We take a look at the new faces set to arrive on Home and Away later this year, as well as those who’ll be leaving Summer Bay in 2023.
Get ready to welcome Tegan, Mercedes, Harper, Dana and Forrest to Summer Bay.
Home and Away sees a regular cycle of departures and new characters as contracts end, storylines evolve and actors move on to other things.
Since the start of 2022, we’ve seen a large number of fan favourites leave Summer Bay. Dean and Ziggy were the two most recent departures, but we’ve also said goodbye to Ari, Mia, Chloe, Ryder, Bella, Nikau, Jasmine and Logan.
Of course, we’ve also had a number of new arrivals to take their place.
Xander, Rose, Kirby, Eden, Remi, Bree and Mali joined the permanent cast, and we’ve seen a number of prolific guests including Kahu, Heather, Tex and Gary.
When it comes to arrivals and departures, 2023 is no different.
While for once there are no major departures on the horizon (that we know of!), one character is set to take a break and a popular new arrival is only sticking around for a few months, but there are a few new arrivals to keep Summer Bay’s housing market afloat.
Saying goodbye
A break for Roo
Georgie Parker announced earlier this year that she was taking a short break from Home and Away.
Speaking to Yahoo Lifestyle back in March, Georgie stated that she would be appearing in the David Williamson play Rhinestone Rex and Miss Monica at the Ensemble Theatre in Kirribilli.
Georgie’s break from filming was said to last around seven weeks, with the play itself running from 11th-29th April. So whilst Georgie is likely to be back on set now, the gap between filming and transmission means that we won’t see Roo take her leave of Summer Bay until approximately July/August.
“I’m lucky that with Home and Away or any other TV productions I’ve been involved with, I’ve been very fortunate that I kind of put it out there — if it’s going to be long term, that I need time out for plays,” she explained.
“Channel Seven has always been very generous with letting me do that and ask for [time off]. I just get it written into my contract.”
Georgie added that with the show tending to revolve around younger cast members, it didn’t present too much difficulty for the writers: “It doesn’t break any storylines in half if I take time out to go, so I’m lucky in that way.”
With a fair way to go, the reason for Roo’s break is of course still under wraps. Recent episodes have seen Roo involving herself with Marilyn’s (Emily Symons) battle against shoddy skincare company Stunning Organics, which appears to turn dangerous next week when Marilyn starts to fear for her safety.
There’s also the possibility that private tutor Roo could become involved with troubled teen Andrew (Joshua Hewson)—who’s been revealed to have been taken away as a youngster by his doomsday prep cult member father—after offering to help Leah determine his literacy levels.
Could one of these stories be providing the foundation for a dramatic Roo exit later down the line, or will she simply go to visit mum Martha (Belinda Giblin) in Merimbula…?
Goodbye to Andrew?
We reported on the casting of Andrew just before his Australian debut last month, and whilst some questions have been raised as to the likelihood of Justin (James Stewart) taking Andrew into his care (following his recent conviction), the opening weeks of Andrew’s story has proved very popular so far with members of our forum.
“Andrew, I’m liking the story so far, he is playing his part well, love it,” member Lord Asquith stated, whilst JackWilkins had high praise for the emerging talent of Joshua Hewson: “You, Sir, are an immense credit to your profession. I mean really. Extraordinary.”
Although we already know that Andrew will still be around for some time yet—a script visible in an Instagram story posted by Ada Nicodemou shows the character will still appear in episodes set to air around July—it appears that Joshua has already filmed his final scenes.
Utilising some pics from our article, and notably talking in the past tense, Joshua posted a story on Instagram last week thanking those who led him to be offered the opportunity.
@theofficialjoshuahewson on Instagram
“It was wonderful working with everyone in this show and seeing how it operates, it’s given me a lot of acting experience,” Joshua said. “I would like to say thanks to everyone that has help me reach this mark in my career. Can’t wait to see what comes next.”
Andrew will make his debut on UK screens in mid-June.
New arrivals
The shots of both a call sheet and a script page in Ada’s story also revealed four new characters set to appear in the coming months, though there’s no confirmation of whether they’re guests or regulars.
Keep reading to learn all about them – or subscribe to our newsletter below to be the first to know more.
