# List of Home and Away characters introduced in 2025

Home and Away is an Australian television soap opera, which was first broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. The following is a list of characters that appear in 2025, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the soap's executive producer, Lucy Addario. The 38th season of Home and Away began airing from 13 January 2025. Detective Mark Townsend was introduced during the same episode. Sonny Baldwin made his debut during February, followed by Lacey Miller in March.

## Mark Townsend

Mark Townsend, played by Craig Hall, made his first appearance on 13 January 2025. Hall's casting was confirmed in November 2024, after he was pictured on set. His character is the show's new detective, who investigates the attack on Tim Russell (George Pullar). The prime suspect is Constable Cash Newman (Nicholas Cartwright), who woke up next to an unconscious Tim covered in blood in the 2024 season finale. Susannah Alexander of Digital Spy reported that the episode see Townsend "setting his suspicions on Cash" during his investigation, before arresting him.
Detective Townsend arrives at the Koi Stone River Estate, after receiving a call about two male victims of assault. Cash Newman (Cartwright) identifies himself as a constable and advises Townsend to protect Eden Fowler (Stephanie Panozzo), as she is in danger. Justin Morgan (James Stewart) tells Townsend that he called in the incident and saw Cash leaning over Tim Russell (Pullar), who has suffered a serious head injury. Townsend talks with Eden and Remi Carter (Adam Rowland), who reveals that Cash was not meant to be at the house. Cash explains that he is there because Tim and Eden are in danger from Nerida Mullins (Ellie Gall), Tim's former patient who has made threats against them. Townsend believes Remi is holding something back and advises him to call if he wants to talk further. He then tells Cash that he is a suspect now. He meets with Senior Constable Rose Delaney (Kirsty Mariller) at the police station and she informs him that Cash did not give her a statement, and that he and Tim had had a prior altercation. Townsend speaks with John Palmer (Shane Withington) about a break-in at Eden's house. Remi then comes to Townsend about an argument he saw between Cash and Tim. He says that Cash has a need to protect people, following the death of his sister. Townsend arrests Cash for assault causing grievous bodily harm, and he removes Rose from the case after she lets Eden visit Cash.

## Sonny Baldwin

Sonny Baldwin, played by Ryan Bown, made his first appearance on 17 February 2025. Bown's casting details were announced on 12 January 2024, along with Sophea Pennington, who was cast as Lacey. Of joining the Home and Away cast, Bown stated "It's like one big wacky family, and everyone welcomed me with open arms. I’m super excited to be working on such an iconic show." Sonny is introduced as a friend of series regular Remi Carter (Adam Rowland). He was billed as being "a 'charming', 'impulsive' and 'fun-loving' party boy", as well as "cheeky and spontaneous".

## Lacey Miller

Lacey Miller, played by Sophea Pennington, made her first appearance on 13 March 2025. Pennington's casting details were announced on 12 January 2024, along with Ryan Bown, who was cast as Sonny. Pennington told Zara Powell of The Daily Telegraph that joining the cast was both "surreal" and a "pinch me moment", as she had grown up watching the show. She stated "I'm beyond excited, I feel like I've blinked and it truly is a dream come true." Pennington enjoyed shooting her scenes at Palm Beach, the show's exterior filming location and likened the cast to "one big family." Lacey was initially billed as "the wild child with a heart of gold". Pennington said she and her character shared some similarities, telling Powell: "Lacey is definitely a bad girl, but she has a really good heart. I see a bit of myself in her. It's been a lot of fun to play, though also a bit of a challenge." The character is associated with the serial's River Boys surf gang. Divya Soni of Digital Spy reported that she would "make quite the entrance", while her storyline would be "intriguing".

## Others

| Date(s) | Character | Actor | Circumstances |
| 13–14 January | Dr Anita Khurana | Emily Havea | An obstetrics surgeon, who assists Levi Fowler in the removal of a cyst from Harper Matheson's unborn baby. Dr Khurana notices Levi pause and he tells her that he cannot decompress the cyst and must cut it up. As Harper becomes hypertensive and the baby's heartrate increases, Dr Khurana steps in to help. She later warns Levi that if Harper's blood pressure rises, she will deliver the baby and tells Levi to work fast. She later advises Levi to consider removing the baby's lung if he cannot remove the cyst. Levi succeeds and leaves to talk to Harper's relatives, while Dr Khurana closes up. She later visits Harper with Levi. |
| 13–14 January | Anaesthetist Harry | Paul Hughes | Levi Fowler introduces Harper Matheson to Harry, who tells her that he knows her sister Dana Matheson, before he administers the anaesthetic. During the procedure, he informs Levi that Harper's vitals are stable, but the baby's heartrate is elevated, and he advises Levi to hurry up. Harry soon informs Levi that Harper is hypertensive and Dr Anita Khurana steps in to help. Harry praises Levi when he is able to remove the cyst from the baby's lung. |
| 13 January | Paramedic | Mitchell Gilmour | One of the paramedics sent to the Koi Stone River Estate after receiving a call about two assault victims. Bree Cameron tells Dylan that Tim Russell has suffered a head strike leading to an extradural haematoma, which she has drained with a burr hole. |
| 15 January– | Dr Liz Shaw | Mandy Bishop | Dr Shaw treats Harper Matheson after she begins experiencing contractions following surgery on her baby. She tells Harper that the contractions are ten minutes apart, but they have administered medication to stop them. When she returns to check on Harper, Levi Fowler asks if they can administer another dose and she agrees. She also tells Levi that if it does not slow the contractions, they will have to deliver the baby, but Harper will not be able to give birth naturally due to the abdominal surgery. Dr Shaw later tells Harper and Tane Parata that the contractions have stopped and Harper can be moved to a ward. |
| 13 February– | Eliza Sherwood | Martha Kate Morgan | A young girl placed with Roo Stewart after her last foster home burns down. Roo introduces her to her father Alf Stewart and Marilyn Chambers and explains that she only managed to salvage a music box from the fire. Eliza decides to go to her room rather than eat dinner with everyone. Roo tells her that they will go shopping for clothes and things in the morning and asks if Eliza has anything she wants to talk about. Eliza says the fire was intense and Roo is thankful that her foster siblings got out safely. Eliza later goes through the contents of the music box, revealing a lock of hair, a photograph with faces scratched out, a ring and a lighter. In the morning, Eliza takes money from Marilyn's purse, before she and Roo go shopping. Eliza buys Roo a card, but gets defensive when Roo enquires where the money came from. Roo apologises for jumping to conclusions. |
| 12 March– | Gage Reynolds | Tom Wilson | A member of the River Boys surf gang. Gage is drinking in Salt when he overhears Theo Poulos and Sonny Baldwin talking about Theo spending all his savings on a car. He presumes they are both mechanics, and says he is interested in people who want to make money, before leaving his phone number with Sonny. The pair turn up at the River Boys hangout in Mangrove River and Gage shows them around. They see various people stripping and modifying cars. Gage asks Theo and Sonny to fix his car for a fee. He then breaks up a nearby fight by hitting one of the men with a wrench. As Theo and Sonny look on, Gage kisses Lacey Miller. He pays Theo at the end of the day and promises them more work. |