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List of Home and Away characters introduced in 2023
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Home and Away is an Australian television soap opera. It was first broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. The following is a list of characters that appear in 2023, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the soap's executive producer, Lucy Addario. The 36th season of Home and Away began airing from 9 January 2023.[1] Mali Hudson made his debut in the same week. His sister Elandra was introduced in February. Kahu Parata arrived in April. Sisters Harper Matheson and Dana Matheson made their first appearances in August. Levi Fowler made his debut in November.
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Mali Hudson
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Mali Hudson, played by Kyle Shilling, made his first appearance on 11 January 2023.[2] The character and Shilling's casting details were announced on 5 December 2022.[1] Home and Away marks his first television role.[1] Shilling is from the Wiyabal clan of the Bundjalung people. He hoped his casting would serve as inspiration to other Aboriginal viewers, like himself when he was younger.[3] He stated: "If I had seen someone like me on a popular TV show when I was a kid, I would have been more driven as a young person to want to better myself and explore acting. As Indigenous people, we are always categorised as athletes; there was never any other avenue I thought I could go down. When you feel like you’re stereotyped your whole life, that has a huge effect. Looking back on my 10-year-old self, if I had seen someone like Mali Hudson on such a big series, I would have wanted to be him."[3] Upon winning the role, Shilling was told that the writers and producers wanted to work his character around what he did in his audition and who he was.[2] His character and storylines were developed alongside an Aboriginal script consultant, who also helped with the creative decisions for Mali and his introduction.[1]
Shilling described Mali as being "fun, he's cheeky, he cares for his family".[2] It was also teased that Mali has a connection to an established character,[3] which was later confirmed to be Dean Thompson (Patrick O'Connor). The pair are old friends and Shilling commented "You see their friendship blossom again after reconnecting on screen, it's a great story."[2] In his first scenes, it is established that Mali is a surfboard shaper, who helps design and build the surfboards for Dean's shop.[4] Dean introduces Mali to his partner Ziggy Astoni (Sophie Dillman) and John Palmer (Shane Withington), who invites Mali to join the surf lifesaver team. Dean and Ziggy later realise that Mali has "a specific reason" for visiting the Bay, but he keeps it to himself.[4]
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Elandra Hudson
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Elandra Hudson, played by Rarriwuy Hick, made her first appearance on 28 February 2023.[5] Hick confirmed her casting on her social media on 26 February, writing "The cat's out the bag. Guess who's visiting Summer Bay."[6] Details about her character and storyline were revealed in the 4–10 March 2023 issue of TV Week.[5] Elandra is the sister of Mali Hudson (Kyle Shilling), who was introduced in January. The siblings are reunited when Elandra pays him a visit in Summer Bay, where he has recently moved to. She initially accuses him of moving to the Bay for "a fling" after catching him with Rose Delaney (Kirsty Marillier), who she then invites out to lunch.[5] It emerges that Mali did not tell his family about his move and they want him to come home. However, Rose makes Elandra see what Mali brings to the town and opens up about her feelings for him. After "a heart-to-heart" with Mali, Elandra realises that the Bay is a fresh start for her brother.[5]
Elandra comes to Summer Bay to see her brother Mali, but interrupts him and Rose Delaney, who has spent the night with him. She asks Mali why he moved away without telling the family, before letting him show her around town. She accepts his decision to stay in the Bay, but says that he will have to tell their mother soon. Elandra later tells Mali to get back together with Rose when they break up. She also calls Rose to say that her brother should never have broken up with her. Elandra joins Mali when he introduces Rose to their mother, Victoria Hudson (Ursula Yovich). When Victoria takes Rose off to talk alone, Elandra tells Mali that she is angry with him. Over lunch, Victoria asks Rose what she does for a living and upon learning Rose is a police officer, Victoria wants to leave and tells Malo that his father would be ashamed of him. Elandra advises Mali to talk to their mother, while explaining to Rose that their brother has been in trouble with the police before, which has led to racial profiling of the whole family. She takes her mother home, after Victoria invites Rose to meet the rest of the family one day.
