The lowdown on Summer Bay’s mysterious arrival.
Home and Away sets off a massive new storyline on UK screens this week when mysterious Heather Fraser arrives Summer Bay.
Heather is introduced as Roo Stewart’s latest tutoring student, but there’s much more to this new arrival than meets the eye.
Who is Heather and why is she so interested in Roo’s friend Marilyn Chambers? Here’s the lowdown, with major spoilers from recent Australian-pace episodes.
Heather’s first scenes
Heather makes her first appearance in Thursday night’s first-look episode on 5STAR (September 29), which is repeated in Channel 5’s usual daytime slot on Friday (September 30). (September 30).
After weeks of lacking direction in life, Roo Stewart has recently decided to offer a one-on-one tutoring service in the Bay. She made a good impression on her first student earlier this week, but the situation with her second is going to be rather more complicated…
New newcomer Heather begs Roo for help with putting together an application for law school.
When Roo mentions how demanding legal studies can be, Heather reveals that she has a personal motivation for wanting to become a lawyer.
Heather shares that she once had an affair with a married man while she was working as his housekeeper. She reveals that after giving birth, the man and his wife adopted the child and severed their relationship with her.
Roo is touched as Heather explains that she now wants to help other women who find themselves in similar positions.
But it becomes obvious that Marilyn hasn’t told Roo the real reason for why she arrived in the Bay when Heather spots her working at the Diner and stealthily takes a picture of her.
Who is Heather?
Recent episodes on air in Australia have revealed that Heather is Marilyn’s long-lost daughter.
It turns out that the tale Heather shared with Roo isn’t factual, but is inspired by Marilyn’s own former predicament.
In the 1990s, Marilyn was a housekeeper who had a relationship with her boss. She found out she was pregnant while they were dating.
The infant, Heather, was born in 1995, but Marilyn broke down when her lover and his wife pressed her to give the child up.
Future UK episodes will show Heather beginning to subtly torment the Summer Bay favourite now that she is fully aware that Marilyn is her mother.
Heather makes several comments about Marilyn somehow seeming familiar to her, which Marilyn dismisses for as long as she can.
Emily Symons, who plays Marilyn, recently acknowledged the newly-created backstory written in especially for this plot.
She told New Zealand website Stuff: “At first, I was like, ‘Wow, when would that have happened?’. But when you go through the timeline, it actually does make sense.
“As the layers come off, it becomes clear why she felt unable to share this information for the entirety of her adult life. In the end, this is a tale of shame and concealment.
What happens next?
The Heather story has been playing out on screen in Australia for the past few weeks – and viewers have quickly learned that she’s not to be trusted.
In the coming weeks, Marilyn is finally pushed to confront Heather after two concerning developments. Heather taunts Marilyn by leaving a picture of a baby on her doorstep, alongside the message: “Guess who?”
When Roo shares Heather’s supposed backstory with her friend, Marilyn realises that it’s her own heartbreaking past that’s being referenced.
Heather’s game-playing grows during the course of the novel, as she frequently tries to make difficulty for Marilyn. This prompts Marilyn’s friends to worry that she could have stopped taking her medication.
Marilyn ultimately acknowledges her connection to Heather in a private conversation with the newcomer, but she still insists on keeping it secret as she’s ashamed over her past.
Strap yourselves in for a bumpy ride… Heather continues to simmer with resentment and find new ways to annoy Marilyn because this isn’t good enough for her.
Who plays Heather?
Sofia Nolan is playing the role of Heather and is currently credited on screen as a guest cast member.
Sofia’s previous screen credits include parts in TV series Drop Dead Weird and RFDS.
