Home and Away Spoilers – Marilyn reveals her dark secret to Leah
Next week’s Home and Away in the UK sees Marilyn reveal a dark secret from her youth. As we’re taken back 27 years to the events of 1995, we examine whether the story’s latest developments fit with Marilyn’s existing history.
After this week’s shocking revelation that mysterious newcomer Heather Frazer (Sofia Nolan) was apparently Marilyn’s (Emily Symons) daughter, Marilyn begins to suspect as such herself, and reveals a secret to Leah (Ada Nicodemou) that she’s kept hidden for over 27 years.
When Heather first came to the bay, she explained to Roo that she had once worked as a housekeeper and had fallen pregnant to her employer.
Forced to give up the baby to her boss and his wife, Heather claimed that she was wishing to study law in order to help mothers who have become separated from their children.
However, when Roo told Marilyn of Heather’s story, it was clear that it hit a nerve – the story sounded a little too familiar.
The very next day, Marilyn found an envelope addressed to her on the doorstep which contained a baby photo with “Guess Who?” written on the back.
Marilyn immediately confronted Heather, asking about the story she’d told Roo as well as the baby photo. She got little answers, as Heather coldly told her that she’d have to work it out for herself.
When we later saw Heather open up a box of keepsakes with her birth certificate inside, we discovered that her birth mother was listed as Marilyn Chambers.
In the meantime, Roo and Leah (Ada Nicodemou) had decided to stage an intervention over Marilyn’s targetting of Heather. Marilyn attempted to show them the photo to prove that it’s actually the other way round, but she found the photo had disappeared from her handbag.
In next week’s episodes, Heather delights in continuing to taunt Marilyn, as everyone begins to suspect that her mental health is taking another bad turn. Marilyn has been on medication since her exposure to the chemical attack in the surf club left her with neurological issues.
After learning of Marilyn’s medical condition from Nikau (Kawakawa Fox-Reo), Heather had given Marilyn a phoney apology in front of Roo, and this week she patronisingly tells her that she can talk to her about her mental issues any time.
When Marilyn asks Heather how she even found out, Heather motions towards Roo, making a paranoid Marilyn believe that Roo’s been talking about her behind her back.
That evening, Marilyn has fallen asleep on the sofa when Heather decides to let herself in to Summer Bay House. She places the photo back in Marilyn’s hand and, seeing an opportunity, empties a bottle of wine and strategically places it on the coffee table.
The next morning, Roo is quick to observe that Marilyn obviously had a big night!
Later at the diner, Heather continues to mess with Marilyn, asking her whether she had a nice sleep. Leah checks on a clearly shaken Marilyn, who confides in her about the photo. Marilyn claims that she doesn’t know the identity of the baby, but she tells Leah that Heather is playing games with her.
Whilst Leah questions why Heather would do that, it’s clear to her that there’s more to the story than meets the eye, but she doesn’t get any further as Roo interrupts them and Marilyn clams up.
Following another run-in later on, where Heather she casually comments in front of Marilyn that anyone can have a baby and just give it out for adoption, Marilyn finally opens up to Leah.
She explains that back in the 90s, she was in the middle of travelling around Australia with a boyfriend when they split up.
Marilyn ended up working as a housekeeper on an isolated cattle station, where she grew close to her employer, Tim.
Feeling lonely, Marilyn leant on Tim and the two embarked on an affair. When Marilyn wound up pregnant, Tim told his wife and the pair agreed that Marilyn could stay with them until after the birth.
Marilyn goes on to explain that the two later pressured her to give up her baby girl, telling her they could give her a better life.
As Marilyn had nothing and no-one, she thought she was doing the right thing by leaving the baby, who she now believes to be Heather, in their care.
Marilyn tells Leah that she isn’t ready to talk about it with Heather, and begs her not to tell Roo or Alf (Ray Meagher), worrying that her best friends will never see her in the same way again!
Naturally, as long-term fans, we can’t help but look back at how stories like this fit into existing continuity…. but sadly, as is the case this time round, we can’t always say it works.
If we rewind to 1992, viewers will remember that Marilyn left Summer Bay to go and live with new fiance Phil Bryant (Vince Martin), and his daughter Toni (Kathryn Dufty), on his cattle station. They were married off-screen in September 1992.
Marilyn returned to Summer Bay on 5th June 1995, and was soon in tears revealing that Phil had been cheating on her.
It was clearly established that Marilyn had come straight back to the bay after she found out about the affair, and she continued to receive phone calls from Phil who was begging her to return.
She also stated how difficult the last few months had been on the farm for them both, as they struggled to keep the animals alive through a severe drought.
Here’s where the problem lies—Heather’s birth certificate states that she was born on 27th April 1995, which was only five weeks before Marilyn’s return to Summer Bay.
If the new continuity from the current episodes is to be believed, Marilyn would have had to have already split from Phil back in 1993/1994—if she was to have had time to find a new boyfriend, decide to travel around Australia with him, split up, and become pregnant to Tim by July 1994…
The choice of name is also curious, given that Heather was also the name of Marilyn’s own mother.
Whilst that wouldn’t be odd in itself, in Marilyn’s case it would be a very bizarre choice, given that she only met her parents, Heather and George Davidson (Lynn Rainbow & Doug Scroope) briefly in 1991, and was quick to see that they were horrible people.
Having dumped Marilyn in a children’s home when she was a baby, so they could travel with the carnival, Marilyn soon discovered that they were only interested in bludging off her and sent them packing.
Their final conversation?
Marilyn: You are awful! You’re just using me… I don’t owe you for anything! Why don’t you just get out, before I throw you out.
Heather: Let’s shove off, she’s not worth it.
George: After all the way we came to see you too, ungrateful little tart!
Whilst it’s never explicitly stated that Marilyn was the one that named her baby four years later—after all, the Frazers could have changed it to Heather after she left—Marilyn did state that Heather was one of her favourite names on meeting her a few weeks ago.
Here’s the full spoilers for next week’s Home and Away episodes in the UK:
Monday 17th October (Episode 7876)
Nikau is sleeping with a stranger. Marilyn has a midnight visitor. Rose refuses the praise she doesn’t deserve.
Tuesday 18th October (Episode 7877)
Rose gets more than Cash’s blessing. Marilyn confesses her most shameful secret.
Wednesday 19th October (Episode 7878)
Cash can’t escape his drunken mistake. Kirby and Theo pull off a publicity stunt. Has Rose lost her only friend?
Thursday 20th October (Episode 7879)
Remi and Eden miss destiny’s call. Is Ziggy ready to be a mum? Theo and Kirby are the internet’s hottest duo.
Friday 21st October (Episode 7880)
Marilyn gets framed for abuse. Will the star couple break Lyrik apart? Ziggy makes her decision.