First look at new Home and Away character in latest promo
A new Home and Away promo which aired after Thursday’s triple bill in Australia gives us our first look at new character Rachel Young, who’s set to disrupt Christian and Tori’s wedding plans.
Thursday’s bumper 3 episodes saw Christian Green (Ditch Davey) further distracted as his wedding day grows nearer.
Recent Australian episodes have seen him embrace a new lust for life after his near-death experience at the hands of Lewis Hayes (Luke Arnold). Tori has been increasingly dismayed to find her fiancé skinny dipping, escaping for lone drives, and getting thoroughly distracted while they should be putting the last minute touches to their wedding plans.
At the end of Thursday’s episode, we saw the doctor speed through the country roads in his Audi. A bright sign for ‘Blue Bird Skydiving’ caught his attention as he drove, causing him to suddenly stop, spin around, and detour into into Royal Gatsfield Airfield.
It’s presumably just another adventure the newly transformed neurosurgeon wants to tick off his bucket list, but it’s one which is set to have a huge impact on his wedding plans.
The promo gives us our first glimpse of Marny Kennedy as Rachel ©Jody Pachniuk
Christian and Tori are due to leave for Victoria early next week, ready to celebrate their big day alongside their friends and family at Brody’s restaurant.
As we saw in a recent promo which hinted that Christian was set to break Tori’s heart, we’re set to see Christian tell his fiancée, “I can’t leave now,” leaving her worried that their wedding won’t go ahead as planned.
We predicted that it was unlikely he’d had a complete change of heart on their wedding, and the brand new promo gives us an explanation as to his out of character actions.
In next week’s episodes, Tori begins to worry when she gets a call from the suit hire place.
Christian was meant to have left that morning to pick up his suit – the last thing to tick off the list before their big day – but as the promo shows, she’s confused as she announces, “that was the suit hire place, Christian hasn’t arrived.”
Instead, he’s at the skydiving centre, stopping off for one final shot of adrenaline before he ties the knot. When on his way in, he bumps into a blonde, who’s just on her way out of the building and kitted out ready for her own skydive.
This is our first glimpse of Rachel Young, a brand new character played by 27-year old actress Marny Kennedy.
We’ve previously written about Rachel’s arrival, and we had suspected that she might get caught up in the impending explosion set to destroy Ryder (Lukas Radovich) and Chloe’s (Sam Barrett) Mexican food truck. Marny was spotted without her neck brace on the same day that the show’s cast members filmed the dramatic incident, suggesting that perhaps Rachel gained the neck injury as a result of the explosion.
However, fans have recently been speculating that Rachel is to be involved in a skydiving accident, and the new promo shows that they’re spot on.
As Christian heads into the skydiving centre building, we hear him ask to book a tandem jump.
However, before he has a chance to carry out his skydive, an urgent call comes through on the centre’s radio. “Base one jumper, crashed in drop zone delta. No movement, over.”
There has been a horrific accident, a bad landing in the latest tandem jump. It’s Rachel. With the neurosurgeon on hand, he and the centre staff rush to her side to find her in a bad way.
“She hit the ground hard, man,” explains her tandem instructor as she lies motionless on the floor.
When they get her to Northern Districts for an evaluation, Christian and Jasmine (Sam Frost) can’t believe what they see on her x-ray.
“This girl’s skull’s separated from the spine,” says Christian.
“It’s a miracle she’s still alive,” expresses Jasmine, stunned.
Christian feels an instant connection to his patient, who may have been in an even worse way if he hadn’t been at the centre at the right moment.
“Am I gonna die?” Rachel asks him.
Gripping her hand, Christian comforts her, telling her, “I promised that I’d look after you and I will.”
Tori can only look on at her fiancé and his new patient, as she wonders what Rachel’s hospitalisation means for her wedding.
Yesterday’s promo, which we wrote about here, shows the pair discuss their upcoming nuptials in the corridor of the emergency department. “I know we’re supposed to be on the road,” Christian begins, before Tori interrupts him with, “Yeah, to get married!”
“But I can’t leave now!”
“What?!” She looks on devastated as he walks away.
She knows Christian needs to be there for her patient, but in her heart she’s desperate for her husband to come with her to Victoria to get married.
She’s set for an emotional time as she faces her wedding being delayed. Will Christian let another surgeon deal with Rachel’s case, and go off to get married?
The bond between doctor and patient looks set to grow over the coming weeks. We first learnt of Marny’s arrival on Home and Away back in January, when she was seen filming with Ditch Davey at Palm Beach, the real life home of Summer Bay.
Paparazzi photos showed pair walking along the sand, with Marny wearing a halo brace around her neck as she held onto Ditch’s arm for support. While we initially suspected she gained the severe neck injuries as part of the food truck explosion, we now have a definitive answer.
Speaking to Australia’s Daily Telegraph, Marny recently gave a big hint as to how her character arrived in the bay. She explained: “Rachel lands in Home and Away in quite a different way. It is not your normal entry into Summer Bay, it is a bit of a crash land.”
We should have guessed!
As to what Rachel’s arrival means for Tori and Christian, we’ll just have to wait and see.
Here’s the full spoilers for next week’s Home and Away episodes in Australia:
Monday 24th May (Episode 7566)
The battle between Ryder, Chloe and Mac intensifies. Christian finds his meaning. Jasmine starts her new role with a shock discovery.
Tuesday 25th May (Episode 7567)
Leah makes a grim discovery. Alf isn’t himself. Christian can’t give Tori the answers she needs.
Wednesday 26th May (Episode 7568)
Ziggy’s in Justin’s firing line. Tane offers to help Alf. Leah’s relationship slips away.
Thursday 27th May (Episodes 7569-7571)
Nikau learns of the darker side to modelling. John receives a message from the past. Ziggy’s employment woes heighten.
Nikau slips into bad habits. Bella’s opportunity with Emmett fades. Roo focuses her energy on her dad.
Nikau is pushing hard to look his best. Will Christian give Tori the answers she needs? Dean gets Emmett to do what’s right for Bella.