Home and Away is set to welcome some new faces in the coming months, with one fan favourite rumoured to be saying goodbye.
With the show regularly filming at the public Palm Beach in Sydney’s north, fans often get a glimpse of what’s in store months before the action hits our screens – and that sometimes includes the arrival of new characters.
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?
New arrivals in Summer Bay
Abigail Fowler (Hailey Pinto)
While currently unconfirmed, it seems likely that new cast member Hailey Pinto is set to play Abigail Fowler, the as yet unseen sister of Eden (Stephanie Panozzo) and Levi Fowler (Tristan Gorey).
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.