Mali and Elandra's brother Iluka Hudson (Dion Williams) comes to stay with Mali, after stealing money from the Allen gang. Mali contacts Elandra, after Iluka is forced to leave with the Allens. When she arrives, she tells him the Allen's place has gone dark, while he says that Nat Allen (Claire Lovering) was cold when Levi Fowler (Tristan Gorey) was stabbed. Mali wonders what they will do to Iluka. Elandra helps him tidy the house until Theo Poulos (Matt Evans) brings an injured Iluka home. Elandra thanks Theo and tells him that they will take care of Iluka, however, when he starts coughing up blood, Elandra gets Mali to call an ambulance. The pair tell Bree Cameron (Juliet Godwin) that Iluka fell down the stairs, but she figures out that he was attacked. Bree later tells them that Iluka has some internal bleeding, but he should be fine. Elandra overhears Mali arranging to meet the Allens to finish things, and she tries to talk him out of it. Elandra tells Iluka that Mali is not happy with him and that he told her about the money. Iluka warns her that Nat has changed and they need to stay far away from that family. Elandra calls Rose, who, along with her colleagues, break up the fight between Mali and the Allen brothers. When Mali turns up at the hospital, he tells Elandra that she was the only one who knew where he was going, but she counters that she was not going to lose him and only cares that her brothers are alive. She adds that she does not trust what Mali is going to do next.
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Kahu Parata
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Kahu Parata, played by Jordi Webber, made his first appearance on 13 April 2023. Webber's casting was confirmed shortly before his first appearance.[7] His character was introduced as a cousin of Tane Parata (Ethan Browne), whose on-screen family had all departed the series.[8] After turning up unexpectedly in Summer Bay Kahu is invited to stay with Tane and his new wife Felicity Newman (Jacqui Purvis), who was hoping their honeymoon period would last longer. However, she welcomes Kahu after seeing how much his presence pleases Tane.[8] In an interview with Tamara Cullen of TV Week, Webber stated "Tane and Kahu have always been close. As soon as they catch up again, they click and jive right where they left off."[8] Kahu later asks for a job at Tane's gym, leaving Felicity to wonder how long he is planning to stay. Purvis said that her character likes Kahu, but she is still in the honeymoon phase and does not want anyone to take Tane away from her. Tane eventually offers Kahu a temporary job at the gym, before learning Kahu has no qualifications as a trainer, which could jeopardise his business.[8] Describing his character, Webber said "Kahu hasn't quite learned the value of honesty, working hard and trust. He has a carefree attitude. He's this cheeky, fun, mischief, surfie, rolling stone who comes into town and brings the music."[8] He found it fun to play out his character's "'no care' attitude".[8] Cullen commented that Kahu could prove to be a "loose cannon" and wondered what his real reason for coming to the Bay was.[8]
Kahu surprises his cousin Tane and his wife Felicity with an unannounced visit to the Bay. He admits that he needs a break and catching up with Tane in New Zealand made him realise how much he missed him. Tane invites Kahu to stay with him and Felicity, interrupting her plans for a romantic evening. In the morning, Kahu tells the couple that he plans to spend the day with Tane, but when Tane says that he needs to find a new trainer for the gym, Kahu offers to take the job.
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Harper Matheson
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Harper Matheson,[9] played by Jessica Redmayne, made her first appearance on 10 August 2023.[10] Redmayne's casting details were announced along with that of Ally Harris', who plays Harper's younger sister Dana Matheson on 2 August 2023.[11] The pair were billed as having a connection to an established resident of Summer Bay and will be involved in "a mysterious storyline."[11] Redmayne relocated to Sydney from Melbourne for the role and stated "Everyone was extraordinarily warm and welcoming. And I'm very fortunate to enter a really great company of people because it is really easy to come to work every day."[10] She described her character as being "very protective" of Dana and willing to go "above and beyond" to protect her. She also said Harper was "quite empathetic, and very set in her ways. I think Harper is the kind of rigid sister and Dana's the more fluid, lives-life-on-the-edge sister."[10]
