A new Home and Away promo has given us our first look at the dramatic shooting which will take place in next week’s episodes, as it suggests that someone won’t make it.
“A stranger in the bay” is how the new promo begins, as it shows a blurred (and yet vaguely familiar) figure walking along the beach holding a large black carry case.
We then see panic outside the Surf Club as beachgoers race away from the sand, while club president Alf (Ray Meagher) screams out, “Get inside now you lot, go!”
“I need an ambulance and police to Summer Bay,” Alf tells the person on the other end of the 000 call, and a police car soon speeds up, stopping outside the club.
Officers in bulletproof vests then work to coordinate their investigation as they head off to opposite ends of the beach in search of the unknown attacker.
“But who won’t make it?” asks the promo’s voiceover, before flicking through shots of Mackenzie (Emily Weir), Cash (Nicholas Cartwright), Leah (Ada Nicodemou), Remi (Adam Rowland) and Dana (Ally Harris).
Felicity (Jacqui Purvis) is then heard on the phone to Tane (Ethan Browne), who is preparing for his day in court for the abduction of baby Maia.
“There’s been a shooting, and whoever’s done it hasn’t been found yet,” a panicked Felicity explains to her estranged husband.
At that moment, Tane spots the suspicious-looking figure walk past, still carrying his black carry case.
Tane shouts out and gives chase, as a panicked Felicity shouts down the phone, “Tane? Tane, what’s going on?”
While the promo makes out that it’s either Mackenzie, Cash, Leah, Remi, Dana or Tane who won’t survive next week’s dramatic scenes, there’s one name missing from that list – Stevie Marlow (Catherine Văn-Davies).
Actress Stevie spent months being tormented by a stalker, who went as far as to break into her house and take photos of her sleeping.
She employed Cash as her bodyguard and was moved to safer accommodation – first an anonymous hotel in the city, and later to Cash’s house in Summer Bay – to keep her location a secret from her stalker.
There had been concern about how far the stalker would go when Stevie later informed Cash that Crystal (Sheridan Harbridge), her co-star from her latest horror movie, had recently died after falling from a cliff.
Stevie was certain that Crystal would never have gone near a cliff edge, being afraid of heights, so was convinced that her friend must have been murdered.
Stevie eventually grew tired of hiding away and fired Cash, before attending the red carpet event announcing her new film, All Our Tomorrows.
Yet it wasn’t long before her stalker showed his face, waiting in the crowd for Stevie to come outside and sign autographs.
He went to lunge at Stevie with a knife, but Cash managed to chase him away, eventually capturing him and bringing him in.
Now unmasked as a man named Sidney (Joshua McElroy), the stalker is behind bars and awaiting trial. But is he about to be freed, giving him the chance to make a deadly move?
The man in the promo bears more than a passing resemblance to Sidney, and filming from last December appeared to confirm that Stevie would be fatally shot at some point this year.
Footage of filming, taken by fan Ingrid Rose Foster at Palm Beach, showed Nicholas Cartwright (Cash) running towards Catherine Văn-Davies (Stevie), before a director shouts “Bang!”, signalling for the actors and extras to react to the sound of a gun going off.
Stevie then collapsed in Cash’s arms before writhing on the ground, as the extras reacted in shock.
Video footage showed Nicholas Cartwright scream out, “She’s been shot, somebody call an ambulance,” as the beachgoer extras fled the beach in search of help.
Ingrid Rose Foster / Home and Away Spoilers and Gossip
Photos from a later date then emerged showing the filming of a wake, with a cardboard sign with ‘RIP Stevie’ written on it, appearing to confirm that the famous actress dies of her injuries.
Stevie’s wake is attended by at least Roo (Georgie Parker), Alf (Ray Meagher), John (Shane Withington) and Justin (James Stewart), with the star having made a good impression on the residents of Summer Bay in her short time in the town.
The dramatic scenes are expected to air on Australian screens next week.
