Home and Away set for major shake-up with departing stars and new characters

Home and Away often has a revolving door when it comes to the cast. Sure, the iconic characters like Alf Stewart (Ray Meagher), Roo Stewart (Georgie Parker) and Marilyn Chambers (Emily Symons) aren’t going anywhere, but the younger cast don’t tend to stick around for long.

Most new cast members are offered a three-year contract on arrival, and then it’s up to the actor and producers to decide if they want to extend once that’s over. So, it makes sense that fresh faces are constantly popping up in Summer Bay.

The show films approximately five to six months in advance, so some fans have noticed certain cast members have been absent from filming. Back to the Bay - a website dedicated to Home and Away news - has also shared a list of all the new arrivals and departing stars, so let’s break it down.

New characters coming to Home and Away

Abigail Fowler (Hailey Pinto)

It’s rumoured that new character Abigail Fowler, played by Hailey Pinto, is the sister of Eden Fowler (Stephanie Panozzo) and Levi Fowler (Tristan Gorey). She was seen by fans filming recently during what appeared to be an engagement celebration for Eden and Cash Newman (Nicholas Cartwright).

Abigail is followed by the show's publicist and actors Emily Weir, Luke Van Os, Nicholas Cartwright and Stephanie Panozzo on Instagram.

Back to the Bay reports that Hailey’s character has been seen filming scenes with Eden and Levi. A crew member also shared a snap of a script which showed a scene between Eden, Levi and Abigail.

The Fowler siblings have referenced a mystery sister in passing before, so it will be interesting to see what her character is like.

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James ‘Jimmy’ Fowler (Aaron Jeffery)

Popular Kiwi actor Aaron Jeffery has recently updated his acting CV to include the role of James ‘Jimmy’ Fowler on Home and Away.

He’s an experienced actor, with roles in McLeod’s Daughters, Wentworth and Water Rats under his belt. Aaron is a guest star on Home and Away, so it’s unclear how long he’ll be on the show, but rumour has it that he’ll be playing Eden, Levi and Abigail’s father.

Claudia Salini (Rachael Carpani)

Rachael Carpani has previously appeared on Home and Away as Miranda, a diner waitress in 2001. Enough time has passed – and she’s had plenty of other roles since, including Jodi Fountain on McLeod’s Daughters – so she’s able to head back to Summer Bay as Claudia Salini.

The character’s name was shared on her acting CV, but it doesn’t say if she will be a main cast member or a guest star.

Summer Bay bad boy (Joshua Orpin)

We still don’t know the name of Joshua Orpin’s character, but the newcomer is possibly part of the notorious River Boys gang. Daily Telegraph revealed that Joshua will be playing “a bit of a bad boy”.

“[He] stirs up some trouble among the Summer Bay locals,” Joshua told the publication. “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.”

Perri (Actor TBC)

This final character is almost a complete mystery. Back to the Bay reported they viewed “several audition videos posted publicly online for the character earlier this year”.

Sides used for the audition may not be actual scenes from the show, but they depicted Perri as a “former juvenile offender who is seeking self-defence classes from [an] unnamed character in the scene”.

The audition scene also revealed that Perri was about to turn 18, so it sounds like there’s another troubled teen storyline heading our way.

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Characters leaving Home and Away

Felicity Newman (Jacqui Purvis)

Yahoo Lifestyle recently reported on the rumours that Felicity Newman is skipping the bay, which still seems extremely likely. The star hasn’t been spotted filming on set lately, with a security guard telling fans she has gone overseas.

“I know someone went to Palm Beach today and was told that she’s overseas and not sure if [she’s] coming back, indicating that she’s leaving [or] left the show and no longer filming,” a fan said earlier this month.

“Her contract was up, and we don’t know if she was offered another one. She probably didn’t want to sign another one as she’s been doing other films.”

James Stewart (Justin Morgan)

For those fully invested in Justin Morgan’s relationship with Leah Patterson (Ada Nicodemou) – don’t stress! It appears Justin is only temporarily being written out of the show so the actor can compete on Dancing With The Stars.

A TV WEEK spoiler reads: “Justin heads to Hollywood – As another actor is rushed off set with an emergency, Nelson desperately needs to fill a small role with specific measurements. On the brink of giving up, Nelson notices that Justin has the perfect build and pleads with him to step in.”

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