In recent months, some new arrivals have been spotted on set, while one popular character has been conspicuous by their absence, fuelling rumours that they’re set to depart the show later this year.

Get ready to welcome Abigail, Jimmy, Perri, a new bad boy and a baby bump to Summer Bay, and are we about to say goodbye to Felicity?

As reported last week, we saw Hailey filming during what we believe to have been Cash (Nicholas Cartwright) and Eden’s engagement party back in March, though we weren’t able to confirm either her connection or character name.

We did see Hailey’s character interacting a lot with Eden, and in the weeks since she has also been seen filming further scenes with both Eden and Levi.

A glimpse of a script, posted publicly on social media by a crew member, has since revealed that Eden and Levi were sharing a scene with a character named Abigail.

Until last year, Eden’s backstory had been relatively unknown, other than the fact that she grew up in a funeral home. When we met Levi in November, it was only then that we learned that Eden had been estranged from him ever since their father had an affair whilst they were in their teens.

Eden and Levi’s father had moved out of the family home, and Levi going to live with him was seen by Eden as him taking sides. As a result she had not spoken to her brother for around 15 years.

There have only been passing references to Levi and Eden having another sister however, with nothing yet known about the third and final Fowler sibling until now.

With the engagement scenes expected to air around August-September, Hailey Pinto’s character should be arriving on screens in the next three months.

James “Jimmy” Fowler (Aaron Jeffery)

It would appear that Abigail isn’t the only member of the Fowler clan to arrive in the coming months, with actor Aaron Jeffery due to make an appearance later this year.

Known for his roles in Water Rats, McLeod’s Daughters and Wentworth—and more recently seen alongside Toni Collette in Netflix drama Pieces of Her—the 53 year old Kiwi actor’s résumé has recently been updated to include an upcoming guest role on Home and Away as James “Jimmy” Fowler.

Given the name and the age range, it’s not too much of a leap to speculate that Jimmy could be Eden, Levi and Abigail’s father.

After his affair was revealed, their dad moved out of the family home to be with the woman who Levi claims he’d fallen in love with. Whilst Levi has even more of an understanding now, since the breakup of his own marriage to Imogen (Georgia Blizzard), Eden has not been able to look past the fact that her father’s departure had broken her mother’s heart.

Eden and Levi are both still in regular contact with their as yet unnamed and unseen mother, but as far as we know Eden hasn’t set eyes on her father since the day he left the family home when she was 15.

Whilst talking about her upbringing in the funeral home, Eden had explained that her family were hoping she would take on the business, but it was certainly not part of her career plan.

Levi’s relationship with his father remains a good one, and whilst it’s feasible that we will see Levi visit him at his home, how will Eden react if her father comes to Summer Bay?

Claudia Salini (Rachael Carpani)

Aaron Jeffery isn’t the only McLeod’s Daughters alumni heading to the bay, with actor Rachael Carpani’s résumé listing her as appearing as a character named Claudia Salini.

Rachael played Jodi Fountain over eight seasons of the Nine Network series, and was nominated for a Gold Logie for the role in 2007. More recently she has featured in Seven comedy drama 800 Words and the Ben Affleck movie The Way Back.

Aaron Jeffery and Rachael Carpani both appeared in McLeod’s Daughters. Nine Network

No further information is currently known about the character of Claudia, or whether it’s a one-off appearance.

Before rising to prominence in McLeod’s Daughters in 2001, Rachael had a small role in Home and Away as Miranda, one of the diner waitresses. She had also previously appeared as an uncredited extra, including as a member of Saul Bennett’s commune in 1997.

A new ‘bad boy’ (Joshua Orpin)

Australia’s Daily Telegraph reported earlier this year that Joshua Orpin, who is best known for playing Conner Kent (aka Superboy) in the second series of DC Comics’ Titans, has joined the show and will make his debut appearance later this year.

Character details are being kept under wraps for now, but the publication has revealed that he will be “a bit of a bad boy.”

“I can say he is a bit of a bad boy who comes into the show and stirs up some trouble among the Summer Bay locals,” Joshua told the Daily Telegraph. “He is seemingly one thing on the surface but he has a great depth to him that I’ve had a lot of fun exploring.”

Summer Bay has been without a permanent ‘bad boy’ since the departure of Dean Thompson (Patrick O’Connor) last year. Dean arrived in the bay in February 2018 as the newest member of the River Boys, the Mangrove River gang formed by Darryl ‘Brax’ Braxton (Steve Peacocke).

The gang were a major part of Home and Away‘s storylines for a number of years, starting with Brax’s arrival in Summer Bay back in 2011.

Intriguingly, the publicity photo for Joshua’s character bears more than a passing resemblance to the one used for Dean’s debut.

Coincidence, or a subtle clue from the Home and Away production team that we’re about to welcome a new River Boy to Summer Bay?

The Daily Telegraph reveals that Melbourne-born Orpin was keen to take the role as it helped cure his homesickness. The actor was in the US during Covid, and revealed that he was unable to return to his home country even between acting gigs.

“One of the reasons I was keen to do this gig was because of that, I have worked internationally and I have been quite homesick, especially over Covid where I wasn’t able to come back to Australia even when I wasn’t working,” Orpin explained.

“I was really keen to get stuck into some Aussie stuff… I really wanted to get stuck into some Aussie shows, film and TV and this came along and I thought it was the perfect opportunity.”

Fan photos taken at Palm Beach earlier this year showed an actor who appeared to be Joshua Orpin filming with Jacqui Purvis, with the two appearing to hold hands.