Harper arrived in Summer Bay in August of 2023 and responded to Irene Roberts (Lynne McGranger) advertisement for a room to rent. Harper introduced herself as a social worker on leave, presenting herself as friendly and professional.[12] However, her behavior quickly raised suspicions—especially with John Palmer (Shane Withington), who noticed her avoiding the police and reported his concerns to Senior Constable Cash Newman (Nicholas Cartwright). Cash looked into her only to discover that he already knew Harper prior to her arrival in Summer Bay as they worked together professionally on cases.[12] However, Harper had an ulterior motive for her arrival in Summer Bay: her sister Dana was on the run, accused of stealing drugs after a stash taken from the hospital where she worked was discovered in the apartment she shared with her boyfriend, Olly.[13] This link to Cash was soon revealed as the main reason for Harper's arrival as Harper asked Cash to investigate the matter — but withheld a key detail: Dana was thought to be on the run but Harper already knew Dana's whereabouts, having secretly hidden her in her room at Irene’s house.[13] Detective Madden (Jonny Pasvolsky) was introduced as the lead officer on Dana’s case.[14] He appeared irritated by Cash’s probing questions, which challenged his authority, and hinted at ulterior motives by making a secretive call requesting information on Cash.[14] Later, Madden confronted Cash about his personal connection to Harper, which had not been disclosed during his defence of Dana. He accused Cash of favouritism and warned him to back off, saying: “Let me put Matheson away before you get yourself in some real trouble.”[14] The situation escalated when Cash discovered Harper hiding Dana at Irene’s house, potentially implicating him further.[14] It was later confirmed that Detective Madden was corrupt and he later kidnapped Dana and had his associate Detective Fletcher (James Biasetto) inject Dana with a syringe in the attempt to kill her. Madden gave instruction to Fletcher to set up Dana's apparent death to appear as a suicide.[15] However, Dana manages to knock Fletcher out and place a call on his phone to Harper. At the assistance of Rose Delaney (Kirsty Marillier), Harper and Cash manage to track down Dana's location as they trace the location of the call.[16] Dana recovers in Northern Districts Hospital and manages to wake up after being treated by Bree Cameron (Juliet Godwin). However, Rose warns Harper that she, Cash and Irene could face potential charges for their involvement in Dana's case as they were harboring a fugitive and essentially an accessory to the case.[16] Harper also faced tension with Cash's girlfriend Eden Fowler (Stephanie Panozzo) after Cash was suspended from work for rule-breaking and Harper reveals she has lost her own job during her absence from work as her boss disliked her already prior to her taking leave. Harper was then arrested and charged with hindering a police investigation and was forced to spend a night in lock-up with Irene before seeing the magistrate the next day.[17] Harper and Irene both plead guilty to their charges and it was there that they were released pending sentencing. Harper's lawyer revealed to her that Irene had prior convictions to her name and Harper was advised to distance herself from Irene.[17] However, Harper refused and instead suggested that both she and Dana look for employment in Summer Bay in order to support Irene. However, Irene actually asked the two sisters to move out of the Beach House, due to Dana, but Harper chose to stand by Irene. On their own persistence, both Harper and Dana attended Irene's court case and it was then that all charges against Irene were dropped as well as Harper's own charges, much to the relief of everybody.[18]
In November 2023, following the end of Harper’s struggles with the law, writers established a friendship between Harper and local gym owner Tane Parata (Ethan Browne).[19] Harper, being left unemployed, starts to fill her time with gym sessions at Summer Bay Fit. It is there that she befriends Tane and became a sounding board for him as his marriage to Felicity Newman (Jacqui Purvis) began to break down. Harper ends up finding employment at Northern District Health and continues her training sessions with Tane. However, Felicity wants nothing more than a reconciliation with Tane but she takes notice of Tane and Harper growing closer and tells Harper to “back off.”[19] To which Harper rebuts but later regrets. Harper considers placing some distance between herself and Felicity before Felicity apologises to her. Harper and Tane continue their friendship and after Tane confronts Felicity and confirms to her that their marriage is over, Tane is feeling happy in himself.[20] Tane debriefs his conversation with Felicity to Harper the next day during a training session. However, Tane misreads Harper’s friendship towards him and kisses her. Harper immediately pulls away from Tane and leaves the training session abruptly. Tane manages to catch up to Harper and she tells Tane that it is best if they keep their distance from one another.[20] Harper tells Dana about the situation to which she only finds amusement but Harper is adamant that she will not be another rebound for Tane. After speaking to Cash, Tane agrees that it is best if Harper and himself keep their distance.[21] Tane apologizes to Harper and passes on details of another personal trainer to her as a solution to their problems.[21] However, the two decide to go back to being friends after Harper approaches Tane on the beach after seeing him finish up a bootcamp class. Harper tells Tane that she wants their friendship to continue and the two decide to agree to act as if nothing had ever happened between them. Felicity later overhears that Tane kissed Harper in a conversation between Harper and Dana.