Lyrik band members Bob Forsyth, Kirby Aramoana, Remi Carter, and Eden Fowler made their debuts in July.
"[6] After winning the role, Van Os relocated to Sydney to be closer to the studios and began filming the same week as his casting announcement.
[6] Xander is Van Os's breakthrough role, and he hoped the part would help him to go on to have a long career, like many of the show's former actors.
She asks her partner Cash Newman (Nicholas Cartwright) to run a background check on the pair, which causes a "disappointed" Xander to suggest that he and Rose leave the Bay.
[9] Viewers speculated that Van Os had left Home and Away after he posted various images of his travels on social media and had not been seen at Palm Beach, the show's exterior filming location.
In scenes airing on 13 February, Xander contacts Rose to tell her that he is staying in Melbourne, having secured a job as an events manager.
It really is the break that I always wanted to be a series regular on a show like this, which is so iconic as a part of the Australian canon, and to be acting every day, exercising that muscle, learning on set from everyone around me, it truly is like something I feel so humbled to have been offered.
[2] Rose is a police officer, who develops a crush on her colleague and Jasmine's boyfriend Cash Newman (Nicholas Cartwright).
[2] Producers introduced the character's biological father Samuel Edwards (Bert La Bonté) in August 2023, after Rose decides she wants to know more about her heritage.
[17] Some viewers speculated that PK might be an undercover police officer and was going to bust the illegal gambling nights hosted by Mackenzie, but Johnson told Kerry Harvey of Stuff that while he could not confirm or deny the theory, he did not play the character that way.
[18] Nathan Silva (Ryan Panizza) introduces PK to Mackenzie Booth and he asks to buy into that night's poker game, but she says it is full and he would need to be vetted.
PK later tells Mac that he wants to run an exclusive poker night at Salt with one table and a $5,000 buy-in.
When they discuss the arrangements, PK tells Mac that he does not want Felicity at the event because her brother is a police officer.
She later invites PK to Salt, where she pitches him an idea to repay her debt – they will hose another VIP poker night and she will give him the buy-in takings.
"[19] Sam Warner of Digital Spy reported that Bob has some "big plans" for Lyrik and he is not sure that Summer Bay deserves their music.
"[21] Bob departs two weeks after Lyrik's introduction, having grown tired of playing pub gigs in small towns.
[21] Thomson compared her character to the ocean, saying she is "wild, passionate, playful, creative, effervescent and simultaneously calm and loving.
[21] He called his character "the quintessential Australian larrikin", and said Remi "enjoys a good time and stirring the pot but is loyal to his friends and family.
[20] Writers established a connection between Eden and Cash Newman (Nicholas Cartwright), as it emerges that they dated before their arrivals in Summer Bay.
It emerges that the pair have been estranged for some time, as Eden believes that Levi took their father's side when their parents divorced, and abandoned the family.
"[26] She learned she had secured the role of Bree while she was in her bedroom putting on a face mask for a night in, adding "My agent called me and I literally did a happy dance.
"[26] Bree is Summer Bay's newest doctor, who takes over running the local hospital's emergency department, following the departure of Logan Bennett (Harley Bonner).
[26] Justin Harp of Digital Spy said Bree was billed as "laid-back, kind and caring", but she is hiding something beneath her "bubbly demeanour".
[29] Nolan's agent secured the audition for her and she found the character brief "enticing", as she learned of Heather's "vivacious nature" and her storyline.
"[30] Heather comes to Summer Bay to get help from Roo Stewart (Georgie Parker) with a law school application, but causes suspicion when she takes a photo of Marilyn Chambers (Emily Symons).
However, Constables Cash Newman (Nicholas Cartwright) and Rose Delaney (Kirsty Marillier) arrive, having discovered that Heather killed her stepmother.
"[34] After telling Cash to grow up and face his former fiancée Eden Fowler (Stephanie Panozzo), Pritchard exclaimed "We love a supportive king!
Cash takes Gary to the Pier Diner and explains that his visit will be a good chance for him and Felicity to talk, as she has changed.
She reacts badly upon seeing him, so Gary leaves the house and meets her fiancé Tane Parata on the street.
It soon emerges that Felicity refused to accept Gary and Katherine as parental figures, following the death of her father, and she left home as soon as she was old enough.