Home and Away returns to Australia on 1 February

Home and Away will return to Australian screens on Monday 1 February, as its summer break comes to an end.

The show returns exactly 9 weeks after the final episode of 2020, which saw Colby face a life or death situation in prison, Martha and Alf rocked by the arrival of Martha’s son Kieran, and Jasmine reunite with an old flame.

The show takes an annual summer break in Australia each year, as Seven devotes much of its early evening schedule to Big Bash League cricket. It takes a shorter break over the festive period in the UK, where it was off air from Friday 20th November and returned on Monday 4th January, meaning it was off UK screens for a little over 6 weeks.

The final episodes of 2020 received a mixed reaction when they aired down under in November, with some fans wondering whether scheduling issues had meant the show ended earlier than planned. The season finale lacked some of the drama and excitement of previous years, and appeared to be simply setting the scene for major storylines yet to come.

It also didn’t feature the Paratas’ armed robbery, which was widely expected to play a major part in the final episode. As such, we’re expecting some big episodes in the first few weeks of 2021, as we see how the Paratas’ robbery goes down, witness the return of Heath Braxton, and find out whether Colby survives in prison.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJs86IeH-sb/

Seven confirmed the return date by updating their 2021 season promos, three different versions of which are now airing. The updated promos now show ‘Starts Feb 1‘ at the bottom left, where they used to simply say ‘New in 2021’.

A third version of the new promo for the new season of Home and Away has started airing in Australia over the last few days. User @haaxtns_ posted it on Instagram, and you can view it in full above.

As with the first two promos for this season, it focuses heavily on the relationships, both old and new, which will dominate screens this year.

It starts off showing Ryder’s new love interest, played by Sam Barrett, who we believe to be an old friend of Nikau’s. We see the pair interacting at the Caravan Park, before frolicking together in the sea.

This new love interest will mark Ryder’s first relationship since Jade Lennox. That relationship ended very badly after she recorded a sex tape of the pair and uploaded it to the internet as revenge for him reporting her stealing from Salt. Hopefully he’ll have better luck this time.

The following scene shows Bella, Nikau, Ryder and the new girl all laughing and walking together outside the Parata house, putting an end to speculation that the return of this girl from Nikau’s past puts a major strain on his relationship with Bella.

The young couple are also seen kissing later in the trailer, giving us hope that they have a trouble-free relationship for much of the new year.

Leah and Justin also kiss outside the bait shop, in what’s likely to be a turbulent year for Justin as he continues to battle with health problems. Scenes filmed in the second half of 2020 saw him having to be rescued from the sea after getting into difficulty while surfing. Will his carcinoma continue to cause him trouble in the new year?

John also finds love with Susie McAllister (Bridie Carter), who joins the show as a real estate agent and strikes up an instant connection with Palmer.

Speaking not long after filming her first scenes, Bridie took to Instagram to say, “Very happy to be join the team/family on one of Australia’s longest running shows – Home and Away. Very, very grateful in these strange times to be invited into the family fold.”

We also see Ari (Rob Kipa-Williams) emerge from the sea with a mystery woman, who definitely doesn’t appear to be Mackenzie (Emily Weir)!

Tori (Penny McNamee) and Christian’s (Ditch Davey) whirlwind romance also continues to blossom in the new year. As we reported on back in August, the pair are set to get engaged early into 2021, and we’re expecting wedding bells later in the year.

It looks like Ziggy (Sophie Dillman) and Tane’s (Ethan Browne) feelings are set to grow, putting an end to any hopes of a reconciliation of Ziggy and Dean (Patrick O’Connor).

Jasmine (Sam Frost) and Lewis Hayes (Luke Arnold) are also seen pashing on the beach. Lewis is an old friend of Jasmine’s, and the two had a brief fling back in their university days. Both having lost their partners in recent years, they’re set to reignite their old flame.

The promo also teases the return of Willow (Sarah Roberts). She left Summer Bay in November after testifying against Colby, resulting in him being sentenced to 25 years in jail. It looks like she’s set to change her mind and come back to the bay early in the new year, and reignite her friendship with Amber.

How Bella (Courtney Miller) and Dean will react to her return is yet to be seen – but surely she’s unlikely to spend the whole year living in a town where her two closest friends hate her, so we’re expecting their feelings to soften at some point in 2021.

The promo also shows happy moments between Nikau and Ari; Ziggy dancing at the farmhouse; Tane serenading Ziggy; and Bella and Nikau looking very happy together. Is it all smiles and laughter in Summer Bay in 2021? Somehow we doubt it…

For even more on what’s coming up in 2021, read our full 2021 Spoilers article, as we dissect everything we know.

You can expect:

• A ghost from the past to cause trouble ?
• An engagement ?‍❤️‍?
• Romance for Ryder ?
• Some happiness for Dean! ?
• Multiple returnees ?
• Another health scare for Justin ?

Plus lots more! Read more…

Home and Away returns to Aussie screens at 7pm on Monday 1st February.