[22] Harper approaches Tane to warn him about this. Tane and Felicity later come face-to-face and they approach the subject of Tane's kiss. Felicity surprises Tane by reaffirming that their marriage is over and that she could not care about his kiss with Harper. However, Tane's surprise at Felicity's maturity regarding the situation leads to them having a moment of passion and they end up sleeping together.[22] After this, Tane takes of to New Zealand and is unsure of when he will be back. Later, Harper learns that her ex-fiancé, Tony, is after welcoming a baby with his new partner.[23] This leaves Harper feeling deflated and as a result Dana sets Harper up on a date with Xander Delaney (Luke Van Os). Dana has Xander arrive at their home ready to take Harper on a date to the 'Moonlight at Salt' event that is taking place that night at Salt.[24] Harper and Xander make for an exciting couple at Salt, however, the next morning they decide separately that they only like each other as friends and are better off being friends.[24] Harper then finds herself signing up to a dating app and, at the advice of Tane, embarks upon an unfortunate date with a guy named Derek. Harper says that she quickly realizes that Derek is only interested in using Harper to make his ex-girlfriend jealous. After blowing off Derek's invite back to his place, Harper instead decides she’d prefer to be with Tane and have pizza.[25] After learning that Dana actually liked Xander, Harper encourages her to pursue him and the two eventually build a committed relationship together.[25]
In 2024, writers rejuvenated Tane’s need to become a father. A need that the character has had since his inception into the serial and later the reason that caused his marriage with Felicity Newman to break down. In February 2024, a new story arc was created for Tane and was central to his wants of becoming a father. Tane found an abandoned baby on the beach and took her to Northern Districts Hospital where Dr. Bree Cameron gave the baby a medical exam and contacted child services in order to begin a search for her parents.[26] As a result, Harper played a key role in the storyline through her profession of being a social worker at Northern District Health. Tane begins to bond with the baby and after a while he gives her the name Maia. Tane's behavior sparks concern amongst his friends Mackenzie Booth (Emily Weir) and Mali Hudson (Kyle Shilling), as well as Harper.[26] News soon travels throughout Summer Bay and a showcase of mixed reactions from the locals are soon unveiled as the town learns of the abandoned baby and Tane’s close affiliation with the case. However, the storyline also prompts an exploration into the backstory of Harper and Dana and their childhoods.[26] The two sisters become divided over their perspectives on Maia’s situation. Dana takes a rather harsher approach to the idea of Maia becoming reunited with her mother whilst Harper’s view is based upon her own history in social work as well as having a professional association with the specific case of Maia and the search for her mother. Later scenes, consisting of the two sisters discussing the issue again, see Dana describing their parents as "too irresponsible" and revealed that both parents of Harper and Dana were drug addicts.[26] Dana also lashes out at Harper in these scenes by criticising Harper's approach to her profession as a social worker. Dana is seen discussing the issue with Xander Delaney where she tells him that her and Harper’s parents “weren't really equipped to have children."[26] After bonding with Maia and after pursuing the idea of becoming a foster father to her, Tane is upset to learn that he is unable to become a foster father as he is not an official Australian citizen.[27] A media frenzy begins to form surrounding the issue of Maia and a news article regarding Tane’s continued association with the baby is published. Harper shows the article to Tane and tells him that it was Dana who provided information on Tane after being tricked by the journalist who wrote it.[27] A formal complaint is later made against Tane by the journalist which forces Rose Delaney to take out an AVO on Tane.[28] The complaint also results in only health and social care staff having access to Maia. Harper later advises Roo Stewart (Georgie Parker) over becoming a foster parent to Maia after she was approached by Tane who had the idea in mind. Tane is devastated to learn that a temporary foster mother has been put in place to take Maia.[28] Harper attempts to reassure Tane that Maia is in great hands with her new-found foster family. However, Tane lashes out at Harper after she refuses to reveal the identity of the foster family to Tane. This leads to Tane entering the hospital, with the assistance of Dana, and kidnapping Maia. When Harper learns that it was Dana who gave Tane access to Maia, she blasts Dana for doing so.[28] After Maia is kidnapped by Tane, her birth mother Sonia Rickard (Olivia Beadsley) comes forward and a police manhunt is launched in order to find Tane. He later hands himself into the police. Tane is handed a court date and is informed that he could be facing serious prison time for his actions.[29] During this time, in the lead up to Tane’s sentencing, he and Harper grow closer and Tane is quick to “lean in” towards his friendship with her as she offers him “comfort and support.” The two later have sex in Summer Bay Fit, the night before his sentencing.[29] After managing to avoid jail time, Tane has to attend a training and counselling course in Sydney, as part of his punishment.