Home and Away promo has suggested that Holden’s concerning behaviour will ramp up in the weeks ahead as he refuses to leave Lacey alone.

The 2025 Season Finale – which aired on Australian screens in November and will air in the UK later this week – introduced us to new character Holden Dwyer, played by former Neighbours star Lach Millar.

Holden and his friend Isaac (Jordan Dulieu) were on the train heading to Off the Rails music festival before it derailed, leaving numerous Summer Bay favourites in danger.

Sadly for Holden, his flirtatious friend Isaac died in the incident, while Lacey’s (Sophea Pennington) sister Jo (Maddison Brown) was also badly hurt in the derailment, after part of the roof of the train collapsed on top of her.

Holden and Lacey had a couple of brief interactions on the train, both going for the last Mimosa as drinks were being served, before later awkwardly brushing past each other in one of the narrow corridors between carriages.

Holden also stuck up for Lacey after she rejected Isaac and found herself on the receiving end of his hurt reaction.

In the aftermath of the crash, Holden found Lacey outside and made a beeline for her, asking if she’d seen Isaac, before Dana (Ally Harris) broke the news to him that his friend had died.

A week or so later, Holden and Lacey bumped into each other at Northern Districts Hospital, as Holden was attending a checkup on his injured shoulder, while Lacey was there visiting Jo.

Holden appeared to consider it fate that the pair had encountered each other again, and invited Lacey on a walk.

After spending most of the afternoon together, Holden asked Lacey if she’d like to join him for dinner that evening, and it was at that point that Lacey realised that Holden had mistaken her friendship for something more.

She ran off from Salt, closely followed by a confused Holden, prompting David (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor) – who happened to be just around the corner – to tell Holden to back off.

Lacey explained to her dad that Holden wasn’t the problem, she’d just become scared at the prospect of moving on from Theo (Matt Evans), who died last year.

In the weeks since Lacey turned him down, Holden has struggled to accept her decision, and his behaviour has become increasingly concerning as he’s continued to appear in Summer Bay with various excuses.

Mali (Kyle Shilling) was the first to pick up on Holden’s creepy behaviour when the newcomer booked a block of surfing lessons, despite having numerous beaches closer to home than the ones at Summer Bay.

When it became clear that Holden was far from a beginner, Mali’s hypothesis was confirmed – Holden was clearly only there for Lacey.

Mali soon cancelled Holden’s lessons, promising a full refund, and told him to stay away from the Surf Club.

As a result, Lacey found herself being confronted by Holden, demanding to know if she and Mali were an item. Lacey was confused, reiterating that she’s absolutely not ready to date anyone else, but Holden still seemed unwilling to believe her.

Now, a new promo has shown that Holden’s obsessive behaviour will continue in the weeks ahead, as he refuses to leave her alone, leading to a tense confrontation between Mali and Holden.

The promo opens with Harper and Lacey at the beach, with audio of Holden telling Lacey: “It kinda feels like this is meant to be.”

and I just can’t imagine being with anyone new right now,” Lacey tells Holden, as the promo cuts back to the moment in the Diner where she explained her running away after he asked her on a date. “Can we still just be friends?”

Then, in new footage, we see Lacey arriving home to the beach house to find a bouquet of red roses on the table.

As she turns around, she finds herself face to face with Holden, who’s somehow found out where she lives, and has seemingly let himself in to wait for her with the romantic surprise.

His soulmate?” asks the promo.

“It’s been pretty clear that he’s been watching me,” we hear Lacey say, as we see her walking through the house late in the evening.

She then sits on the sofa and looks at her phone, where she looks at a picture of herself working at the Surf Club, seemingly taken from afar by her new stalker.

Cutting back to Holden’s unexpected appearance at the beach house, he tells Lacey: “I feel like you’re avoiding me,” as she steps back in fear.

Then, at Salt, Holden warns Abigail (Hailey Pinto) to “stop interfering and leave us alone.”

I won’t tell you again,” he warns her.

At the Diner, Leah (Ada Nicodemou) gives a teary Lacey a hug, as we hear her saying “I told him that I didn’t want to see him.”

Then, cutting back to the beach house, Holden reveals the extent of his feelings.
“I’m falling in love with you,” he tells Lacey.

And I’m not gonna let anyone get in the way.”
The drama then ramps up at the beach, where Lacey backs away from Holden, telling him to “get away from me.”
Mackenzie (Emily Weir) comes across the situation and races towards them, where Holden signals for her to back off and assures her that Lacey is fine.

He then continues to walk towards Lacey as she panics and backs away.

How far will he go?” asks the promo’s voiceover.
As Holden lunges towards Lacey, a furious Mali rushes towards them.

Sporting a bloody lip and a black eye, Holden tells Mali: “You’re going to regret this!”

A shot from the Home and Away 2026 promo has already shown that Mali will find himself in the interview room at Yabbie Creek Police Station in the weeks ahead – will Holden follow through on his threat to make Mali regret his actions?
Lacey has already had plenty of bad luck since arriving in Summer Bay last year, what with ex-boyfriend and River Boy leader Gage (Tom Wilson) ending up behind bars, shortly followed by Theo’s devastating death.
Just how much does Lacey need to worry about her new friend’s behaviour?