“Home and Away” is in for a shock! Richie bids farewell to Summer Bay, and Beau unexpectedly turns his back on Harper. One decision will unleash a cascade of emotions and change the fate of these characters.

This week on Home and Away in Australia, Richie decides the time has come to leave Summer Bay, while Harper’s new boyfriend shows his jealous side as Tane returns.

Richie (Rocco Forrester-Sach) has been struggling to rebuild his life after losing his job with the police.

The former probationary constable recently faced the consequences of accidentally shooting boss David (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor), as he panicked during a police operation.

The incident left David fighting for his life in hospital, whilst Richie was forced to attend a conduct commission hearing to determine if he had any future in the force.

As Richie prepared for the hearing, girlfriend Abigail (Hailey Pinto) wanted to be there to support him, but Richie ended their relationship, believing his life was falling apart and wanting to keep her out of the fallout.

The commission ultimately decided to terminate Richie’s employment and revoke his gun licence, bringing his short-lived dream career to an abrupt end after only a matter of weeks.

Richie was devastated, and later admitted to Abby that he had no idea what to do next, after losing the one job he’d always wanted.

Continuing to be there for Richie despite their breakup, Abby has already encouraged him to think about security work as a possible option—something close enough to his old career that it might offer him a way forward.

“Abby is a kind-hearted person and was willing to stick by his side,” Rocco Forrester-Sach told TV Week.

“This kills Richie as he sees how much it’s hurting her to do so. He needs to screw his head back on, get his priorities straight and figure out the man he wants to be.”

“Anything can happen in Summer Bay,” Rocco continued. “But for Richie and Abby to ever come back together, Richie needs to do some thinking and reflecting on why everything went wrong.”

But next week, his plan quickly runs into trouble. Richie starts applying for jobs, only to discover that nobody wants to take him on without a reference.

That leaves Richie in a difficult position, given that the only person who would be able to provide that reference is the same person that he shot!

With his options quickly running out, Richie eventually makes a desperate plea to Cash (Nicholas Cartwright) instead, hoping he’ll agree to help.

Cash is stunned that he would even ask, and he doesn’t hold back as he gives him some brutal home truths—just like he didn’t think Richie was cut out to be a cop, he doesn’t believe that he’s suited to security work either.

It’s another crushing blow for Richie, who’s left feeling more hopeless than ever.

With Richie seeing no future for himself in Summer Bay, he reluctantly tells a devastated Abby that he’s leaving town.

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Elsewhere in Summer Bay, Harper (Jessica Redmayne) has recently been swept up in getting to know Beau (Blake Richardson), unaware that his connection to Sonny (Ryan Bown) is hiding a dark secret.

Whilst young son Archie has been away in New Zealand with dad Tane (Ethan Browne), Harper’s made the most of her extra time by spending most of it with Beau, all the while believing that the man she’s seeing works as a physio.

In reality, Beau is a dealer who has been secretly supplying Sonny with steroids, as he resorts to desperate measures to speed up his recovery.

Next week, Harper remains oblivious to Beau’s double life, and is still enjoying the early excitement of their romance.

“Harper has high hopes for this new love,” Jessica Redmayne told TV Week. “She takes Beau at face value.”

Keen to move things along, Beau has already planned a romantic escape for the two of them.

However, Harper’s priorities quickly change when she learns that Tane and Archie are on their way back to the bay.

After weeks away from from her little boy, Harper isn’t about to the miss the chance to spend some time with him, and turns down Beau’s getaway plans.

Beau doesn’t take the knockback well, and seeing Harper’s excitement over Archie’s return soon causes his charming demeanour to slip.

The following day, Tane arrives at the pier apartment with Archie, only to find a loved-up Harper with a shirtless Beau.

Harper quickly fills Tane in on the new man she’s been seeing, whilst Beau spends some time playing with Archie.

But Tane isn’t ready to take Beau at face value quite so easily. With a stranger suddenly spending time around Harper and their son, he soon enlists Cash to help him get a read on the situation.

Cash later pays Harper and Beau a visit, hoping to get a better sense of Harper’s new man. Afterwards, he reports back to Tane that everything seems above board, and that he’s satisfied Beau isn’t raising any obvious red flags.

But once Cash has gone, Beau’s charm disappears. Rather than brushing off the visit, he turns on Harper and accuses her of allowing him to be interrogated.

Will Harper start seeing the warning signs before it’s too late?