Soap Weekly: Nell’s suspicions on Paul reach a peak in Neighbours

Soap highlights for the coming week from Neighbours and Home and Away…

Krista is shocked, not only by Seb’s kiss, but by his ardent declaration he’s been in love with her forever, and firmly believes she loves him too. Krista makes it perfectly clear she only loves Seb as a friend, but when he doggedly refuses to accept her feelings, Krista realises that Leo was right about Seb all along, and the best way to deal with it is to send Seb packing back to Sydney. Nicolette confesses to Aaron and Byron she had the opportunity to stop Yaz at the airport, but in a weak moment of compassion, urged her to go. Aaron and Byron are horrified, but Leo counsels them to cut Nicolette some slack. Byron and Aaron manage to do so, but when Holly finds out, she’s livid with rage at the betrayal.

Holly’s growing closeness to Max is noted by Byron and Sadie who approve of the coupling. Talking privately, Sadie encourages Holly to go for it, mentioning that unlike her previous boyfriends, Max isn’t a dangerous bad boy. But knowing Max’s secret and the danger that entails, Holly decides to put the brakes on anything happening between them, claiming she needs safety and stability in her life right now.

JJ tries to prove he’s responsible and promises to clean the mess Taye left when Andrew comes to inspect the house. Meanwhile, Dex warns Taye to be careful of who he interacts with after spotting him with Max. Later, Taye suggests a little gathering at the house which makes JJ uneasy. A small gathering kicks off, but soon turns into a full-blown party and to JJ’s disdain, even Max shows up. As the party gets bigger, JJ tries to kick everyone out but is ignored, especially by an intoxicated Dex and Taye. It seems like things couldn’t get any worse, until Taye declares it’s time to skinny dip just as Remi and Cara return home…

Attempting to keep her own feelings of derision of Paul to herself, Nell plays nice. But when Paul seemingly makes flimsy excuses about not spending time with Terese, her suspicions are sparked. Nell catches Paul in a lie and then finds him in a compromising moment with Katrina. Determined to gather evidence of his betrayal to protect Terese, Nell records a damning conversation between Paul and Katrina and presents it to Terese as proof that he’s having an affair.

Jane is out of sorts after learning that Clint will have to work at the school during the day. Despite a pep talk from Aaron, Jane’s resolve to keep things professional is undermined by her attraction to Clint. After acting irrationally towards him, then being caught out ogling him, Clint realizes Jane’s protesting a little too much. It’s clear she’s into him as much as he is to her.

Remi’s pleased to find a point of connection with Taye, as they head to the city to see a seminar by a speaker they both admire. They share a fun afternoon, finally starting to bond. But their return home turns into a crash back to reality, when Remi reveals she and Cara want the house to stay alcohol-free for the remainder of Taye’s stay. Taye knows it’s a reaction to the events of the party, and feels judged. The conflict escalates and the siblings find themselves more at odds than ever.

Cara’s returned to Erinsborough wrestling with a secret. Nicolette notices her dodging meetings with Paul and asking leading questions of Andrew. But when she overhears a call between Cara and her mum, Nicolette realises the shocking truth: Cara has seen Chelsea. Desperately needing to open up, Cara tells Nicolette about their encounter at the airport. Chelsea was heavily pregnant and needed help, but a shocked Cara rejected her. Now, weeks later, Cara’s full of regret especially knowing Chelsea must be somewhere all alone with a newborn baby. Nicolette is supportive, vowing not only to keep Cara’s secret, but to help her track down Chelsea, whatever it takes.

Terese is rattled by Nell’s accusations that Paul has been unfaithful but keeps a cool head as she asks for his side of the story. Vulnerable, Paul admits what he was really doing—seeking ways to continue charitable work in David’s name. He hadn’t told Terese because he was self-conscious about admitting to her how broken he still feels over his son’s death. Terese quickly brings Nell up to speed on the truth, but Nell refuses to accept Paul has really changed. She’s convinced it’s only a matter of time until Paul hurts Terese again.

