Home and Away Spoilers – John Palmer in a wheelchair and a lovechild for Dean?
Major Spoilers for Australia & UK: With filming still on a break amidst the current global situation, here we take another look at some of the storylines that we can expect to see on Home and Away in the coming months, and some of the new and intriguing titbits we’ve learned since our last spoiler roundup!
The spoilers are presented roughly in chronological order, so you’ll find the latest news and speculation for episodes further into the season towards the end of the article.
What’s happened to John?
It’s been a rough year so far for John Palmer (Shane Withington) and Marilyn Chambers (Emily Symons), who have seen their marriage almost reach breaking point following their bust-up over the Paratas.
There doesn’t appear to be any reprieve on the horizon though, as John is set to face another medical crisis in the coming month or two!
Paparazzi photos taken in November show that John will be in a wheelchair in upcoming episodes.
In one of the scenes filmed, John is wheeled by Dr Tori Morgan (Penny McNamee) to a park bench, where Marilyn is waiting with a picnic lunch for the three of them.
John has a pillow under his arm propping up the right side of his body, with Marilyn and Tori assisting John as he struggles to get out of the chair and take a seat on the bench.
Further photos from a month later show John joining a celebratory lunch outside the surf club (more on that below), with John using a walking stick as he moves from his wheelchair to the table a short distance away. Ben (Rohan Nichol) and Maggie (Kestie Morassi) assist him.
Although we can only speculate, the most obvious conclusion to reach would be that John could have a stroke of some form.
Viewers will recall that John previously battled a brain tumour in 2016/2017, after suffering a subdural haematoma following an accident earlier in the year. Could this be related to that?
We won’t have to wait too long to find out, with these scenes now a matter of weeks away.
Ryder’s dad arrives?
It’s been teased for a long time now, but the coming weeks will finally see the introduction of a new character played by Cameron Daddo.
Cameron’s character was first seen in promos aired over the Christmas break advertising the new season, where he is seen approaching Summer Bay House with a guitar and announcing to an unseen character that “I’m your dad.”
Although any details of the character have yet to be revealed by Seven, we can be pretty confident that he is the father of Ryder Jackson (Lukas Radovich).
Shortly after Ryder’s arrival in Summer Bay, his mother Quinn (Lara Cox) explained that Ryder’s father was a musician who she had met whilst working on a cruise ship. He had wished to settle on the Gold Coast, eventually leaving Quinn to bring Ryder up on her own.
A scene filmed early on, which was seen by fans on the Official Home and Away Tour, saw the character about to board a bus just as Ryder pulled up in his car, seemingly pleading with him not to leave.
Photo thanks to @officialhomeandawaytour
Since then, Cameron has been seen on numerous cast Instagram posts where he is often pictured alongside members of the Stewart family.
Cameron began filming in October and is still working on the show, having been amongst cast who posted photos of virtual rehearsals that were being run before production closed down temporarily at the end of March.
Though with Lukas Radovich now approaching the end of his third year on the show, having begun filming in May 2017, we can’t help but wonder whether the arrival of Ryder’s dad could eventually lead to a new beginning for Ryder himself….!
Watch this space!
Are Ben and Maggie leaving?
As we mentioned in our article revealing the impending arrival of Marco Astoni, there is speculation that Ben (Rohan Nichol) and Maggie (Kestie Morassi) could be set to depart Summer Bay.
Before the production temporarily shut down in March, neither Rohan or Kestie had been seen filming at Palm Beach since mid-December.
Whilst this was not unusual in itself, the location scenes filmed on that day saw a large number of cast members filming what looked to be a celebratory luncheon.
Alf, John, Marilyn, Leah, Justin, Dean and Ziggy all joined Ben and Maggie for the occasion outside the surf club. Paparazzi photos appeared to show Alf standing up to give a speech and make a toast in the direction of Ben and Maggie, before Ben himself stood up to saw a few words.
Whilst again this only amounts to speculation, we’ve also seen other pictures which add weight to the theory.
