Home and Away‘s Harper Matheson will get a surprising idea on UK screens next week, as she worries ahead of speaking at Tane Parata’s upcoming court trial.
This week’s episodes see Harper and her sister Dana discover that they have both been subpoenaed to give evidence in the case against Tane, who is due to stand trial for kidnap after he fled Summer Bay with baby Maia/Poppy.
In scenes that will air in the UK next week, Harper and Dana talk about their unwanted subpoenas.
While Dana isn’t surprised to have been summoned, as it was her who sneaked Tane into the baby’s hospital room on the day he took her, she never expected her sister to be dragged into the mess.
But Harper’s main concern is Tane, and she quickly texts him asking if they can talk.
Meanwhile, Tane is working on his defence with lawyer Marshall, with the pair having sorted out their disagreement over Marshall’s fling with Felicity Newman.
Tane worries that, apart from the baby’s mother Sonia, they have no credible witnesses, but Marshall assures Tane that he’s won tougher cases than this before.
When Harper finally catches up with Tane, she breaks the news to him that she has to testify against him. While Tane knows that she has no choice in the matter, he suggests that they give each other some space.
But when he breaks the news to Marshall, the lawyer is pleased, explaining that he will now be able to cross-examine the pair and potentially twist their words to his and Tane’s advantage…
Meanwhile, Harper and Dana continue to battle their nerves over testifying at Tane’s trial. While police officer Rose Delaney makes it clear that she can’t talk about the case, Roo Stewart convinces her to have a talk with the sisters, pointing out that they’re on the same side.
After Rose admits to Harper and Dana that the DPP will be pursuing the maximum sentence against Tane, she calls in a favour from Cash Newman and tags him in.
Dana pleads with Cash to find a way to get her and Harper out of taking the stand, but he confirms that there’s no way they can avoid it.
However, he does mention to Harper that he once saw a case where a subpoenaed witness claimed that they had amnesia in an effort to avoid answering the court’s questions.
Cash apologises for not being able to help, but Harper reveals that he’s helped her more than he knows. As Harper contemplates Cash’s words, has he inspired a new tactic in her to manipulate the court?