Terese is compassionate but firm in response. She appreciates Nell’s protectiveness, but insists Nell must stop interfering in her personal life. Nell grudgingly accepts, while Paul decides they all need some space and time to get used to the new status quo, so organises a trip to New York.

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At Salt, Harper fills Theo in on the good news – Perri has been found not guilty. She’s with Kaia, who marvels at the life her son has built for himself in the Bay. At home though, when Tane broaches the subject of Perri’s long lost mum, he remains angry – what kind of mother leaves their child behind? Tane doesn’t have those answers, but he manages to broker a sit down between the mother and son the next day, and Kaia is hopeful when Perri remembers a shared moment from his childhood. She tells more of her story, and this time Perri listens. Ultimately though, it’s not enough for him to let her in – however difficult it was to leave, he tells her, it was much harder to stay.

Levi is indignant following Eden’s revelation that she slept with Tim – how could she be so reckless? Eden levels that Mackenzie was Levi’s patient when they started dating, but Levi isn’t hearing it – why did she have to move on with Tim of all people? Eden admits she likes him, but Levi is grim – they’ll get caught. Later Remi makes himself scarce, and Tim wonders how Eden thinks they should tell Abigail about their connection. She’s keen to hold off for now though – she doesn’t want to thwart Abigail’s progress by breaking the news too quickly.

Rose and Kirby catch up, and Rose is reflecting on her career in Summer Bay – Cash has always been her boss and she feels uneasy now that he’s been demoted below her. How can she feel comfortable sending him for her coffee? When Cash asks her for a drink after work, she’s awkward, and the next day she raises it with him directly – she doesn’t know how this thing with their ranks is going to work. She confesses her insecurities, and Cash is supportive – she didn’t have an issue with yelling at him before so why would she now? It’s what she needed to hear, and Rose ends the conversation by asking her junior to grab her a coffee.

Tane goes after a broken Kaia, who is devastated after being rejected by Perri again – it doesn’t sit right with her that Tane knows her son better than she does. He promises to talk to Perri, and when he does, he admits that he asked his mum to stick around. Perri just wishes she would disappear back to New Zealand though. Levi follows up on his planned meeting with Tim, and the counsellor is keen to address his concerns. But before he can get a full sentence out, Levi greets him with a punch to the face, knocking him to the ground.

Alf is tiring of Marilyn’s constant questions, and snaps at her over breakfast to back off. Just as he loses his cool though, Roo walks into the house. Alf is surprised to see his daughter back sooner than expected – what the hell is she doing at home? He soon works out she’s been called back by Marilyn to check on him, and she in turn learns about his stint in hospital – seems like they have a lot to catch up on.

Bree is carefree as she roars back into Summer Bay on the back of Remi’s motorbike – she has an official diagnosis, and it’s something of a comfort. It’s OCD, and she’s not ashamed of it, but she’s not telling anyone at work – it would stall her career, and she’s not prepared to let that happen. Mali is in denial as he tells Mackenzie there’s nothing to discuss – he does not have a crush on Abigail. Later in the day though, he concedes his feelings might be deeper than he thought – he hadn’t even realised he liked her until Mackenzie brought it up.

John and Dana are starting patrol, and Dana wants to know if today’s the day – is she finally allowed to drive? John says he doesn’t have a death wish, so the answer is no. Dana believes she’s being discriminated against, and she tells Xander why later – all the life savers allowed to drive the buggy are men.

Kaia arrives to see Perri with big news – she’s going back to New Zealand. She explains she doesn’t want to cause him more pain, but she needed to say goodbye. Perri’s dismissive, but Tane knows this could be his last chance – does he really want to do this? As Kaia readies to leave, Perri chases after her – does she want to have dinner with him? Tonight?

Home and Away airs 1:45pm on Channel 5, Monday to Friday and at 6pm on 5STAR with first-look screenings of the following edition at 6:30 pm. The series also streams on My5.

River City is on a break until later this month, catch up with previous episodes on the iPlayer