John has good reason to be wary of Irene’s new roommate Harper on the UK’s Home and Away, but will anyone pay attention to him next week?
Next week, new lodger Harper Matheson (Jessica Redmayne) gives Irene (Lynne McGranger) the much-needed company in the Beach House.
Since Cash (Nicholas Cartwright) moved out a year ago, Irene has been rattling around her house, and since the house has been a swarm of activity throughout her 29 years of ownership, the loneliness has been getting to her.
She was thrilled when her good friend John Palmer (Shane Withington) moved in for a while while he recovered from his most recent hospital stint, even though Marilyn (Emily Symons) had some trouble poking her beak in. But now that things are back to normal, Irene has decided to take action and has posted an advertisement in the cafe for one of the available rooms for rent.
John is eager to find out next week whether anyone has accepted Irene’s offer, even though it’s not immediately clear why.
John introduces himself right away, and Irene affirms that she was the one who put up the poster when Harper later enters the café and inquires about the advertisement.
As fortune would have it, Irene is going to end her shift, so she says Harper can wait a little while and they can walk home together so she can give Harper the tour. Considering that Irene is a complete stranger, John asks her gently if it’s a good idea, but Irene doesn’t see any problems. Still, John’s neighbourhood watch nose is starting to twitch!
Harper says at the Beach House that she is presently on leave from her position as a social worker and is unsure of when she will return.
Irene assures Harper that they won’t interfere with one another because she spends the majority of her day at work. Harper thinks the downstairs bedroom is ideal once Irene shows it to her.
Harper accepts Irene’s offer of a one-month trial stay, provided her referees check out. Suddenly, they hear a crash from the back verandah.
Irene rushes out the kitchen door and discovers John has picked up one of her flowerpots that she unintentionally knocked off the table.
John tries to pretend that he had come over because he was feeling like playing Scrabble, but Irene turns on him after Harper leaves—you were spying!
John ignores that small detail in favour of asking Irene about Harper’s background; nonetheless, he is taken aback when she reveals that Harper intends to move in.
He says, “Irene, you’re inviting a stranger into your home.”
“My decision, John,” she responds. “Not mine!”
When John spots Harper at the coffee cart the following morning, he questions her. He’s still doubtful and tells Irene that there’s something about Harper that he doesn’t trust.
Later, as Irene begins ringing around the referee list that Harper has left for her, she is furious to discover that John has already gotten there before her since he quickly snapped a picture of the list when he saw it on the diner counter!
Although John acknowledges that nothing improper was stated about Harper, Irene is more interested in urging John to shut chatting about her right now.
Only after Harper is granted the all-clear to move in do we discover that maybe John’s gut feelings weren’t wrong, as she makes sure the bedroom window opens all the way. John knows he’s onto something when he later sees Harper picking up a takeout in Salt and notices that she is dodging some police officers who are walking in.
When John runs to the Beach House to notify Irene, he discovers that Harper has already beaten him there after discovering that she has moved in.
Irene doesn’t pay attention to John’s worries as he leads her to the diner; the referees have checked out, so it’s time to move on.
Later, knowing that Harper’s response to seeing a police officer will validate what he told Irene, John tries to explain his hypothesis to Cash (Nicholas Cartwright) instead.
So imagine John’s surprise when Harper rushes up to embrace Cash tightly! John is forced to eat humble pie, much to Irene’s amusement.
Harper and Cash have occasionally collaborated in the city, and it soon becomes clear that she is actually visiting Summer Bay to ask Cash for a favour.
Harper tells them in private that her sister Dana is wanted by the police for drug possession, and she is currently on the run.
Harper, however, insists that Olly, her lover, has thrown Harper under the bus by telling the authorities that nurse Dana took the medications from her place of employment.
Cash is informed by Harper that she does not know Dana’s whereabouts and believes she will return only in the event that her innocence is established. Here’s where Cash steps in—Harper is aware that he’s a wonderful person who will work even harder to uncover the truth!
Irene prepares dinner for her new roommate that evening, feeling satisfied that she has seemingly shown John incorrect. Harper says he’s full and declines seconds, offering to clean up so Irene may get a good night’s sleep.
Harper, on the other hand, takes the leftover food into her room and opens the window after Irene has left. and Dana (Ally Harris) ascends.
As Dana spends the night with Harper, it seems that John was correct after all—apparently Irene is unwittingly housing a wanted man!
Jessica Redmayne and Ally Harris, who will be playing Harper and Dana, respectively, will be returning to Sydney from Melbourne and Perth in order to play regular parts in the series.
Jessica told 7Life, “Harper is very protective of her little sister.” “She loves and adores her little sister so much that she will stop at nothing to keep her safe.”
She went on, “I think Dana’s the more flexible, lives-life-on-the-edge sister and Harper is the kind of rigid sister. She’s quite empathetic and very set in her ways.”
Ally concurred, saying, “They are opposite to one another.” Dana’s thinking differs slightly from Harper’s in that she is perhaps a little more romantic and idealistic. They seem to have different approaches to situations and differing values, which is why I believe they frequently kind of conflict.”
In another part of Summer Bay, Rose (Kirsty Marillier) is searching for her father. For Rose, who was never aware of her true father, seeing Mali’s (Kyle Shilling) mother Vicky (Ursula Yovich) and discovering all about her boyfriend’s background has reopened old scars.
Her own mixed-race ancestry has always eluded her, despite the fact that she was content to have half-brother Xander’s (Luke Van Os) father as a dad.
Rose did not provide any additional information during her recent conversation to her mother Yvette in the city. When Rose was growing up, it was always upsetting to hear remarks about how different she was from Xander. For this reason, Yvette has always refused to discuss Rose’s biological father and still does.
When she confides in Cash and admits to him that she doesn’t even know her father’s name, Cash reminds her that she works as a police officer, so why not handle the investigation like any other? Rose is aware that her mother left university to give birth to her, so why not begin by searching for old school pictures?
Xander finds it difficult to comprehend Rose’s need to revisit the past and is upset that she is doing it under their mother’s back. Xander gets into a heated argument with Salt and tells Rose that if she doesn’t tell Yvette what she’s up to, he will.
Rose is upset and tells Mali that she has to know where she fits in. Xander tells Mackenzie (Emily Weir) that Rose seems to be attempting to take the position of their father. Mali must persuade Xander that he must assist his sister in her quest to learn more about her background.
Rose quickly discovers a picture of her mother from the University’s online photo library, where she was a member of the theatre club, when she eventually starts her investigation. Rose observes when looking at the pictures that there seems to be just one black man in the group, and that man happens to be Samuel Edwards, the university lecturer who is in charge of the club.
To Mali, she declares, “I think he could be my father.”
Is Rose’s biological father truly out there somewhere already?
