IN its 35 years on air, Australian soap opera Home and Away has seen many characters come and go.
But who left and joined Summer Bay in 2023?
Who is leaving Home and Away in 2023?
Roo
Georgie Parker, who plays Roo, confirmed in March 2023 that she is leaving the show for a short break due to other commitments.
She got cast in David Williamson play Rhinestone Rex and in Miss Monica at the Ensemble Theatre in Kirribilli, Sydney.
Her filming break is expected to last around seven weeks.
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Andrew
Joshua Hewson played character Andrew on the show.
Andrew is facing the dilemma whether he wants to move away or stay in Summer Bay.
In March 2023 Hewson confirmed that he is leaving the show on his Instagram story.
He said: "It was wonderful working with everyone in this show and seeing how it operates, it’s given me a lot of acting experience.
“I would like to say thanks to everyone that has help me reach this mark in my career.
"Can’t wait to see what comes next.”
Mercedes Da Silva
Mercedes is played by Amali Golden.
The character is a violinist. Remi Carter wants her to to help the group prepare for a Battle of the Bands competition.
In Australia Mercedes character joined the show in late May 2023 for a short stint, before saying her farewells in July 2023.
Tegan
Tegan is played by Sophia Forrest and is Andrew's half sister, who reunites with him.
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She came to Summer Bay to find her brother and eventually to live with him.
Andrew and Tegan leave Summer Bay together in July 2023.
Gabe Miller
Gabe Miller, played by Akos Armont, is Mackenzie's former fiance.
He gets diagnosed with cancer and later dies offscreen.
The character joined the show from January 12, 2023 to March 15, 2023.
Margot Dafoe
Margot, played by Mandy McElhinney, pretended to be Andrew's mother and kidnapped him.
She gets arrested by the police and locked up.
McElhinney starred in the show from May 16, 2023 to June 1, 2023.
Who has joined Home and Away in 2023?
Mali Hudson
Mali Hudson, played by Kyle Shilling, made his debut on January 11, 2023.
The character is a surfboard shaper, who helps design and build surfboards for Dean's shop.
Shilling is the first Indigenous main character in the show.
He said about his casting in a statement: "If I had seen someone like me on a popular TV show when I was a kid, I would have been more driven as a young person to want to better myself and explore acting.
"As Indigenous people, we are always categorised as athletes; there was never any other avenue I thought I could go down.
"When you feel like you’re stereotyped your whole life, that has a huge effect.
"Looking back on my 10-year-old self, if I had seen someone like Mali Hudson on such a big series, I would have wanted to be him."
Elandra Hudson
Elandra Hudson is played by Rarriwuy Hick.
Hick confirmed her casting on her social media on February 26, 2023.
She said: "The cat's out the bag.
"Guess who's visiting Summer Bay."
Elandra is the sister of Mali and came to Summer Bay to visit her brother and to try and make him home with her to their family.
Kahu Parata
Kahu Parata is played by Jordi Webber and the character is the cousin of Tane Parata.
The arrival of Kahu is unexpected and he surprises his cousin Tane and his wife Felicity.
Harper
Harper is played by Jessica Redmayne.
Redmayne has a background in musical and stage theatre and is both an actress and choreographer.
She is best known for her role as Poppy in the Seven show 800 Words.
It is not known yet whether Harper will be a new love interests for police officer Cash or just a friend.
Dana
New character Dana will be played by Ally Harris. While it has been confirmed that she will be joining the show, there is no known date set for her arrival.
Actor Ally Harris has previously starred in ABC series Harrow and the two part drama The Claremont Murders.
Forrest
Forrest is played by Elijah Williams.
However there is not much known about the new character or his arrival in the show - other than that he will be making a return later this year.
Elijah has been featured in the show before playing a character named Jason in 2018 for two episodes.
