Home and Away: Your ultimate catch up guide to all in Summer Bay

It’s week 5000 in lockdown and you’ve run out of shows … or have you? Home and Away is still going strong and we’ve got a superfan to catch you up on the storylines. Strap yourself in....

From Alf Stewart’s love life to why Marilyn is always pushing a pram, we’ve got the goss on what your favourite Home and Away characters have been getting up to since you last tuned in to Summer Bay.

Written by a proud superfan who has barely missed an episode in the past quarter century (that’s me!) our handy guide will allow you to dive right back in to watching old faithful.

The Alf we all know and love. Image courtesy of Channel 7.

ALF STEWART

If you think nothing has changed for Mr Stewart then you’d be a flamin’ galah.

Yes, he still runs the caravan park and bait shop.

And of course he is still president of the surf club, but struth there has been some strife.

Our Alf, played by actor Ray Meagher, temporarily lost his surf club presidency recently when the duplicitous Susie McAllister (played by McLeod’s Daughters star Bridie Carter) manipulated the recently separated John Palmer into challenging him.

Surprise! Alf’s first wife Martha is back from the dead.

Conwoman Susie did this so she could get her hands on the surf club coffers. John was vulnerable as he had just broken up with his wife Marilyn who has subsequently found herself living at the house at the caravan park with Alf.

When it was revealed Susie had conned the club, and half the town including Leah, out of their money, John begged Alf to take the reins again.

In addition to Maz, Alf has quite the squad living with him at the moment.

Chief among them is his first wife Martha – yes the same Martha who died more than 30 years ago.

Martha’s dramatic return from the dead occurred when Alf, thinking he was about to die after getting caught in an explosion at Summer Bay High, confessed to their daughter Ruth (known as Roo) that her mother had in fact faked her own drowning.

Alf thought he was a goner when he told Roo her mum was still alive.

Alf originally believed Martha had died but he’d known the truth for years.

After a short search, Roo found her mum and it wasn’t long before Alf and Martha renewed their vows.

Also living at the house with Alf is his grandson Ryder.

Alf never knew Ryder existed until the young fella turned up on the doorstep after having a fight with his mum Quinn.

Quinn is Alf’s daughter who he conceived with a US nurse during the Vietnam War.

Finally there’s Roo living at the house after mending the tumultuous relationship she had with her dad as a teenager.

Given Roo’s recently disastrous brush with romance it doesn’t seem like she’ll move out any time soon.

Ryder’s father, a musician he had never met, tracked him down when he had mere weeks left to live after being diagnosed with cancer.

To spare Ryder the pain of nursing his dad Evan (played by Cameron Daddo) as he died, Aunty Roo took over the task and fell in love in the process.

She’d barely had time to mourn Evan when … he came back from the dead too!

Just kidding, that would be silly.

Turns out Evan was adopted and he had a secret twin brother Owen who Roo also fell in love and then broke up with.

Marilyn has come a long way since she was married to Mr Fisher. Image courtesy of Channel 7

MARILYN CHAMBERS

As previously covered, our Maz, played by actor Emily Symons, has broken up with her husband John Palmer and is back living at the house at the caravan park.

John and Marilyn broke up because Marilyn asked the newly arrived Parata family to move in without consulting John.

After injuring himself in a workplace accident, Ari Parata ended up at the hospital at the same time as Marilyn who was coincidentally visiting the emergency department.

The pair got caught up in a siege and Ari saved the day. So when Marilyn discovered the Parata family was homeless, she overlooked their criminal histories and invited them to stay – to the alarm of John.

These days, Marilyn splits her time working at the Diner and acting as a nanny for baby Grace.

Leah and Marilyn both dote on baby Grace. Image courtesy of Channel 7

Grace’s mum is Dr Tori Morgan and she is able to pay Marilyn for her services out of the trust fund left by Grace’s biological dad Robbo.

Robbo and Tori were friends and so she asked him to be her sperm donor as she underwent IVF.

Unfortunately, Robbo’s past as a federal cop caught up with him and he was killed.

Marilyn and John’s foster son Jett served in Afghanistan where he was caught in an improvised explosive device blast and became wheelchair bound.

He lives in the city and Marilyn visits him regularly.

It seems Diner food agrees with our Leah. Image courtesy of Channel 7

LEAH PATTERSON

Leah lives at the Morgan house with her mechanic boyfriend Justin and his sister Dr Tori.

Justin and Leah, played by Ada Nicodemou, recently got fleeced out of their house deposit by John Palmer’s girlfriend Susie.

The strain of the loss of the money contributed to Justin becoming addicted to the pain medication he takes for a back injury.

Leah and Tori kicked him out due to his behaviour but have just agreed he can move home now he has admitted he has an addiction.

Leah’s son VJ, who she shares with late husband Vinnie, now lives in Greece with his daughter Luke.

Vinnie went to jail for his involvement in a financial scam and was originally thought to have died in a prison fire.

Leah and Vinnie, played by Ryan Kwanten, on their wedding day.

It turns out he was actually living in witness protection but eventually died for real in a farming accident.

VJ fled to Leah’s motherland of Greece with baby Luke after his girlfriend and Luke’s mum Billie died.

Luke’s biological father is actually the long lost son of Irene who was conceived when Irene’s uncle raped her as a teenager.

Repeat after us Justin. Do not argue with the Diner ladies. Image courtesy of Channel 7

He turned out to be a rapist too and as he was pursuing custody of Luke, Leah sent them to Greece to keep them safe.

Leah still co-owns the Diner with Irene.

Lynne McGranger as Irene Roberts in Home and Away. Image courtesy of Channel 7

IRENE ROBERTS

When she’s not at the Diner, Irene, played by Lynne McGranger, continues to take in wayward young ones in need of her guidance.

At the moment she lives with Jasmine (played by Sam Frost) who was the wife of Dr Tori’s sperm donor Robbo.

Poor Irene was recently traumatised after getting chloroformed by Susie McAlister as she made her escape from the Bay with everyone’s money.

Lord save us! It’s 90s Irene.

Irene’s grudge against Susie was well known and she became a suspect in Susie’s murder after the conwoman’s body turned up in the water.

In the end Susie’s murderer was revealed as Stephen – a man Leah met in an online scam watch group who had also been conned by Susie in the past.

HOW TO WATCH

Home and Away is proudly filmed in Sydney (hello Palm Beach!) and Dr Kerry says we all have to stay home right now. So binge watching it basically makes you a legend for both stopping the spread and supporting local actors.

Home and Away is on Channel 7 at 7pm Monday to Thursday and you can watch old episodes from right back to January 2020 on the 7Plus app.