[5] Stephanie McKenna of The West Australian thought the New Zealand trip would end badly, writing "it's the happiest Gem has been in a long time and she has a beaming grin.
"[6] After learning that her brother-in-law Ari Parata has been involved in a hostage situation at the Northern Districts Hospital, Gemma makes her way there to see him.
Gemma tries to reassure him, while also warning Ari that his new relationship with Mackenzie Booth (Emily Weir) is making him the subject of town gossip.
[7][8] Fox-Reo's casting was announced alongside that of Rob Kipa-Williams (Ari Parata) in a November 2019 issue of TV Soap.
[7] Fox-Reo explained, "My desire and my wish is that when people watch it back home, they see a world that's real familiar to them – how we treat each other as a family, our sense of humour.
"[2] The character will initially interact with Jade Lennox (Mia Morrissey), who released a sex tape and made a false allegation against Ryder Jackson (Lukas Radovich).
[11] Kearney noted that fans had been speculating about his departure ever since he dyed his hair blond and left Australia the previous month.
[7] Holly Byrnes of The Daily Telegraph reported that Tane's character brief was "a saucy one, with notes like 'most likely to be drunk and disorderly' and 'most likely to bring home a different partner every week.
[7] The show's 8000th episode, broadcast on 27 March 2023, featured Tane marrying his love interest Felicity Newman (Jacqui Purvis).
[13] Following the departure of his on-screen family, producers introduced Tane's cousin Kahu Parata (Jordi Webber) in April 2023.
[17] Daniel Kilkelly of Digital Spy said Marco has been in love with Ben's wife Maggie Astoni (Kestie Morassi) since he was a teenager.
"[18] Evan is the long lost father of established regular Ryder Jackson (Lukas Radovich) and a potential love interest for his aunt Roo Stewart (Georgie Parker).
[21] Ryder is "naturally confused, puzzled and suspicious of the stranger", while his grandfather Alf Stewart (Ray Meagher) is wary of Evan's arrival.
[22] Jevic previously played nurse Lee Radcliffe in Wentworth and found Amber to be a completely different character, which made the role more appealing to her.
"[22] Writers gave her connections to Willow Harris (Sarah Roberts), Dean Thompson (Patrick O'Connor) and Colby Thorne (Tim Franklin), as she grew up in Mangrove River with them.
[22] On 3 May 2021, Stephanie Chase of Digital Spy confirmed that both Amber and her son Jai Simmons (River Jarvis) would be leaving the serial that month.
Amber gets a drink at Salt, where she meets her old friend Dean Thompson and asks him to take her home to bed, however, he tells her he is waiting for his girlfriend, Ziggy Astoni (Sophie Dillman), who arrives shortly after.
Amber takes John to the gym to continue his rehabilitation, where she is confronted by Colby's sister Bella Nixon (Courtney Miller).
[26] Owen visits Summer Bay on a whim and is spotted by Ryder Jackson (Lukas Radovich) and Alf Stewart (Ray Meagher) in the surf club.
Owen decides to stay in the Bay to learn more about his family history and later discovers that he and Evan are twins, who were separated at birth and adopted.
After Angelo cancels their dinner plans to concentrate on a new lead in the case, Taylor visits Colby at home and offers him a massage to say thank you.
"[32] Jess Lee of Digital Spy said the character is billed as being arrogant, which "puts a few noses out of joint at the hospital", but he also has a softer side and a sense of humour.
[33] Later casting details confirmed that the character is a neurosurgeon, who comes to Northern Districts Hospital to consult on Justin Morgan's (James Stewart) spinal tumour diagnosis.
[35] Donald's casting was confirmed by his appearance in a promotional trailer for the show's upcoming storylines,[36] while further details about his character were revealed on 23 November 2020.
"[37] Donald also explained that Kieran has "some mental health issues and he has some addiction problems", which means he is not a regular "bad boy" character.
He forces her to drive them away from Summer Bay, but Martha manages to call the police while Kieran stops at a petrol station and he is arrested.
Some months later, Kieran's lawyer informs Roo that he has been released on a good behaviour bond and wants to contact the family.
The police attend the scene and Alf continues to accuse Kieran of hurting Jasmine, until she comes round and states that is not true.
As they enter the Summer Bay Surf Club, Kieran Baldivis (Rick Donald) approaches Jasmine about a job at her gym, but Lewis has to tell him to back off as he is too persistent.
When a patient with a head injury is admitted to the hospital later that evening, Lewis stops Christian from performing surgery by pointing out that he was drinking at the party.