On the same day, a further scene was filmed along Ocean Road in Palm Beach, which saw Ben and Maggie in their car driving past the “You are leaving Summer Bay” sign—a prop which is often only brought out for arrival and farewell scenes.
Australian viewers are currently seeing Ben and Maggie’s marriage hit a crisis following the arrival of Marco, and the revelation that Maggie had slept with Marco before marrying Ben. This in turn has led to Ziggy’s paternity being brought into question.
The Astoni family arrived in the bay in June 2017
Could this storyline be the catalyst for Ben and Maggie to depart Summer Bay within the next few months…?
Angelo Rosetta returns
©Seven/Channel 5
The return of Luke Jacobz as Angelo Rosetta was well-advertised when he commenced filming in February, though the circumstances surrounding his return remain a mystery.
The police sergeant turned restauranter departed the bay in 2011, for a new life in the city with girlfriend Nicole Franklin and her baby George.
Angelo, Nicole and baby George departed the bay in June 2011
Now back on the police force after being forced to resign in 2010, the sharp suit may indicate that Angelo has moved up the ranks to detective.
Being Summer Bay, it’s of no surprise that Angelo is rumoured to be investigating a crime, but could it involve one of our favourites? After all, Summer Bay’s own local copper committed murder last year…
Another obvious question has been that of his relationship status.
Paparazzi photos of Luke filming his first scenes have in fact shown that Angelo is wearing a wedding ring, so could he have tied the knot with Nicole?
There’s been no sign of Tessa James returning to play Nicole however, so whether she has remained in the city with George whilst Angelo moves away for a few months, or whether they’ve since separated, remains to be seen.
Could there be another potential romantic interest to add to the equation?
Actress Annabelle Stephenson has been seen filming at Palm Beach in scenes alongside Luke, fuelling speculation that the characters could be linked somehow.
Annabelle Stephenson ©Unicorn Productions
However further scenes have also been filmed which saw her character being rather friendly with Colby Thorne (Tim Franklin), so the jury is still out on that one….!
Ava Returns
Slightly further down the line, we’ll be seeing a return for Justin’s daughter Ava Gilbert, played by Alice Roberts.
Ava was last seen on-screen back in October, where she was sent to stay with Justin whilst her mother Nina and stepfather Brian were going through a messy divorce.
Although Ava will no doubt be excited to see her little cousin Grace, and Aunt Tori who was in hospital during her last visit, there will no doubt be a tinge of sadness following the death of Ava’s uncle Mason.
Scenes filmed in March see Ava once again playing football with Leah and Justin near the surf club, as well as Ava having a heart to heart with Leah whilst sitting near the Pier Diner.
Does Dean have a love child?
There’s speculation doing the rounds that Dean Thompson (Patrick O’Connor) may have a secret love child.
A fan, who was present during filming at Palm Beach in March, has posted photos claiming to show Dean meeting a son, rumoured to be named Jai, that he never knew he had.
The mother of the child, claimed to be named Amber, is played by Upper Middle Bogan and Wentworth actress Madeleine Jevic.
Madeleine Jevic ©Linsten Management
If true, the sudden responsibility thrust on Dean to be a father will no doubt come as a bit of a culture shock for the River Boy.
Having grown up in Mangrove River with no steady father figure in his life, Dean didn’t learn the identity of his dad—Rick Booth—until a couple of years back. And we all know how that went! With this in mind, it will be interesting to see how Dean chooses to step up to the role… if at all.
There’s also the question on how this will affect his romance with girlfriend Ziggy—if Dean is able to form a relationship with his son, will Ziggy be able to handle one of Dean’s ex-girlfriends (if they got that far) becoming a frequent fixture in their lives?
Will Dean perhaps give in to temptation with one of his ex-lovers?
And why has she only shown up now to reveal all to Dean…?
Though it’s wholly dependent on the scheduling of future episodes in the current situation, we estimate these scenes to be airing around August.
For weekly spoilers for Australian episodes, be sure to check out our Upcoming Episodes page.
If you’re in the UK, you can check here to see what’s coming up in the next few weeks.