A blast from the past threatens to destroy everything they’ve built.
Backed against the wall with no way out, Tane makes the ultimate plea to save himself from prison this week on Home and Away. And doing so brings him face-to-face with Brax and Ricky in outback Western Australia.
It’s a reunion 10 years in the making for Home and Away fans, who last saw the couple in 2016 as they bid farewell to Summer Bay for a better future.
Their life now is indeed peaceful: Brax (Stephen Peacocke) and Ricky (Bonnie Sveen) work on a cattle ranch in Western Australia – an outback existence that’s a far cry from the dramas of being a River Boy. Baby Casey is now 10 years old.
“For all his faults, Brax is always about his family and that has shifted now from his brothers to Ricky and Casey,” Stephen tells TV WEEK. “He’s matured and is very protective of Casey and the life that they’ve got. He’s keeping Casey out of any kind of life that he grew up with, and he’s proud that he’s doing that.”
But one phone call could upend everything they’ve worked so hard for…
Tane’s (Ethan Browne) fate is up in the air this week when his attorney quits. He wants Tane to plead guilty and settle, even if he didn’t commit the crime. Meanwhile, Kerrie (Sara Wiseman), who planted the drugs in Archie’s cot to frame Tane, is nowhere to be found and Cash (Nicholas Cartwright) is under the watchful eye of Sergeant Langham (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor).
“It all happens so fast,” Ethan says of Tane’s struggle. “He doesn’t want his son to grow up with him in prison.”
Tane is ready to accept his fate, until Mack (Emily Weir) suggests he goes on the run, even roping in her brother, former River Boy Dean (Patrick O’Connor), to make the call to Brax.
“If he takes off now, he can hopefully be with him in the future,” Ethan says. “He thinks he’s doing what’s best for his son.”
Back in Western Australia, Brax and Ricky are faced with an impossible decision: take Tane in and face risking the life they’ve built. Or decline and let him accept his fate.
Reflecting on returning to the show that made them household names after a decade away was a real trip for Stephen and Bonnie, who tell us they jumped at the opportunity to reprise their beloved characters.
“I was made aware that it had been a decade away, so when it came up, I really wanted to do it,” Stephen says. “And it was on a remote cattle station and an hour away from a world-class reef, that was a sweetener [laughs]. I knew the audience will enjoy it and I don’t take that for granted.”
Adds Bonnie, “It was a bit surreal [to come back]. I feel like I’ve stepped back in time. Nothing has changed and everything has changed at the same time. I’m really happy to be bringing Ricky back and to keep growing with her. I feel like I can throw a lot of my own experiences into the mix. And Steve is wonderful to work with.”
As for the conundrum facing Brax, his portrayer teases that the enormity of Tane’s request isn’t lost on him.
“He’s risking a lot to open the door to that world again,” Stephen says. “So when the old life comes calling, which it does, we’ve got to see whether he’s going to help out, because there’s an option that he can turn his back on it.”
He may not be a River Boy anymore, but will he really turn his back on someone in need?