[29] This leaves Harper to contemplate her feelings for Tane after their night of passion on the eve of his sentencing.[30] After returning from Sydney, Tane sets up a youth programme for Summer Bay and avails of Harper’s help in establishing it. Initially, Harper is reluctant to become involved due to her feelings for Tane but she later sees how Tane would be reliant on her in order to set up the programme.[30] The programme is a youth offenders rehabilitation programme that takes place at the gym. One youth who was selected by Harper is Perri Hayes (Cantona Stewart). Tane and Harper develop a strong relationship with Perri as he grapples to survive in his current homelife given the abuse that he endures at the hands of his father. During this time, Harper is quick to befriend Bronte Langford (Stefanie Caccamo), who is apparently battling a serious autoimmune disease, after Irene invites her to board with herself, Harper and Dana at the Beach House.[31] Harper brushes off Dana’s concerns and scepticism regarding Bronte’s actions in Summer Bay and instead focuses on her role in Tane’s youth programme. Weeks later, it is revealed that Bronte was a con-artist and Irene suffers immense guilt following the arrest of Bronte and finds herself deeply embarrassed after choosing to believe what Bronte said to her when she called Irene “gullible.” This ordeal causes Irene to relapse in her alcoholism and is eventually admitted to rehab, leaving Harper and Dana to live by themselves in the Beach House for several months until Irene returns to Summer Bay in 2025.[32]
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Dana Matheson
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Dana Matheson,[9] played by Ally Harris, made her first appearance on 10 August 2023.[10] Harris' casting details were announced along with Jessica Redmayne's, who plays Dana's older sister Harper Matheson on 2 August 2023.[11] The siblings have a connection to an established character and will be involved in "a mysterious storyline" following their arrival.[11] Harris relocated to Sydney from Perth for filming and she was grateful to do it alongside Redmayne, who also had to relocate.[10] Harris knew the cast a little and admitted that she had previously auditioned for some of their roles. She told Georgie Kearney of 7Life that she knew Juliet Godwin (Bree Cameron) "slightly" as they both came from Perth and attended the same school.[10] She found the cast and crew to be very welcoming and recalled being told that they were like a family during her callback for the role, which she found to be true.[10] Describing her character, Harris thought Dana was the opposite of her more "rigid" sister. She explained "Dana is definitely a little bit more idealistic and maybe more of a romantic kind of thinker than Harper is."[10] She believed that their clashes stemmed from their differing values and "ways of approaching a situation."[10]
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Levi Fowler
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Levi Fowler, played by Tristan Gorey, made his first appearance on 7 November 2023.[33] The character and Gorey's casting details were announced on 29 October 2023.[34] When Gorey learned about the audition, he became "attached" to the character immediately and sent in a self-tape, before undergoing a chemistry test. After he won the role, Gorey relocated to Sydney from Perth for filming.[33] He stated "I think Sydney is where I need to be right now. And I'm loving every minute of it."[33] Gorey later commented that he was "ecstatic" to join Home and Away.[35]
Levi is a Cardiothoracic surgeon, who has only recently qualified. He comes to Summer Bay to help save "a Home and Away favourite".[34] Gorey later explained that his character is involved in a lengthy "really high-stakes storyline" that he believed would have viewers "gripped".[33] Gorey described his character as "a driven, headstrong individual who believes hard work pays off."[36] Levi loves his job and enjoys the opportunity to test himself.[36] Gorey also said "Levi is a very passionate individual, who goes above and beyond for his patients."[35] Upon his arrival, Levi introduces himself to Bree Cameron (Juliet Godwin), who is assured by his confidence. Dana Matheson (Ally Harris) "sings his praises" as he also saved her life.[36] Of the patient he is treating, Gorey said "The stakes are high, and if Levi can't figure out what the problem is, there may be serious consequences for one of Summer Bay's most-loved characters."[36] The character in question was revealed to be Mackenzie Booth (Emily Weir), who appears to have suffered a heart attack.[37] Tamara Cullen of TV Week reported that Levi has links to other characters in the Bay, which results in "an explosive showdown."[36] It later emerges that Levi is the brother of Eden Fowler (Stephanie Panozzo), from whom he has been estranged since their parents divorced, as Eden believes Levi took their father's side and abandoned the family.[38] When the siblings later come face-to-face, the subject of their father comes up and they argue, with Eden declaring that the meeting was a mistake.[38] For his portrayal of Levi, Gorey received a nomination for the Logie Award for Most Popular New Talent in 2024.[39]
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