (James Stewart).
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 was having trouble falling asleep since she was having nightmares about their experience at the warehouse and Justin’s subsequent hospital stay.
She eventually called off the wedding completely, informing Justin that she didn’t want to marry him and never would. Initially, she had requested that they postpone the wedding until she was in a better mood.
Leah couldn’t sleep for several weeks, and after hearing Justin talking on the phone at the garage, she started to feel paranoid. She thought Justin was part of the Vita Nova cult and was trying to harm 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.
Leah was previously married to Vinnie Patterson (Ryan Kwanten) in 2001, Dan Baker (Tim Campbell) in 2005, and Charlie Clausen (Zac MacGuire) in 2015. This will be Leah’s fourth wedding. Additionally, she was engaged to Elijah Johnson in 2010 and Ted Simos in 2000.
It also looks like some of Leah and Justin’s closest friends and family will be back to celebrate their big day with them…
Fans of the show recently spotted Penny McNamee, who played Tori Morgan on the show from 2016 to 2021, at Palm Beach.
Enthusiast Joy When Oliver had the good fortune to meet Penny, she informed her that Tori, her character, would return to television “in a few weeks,” sparking rumours that she would be attending her brother’s wedding to Leah.
One of the scenes filmed saw Tori talking with Justin as they walked up to Eden (Stephanie Panozzo) and Remi (Adam Rowland).
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.
Though he’s had plenty of other activities to occupy his time lately, Justin Morgan will finally begin his community service obligation next year after being sentenced to it for punching Conor (Tom Dawson), a surfer who unintentionally gave his daughter Ava (Annabel Wolfe) a lift. When Justin was hurt trying to defend Andrew (Joshua Hewson) from Vita Nova back in May, it was originally put on pause, but it’s unclear if his punishment has since begun. But Justin revealed this week that even though he had finished his anger management course, he still had community service hours to fulfil.
A video from the September Celebtime Home and Away Tour featured Justin picking up trash in the Summer Bay parkland while Rose kept an eye on him.
Rose appears to be having another unpleasant session with the blonde ponytailed woman, who doesn’t seem to be taking the assignment seriously and seems to have taken an unscheduled break.
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?
“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.
Shane Withington, meanwhile, showed off some of the set pieces on his Instagram account.
A picture posted by a passing bike enthusiast has also given a better sense of the scale of the occasion.
The event is expected to air very early into the 2024 season.
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 in 2024.
