Laurie Foell arrived as Deputy Principal Angie Russell in September and was joined by her son Dylan (Brett Hicks-Maitland) in October.
[3] Around the time of his debut, Elmaloglou began watching repeats of Home and Away starring his sister, Rebekah who played Sophie Simpson.
[3] Max arrives in Summer Bay with his father, Pete (Christopher Mayer) to stay with his uncle Rhys (Michael Beckley) and aunt Shelley (Paula Forrest).
He struggles to adjust to his new life but quickly makes a friend in caravan park resident Colleen Smart (Lyn Collingwood).
He is also the centre of a small love triangle with Tamara Simpson (Sophie Luck) and Caitlin (Bree Beadman), who both want him to dedicate the book to them but both disappear from his life.
Eloise Lennox (Suzanne McEachernn), a new student at Summer Bay High catches Max's eye but has a hard time getting to know her due to her overprotective parents.
Max creates a memorial place for Eloise in an abandoned mineshaft, but it collapses when Rhys, Kirsty and Jade (Kate Garven) arrive to find him.
When Rhys marries Beth Hunter (Clarissa House, following his divorce from Shelley, Max has to contend with her younger children, twins Henry (Tobi Atkins) and Matilda (Indiana Evans), who are frequently rude to the Sutherlands due to being uprooted from their boarding school.
In spite of being offered a home with his uncle and aunt in the city, Max decides to leave Summer Bay to attend boarding school.
[5] In 2017, Daniel Kilkelly of Digital Spy praised the character's plots, saying "He was one of the few soap kids who actually had some decent storylines, including love triangles, boxing showdowns, his girlfriend's untimely death, and even a shock mineshaft collapse.
[8] Paris arrives to take over as principal of Summer Bay High from Donald Fisher (Norman Coburn) who has been suspended during a departmental plot to close the school.
When they both attend Noah Lawson (Beau Brady) and Hayley Smith's (Bec Cartwright) flat-painting party, Both Irene and Paris discover they have a great deal in common including losing previous partners.
They both attend the Summer Bay 150th anniversary dinner on board the Mirgini, but end up caught in a storm and are shipwrecked on an island where they share a kiss.
However, this is short-lived as Paris receives a phone call telling him his brother and sister-in-law have been killed in a car crash and he has to return to the city to care for his orphaned niece and nephew.
The revelation of Angie's killer and the aftermath raised audience figures in Australia to 1.5 million viewers, beating the Nine Network's Big Brother.
[10] The writer stated "Actress Laurie Foell caused chaos not once but TWICE in Home and Away as evil Angela Russell and, later, as Angie's twisted cousin Josie.
"[10] A writer from the Sunday Mercury described Angie as a "crackpot" and opined that the serial should "take lessons from British soaps about how to milk storylines", before adding "They won't be dragging this one out for months, as the killer confesses next week!
The episode featuring Dylan's confession to killing Angie, written by Fiona Kelly was nominated for an Australian Writer's Guild Award in 2004.