Home and Away in Australia, Holden continues to try to get to know Lacey, but Mali begins to question his motives.

 This week on Home and Away in Australia, Holden continues to try to get to know Lacey, but Mali begins to question his motives.

We first met new character Holden Dwyer (Lach Millar) in last November’s season finale, when he and mate Isaac (Jordan Dulieu) joined the revellers at Yabbie Creek Train Station as they waited to board the party train to the Off the Rails music festival.

The festival was taking place in Broken Hill, some 1000km west of Summer Bay, and was where Eddie (Stephen Madsen) would be performing his first big gig.

As a number of our Summer Bay favourites prepared to board the train, flirty Isaac made a beeline for Mackenzie (Emily Weir), as he introduced himself and Holden, and explained that the pair were heading to the festival to watch his cousin perform.

Isaac continued his flirting on the train, until an amused Mackenzie revealed that not only did she have a successful heart surgeon as a boyfriend, but the pair were trying for a baby.

Isaac then tried his luck with Dana (Ally Harris), before moving on to Lacey, who abruptly told him where to get off.

Holden told his mate to cool off after Isaac reacted badly to Lacey’s rejection – and that was just one of Holden’s many encounters with Lacey on the train journey.

The pair first crossed paths when they both went for the last mimosa, and then later bumped into each other – quite literally – when the train jolted as they went to pass in one of the train’s narrow corridors.

As we returned to Summer Bay a couple of weeks ago, picking up in the aftermath of the dramatic crash which ended the 2025 season, Holden and Lacey met again outside the train, having both survived the accident.

With Lacey having only just escaped from the train, Holden asked her if she’d seen his friend, leaving Dana (Ally Harris) to reveal to Holden that Isaac had died in the crash.

Last week, Holden was surprised to bump into Lacey at Northern Districts Hospital, as Lacey arrived to pay Jo (Maddison Brown) a visit.

The pair ended up taking a walk back to Summer Bay, and ask they meandered through the parkland, Holden expressed how he couldn’t understand how Isaac had perished while he just got to walk away.

When Holden explained that Isaac “had all these big plans, places he wanted to visit,” it reminded Lacey of Theo (Matt Evans), who died last year.

For those who need a reminder, Theo died last year after being hit by Councillor Wendell (Justin Smith), after Lacey had ambushed the councillor and revealed that she knew the truth about his actions the night her mother Kristina (Fiona Noonan) died.

Wendell agreed with Lacey’s demands that he hand himself into the police, but as he got back into his car, he drove straight towards Lacey at speed.

Theo managed to push Lacey out of the way just in time, but in doing so was hit by Wendell’s car himself, and died of his injuries.

Lacey and Holden’s afternoon continued to Salt, where they shared a drink and continued getting to know each other.

However, when Lacey wrapped things up and went to return to the hospital, she was taken by surprise when Holden asked her if he could take her out for dinner that evening.

It kind of feels like this is meant to be,” he added. “Normally I’m not superstitious, but surviving the crash has made me see things differently. I really like you.”

As Lacey was reminded of memories of Theo, she bolted, rushing from the surf club and asking for Holden to leave her alone.

David (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor) initially assumed that Holden was harassing his daughter and sent him packing, before Lacey explained that Holden was fine – she was simply freaking out at the thought of moving on from Theo.

After a heart-to-heart with her dad, Lacey eventually invited Holden to the beach to explain herself.

She told him all about Theo and admitted that she wasn’t ready for another relationship yet, and the pair agreed to be friends.

“There is a genuine friendship there, but it stems from a lot of empathy from Lacey,” Sophea explained to Aussie magazine TV Week. “She feels for him and there’s a bit of trauma bond after he lost his friend in the train crash and she lost Theo.”

However, this week, it seems that Holden hasn’t quite got the message, leading Mali (Kyle Shilling) to wonder if they need to worry about the seemingly innocent newcomer.

When Lacey finds Holden waiting for her at the Surf Club later this week, she’s confused – how did her new friend know that she’d be there?

However, she brushes off her concern – Summer Bay is a small town, after all – and despite her slightly uneasy feeling, she accepts Holden’s invite for them to hang out.

Yet the first sign that something’s up comes when Holden reveals that he’s signed up for surf lessons.

When he finds out that it’s Mali rather than Lacey taking the class, he’s left disappointed. Is he starting to develop an unhealthy interest in Lacey?

While Lacey has insisted that she just wants to be friends, Mali begins to suspect that the newcomer hasn’t got the message.

Lacey just sees it as part of his grief,” Sophea continues. “Mali sees the red flags, but she understands what Holden is going through, so brushes past these moments.”

In this Thursday’s episode, Mali questions Holden’s motives, while next Monday, teaser spoilers tell us that “Mali sees through Holden.”

Just how much does Lacey need to worry about this pushy newcomer?