Home and Away Spoilers – Leah drives new arrival Zane out of town

 Next week on Home and Away in the UK, Leah and Alf’s reluctance to accept new arrival Zane leads to him skipping town. Can Maz find him before he misses his parole check-in?

Zane (Angus McColl) made a surprise arrival in Summer Bay last week, shortly after being released on parole following ten years behind bars.

It transpired that during his sentence, he’d spent just over a year exchanging letters with Marilyn (Emily Symons) through a prison pen pal scheme.

Her support encouraged him to work towards his release, with Marilyn repeatedly assuring Zane that she believed in him and would be there for him.

With his return home having caused issues for his mum in the community, Zane decided he needed a fresh start and so turned to his pen pal.

Marilyn warmly welcomed him, initially believing that he’d simply come to visit. Only later did Zane reveal that he intended to settle in Summer Bay, admitting he had used her address as his residence to satisfy his parole conditions.

Determined not to abandon him, and knowing he could be put back in prison if he was found to have given false information on his paperwork, Marilyn got around the issue by arranging for Zane to stay in one of the caravans.

Alf (Ray Meagher) was immediately concerned when he discovered that the newcomer had served a decade behind bars, but Zane promised to work at earning his trust.

Next week, Zane makes himself useful at the coffee cart whilst searching for a job. Maz proudly tells Leah (Ada Nicodemou) how helpful he’s been, although the question of what sent him down in the first place still hangs over them.

Hoping to learn the truth, Alf invites Zane to dinner at Salt. He intends to speak to him alone, but a protective Marilyn insists on joining them.

When Alf begins pressing Zane about his past, Marilyn objects and assures him that he doesn’t have to answer. However, Zane decides that they deserve to know what happened.

Zane has already explained to David (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor) that growing up with a violent alcoholic father led him to avoid home and turn to theft for money, although he accepted that this was no excuse.

He goes on to tell Alf and Marilyn that he broke into one home, unaware that the family were home.

He panicked when the owner confronted him and swung his baseball bat towards a movement in the corner of his eye, only to find he’d struck the man’s young daughter.

She nearly died and has been left with lasting damage, and Zane admits that he’ll never forgive himself.

The following morning, Zane approaches Marilyn expecting her to end their friendship.

Although his confession was difficult to hear, she insists that he’s served his time and deserves a second chance, before revealing that she’s asked Leah to consider giving him a job.

lf remains unconvinced and advises Leah against employing Zane. When Leah seeks David’s opinion, he agrees that Zane deserves a clean slate but urges her to be careful.

Leah insists that there are neither enough hours nor money to employ Zane, but Marilyn points out how busy the diner and coffee cart are and offers him half her own shifts. 

Despite arguing that she can’t replace an experienced worker with a café novice, Leah eventually agrees to give him a supervised trial.

Meanwhile, Zane tries to clear the air with Alf, offering to help out around the surf club, only to be told that admitting the truth isn’t enough to win his trust.

Mali (Kyle Shilling) witnesses the cold exchange and asks Zane to help him move some surfboards, before sympathising with his struggle to gain acceptance.

When Alf later asks him to monitor Zane at the caravan park, Mali refuses, insisting that he deserves a chance to prove himself.

Zane is thrilled when Marilyn tells him about the trial shift and vows not to let either woman down. Having watched Maz at work, he quickly begins learning the ropes at the coffee cart and confidently takes his first order.

Although Marilyn is supposed to be the one supervising Zane, Leah’s soon on the scene and begins scrutinising his every move. Finding Zane serving a customer and handling money, she orders him to stop and restricts him to clearing tables and restocking the coffee cart.

Maz points out that other trial workers have always been allowed to handle money, but Leah insists that Zane’s lack of experience makes him different.

When Zane later hands over the wrong takeaway order, he immediately apologises, only for Leah to respond sharply. Marilyn urges her to give him a genuine chance, frustrated that she seems to be waiting for him to fail.

Leah’s attitude becomes even clearer when Marilyn gives a hungry Zane a burger that would otherwise go to waste, thanks to a duplicate order going through. Spotting him eating it, Leah instantly assumes that Zane made another mistake.

Marilyn’s quick to point out that Zane had nothing to do with it—the extra burger was only cooked because Leah had neglected to spike the original docket.

Marilyn calls her out for automatically blaming him, and pleads with her to stop treating Zane as though he’s bound to do something wrong.

Forced to acknowledge her own mistake, Leah offers Zane a second trial shift. He gratefully accepts, but then overhears her admitting to Marilyn that she only agreed to the original trial as a favour—and hopes she won’t regret it.

The next morning, Leah’s in the middle of complaining about Zane being an hour late when a sullen Marilyn shows up.

She reveals that Zane’s left a goodbye letter under her door and that his caravan is empty, with the key still in the door.

Marilyn immediately turns on Leah and Alf, declaring that they’ve failed Zane and blaming them for driving him away.

Justin (James Stewart) reads the letter aloud, in which Zane explains that he doesn’t want to cause trouble or come between Marilyn and her friends, so he’s decided to leave Summer Bay.

Marilyn searches around the bay, hoping to find Zane and change his mind. However, neither she, Justin nor Mali can locate him.

When Justin wonders whether leaving his registered address could breach Zane’s parole, Marilyn fears that he could be returned to prison.

Alf finds her in tears on Flat Beach, where she admits that she feels like she’s failed to keep her promise to believe in Zane and be there for him.

Back at the diner, Leah insists that she never wanted Zane to leave, but Marilyn accuses her of wanting him to fail and waiting for him to make a mistake.

Declaring that Leah has got exactly what she wanted, Marilyn quits her job and walks out!

Can Leah repair their friendship—and has Zane really left Summer Bay for good?

Home and Away is available to stream from 6am weekdays, with double bill episodes airing from 6pm on 5Star.