Home and Away spoilers follow.
Home and Away has teased a first look at Felicity Newman’s new love interest Rory – although their first meeting gets off to a rather rocky start.
Felicity and Rory meet for the first time on Australian screens this week as Titans actor Joshua Orpin joins the soap, with the scenes due to air in August in the UK on Channel 5.
TV Week reports that Felicity is less than impressed by Rory, who whistles at her while she’s on the beach from Salt’s balcony.
Felicity is furious and confronts Rory, demanding to know what he thinks he’s doing whistling at a complete stranger in such a sexist way.
But as they get talking, Felicity finds that she’s unexpectedly won over by Rory’s charm.
It soon emerges that Rory is a member of the River Boys who recently arrived in the Bay with his friend Dingo.
They turned up to provide Mali Hudson with some support against the Allen family, after Mali’s brother Iluka found himself in serious trouble.
Despite his terrible first impression, Rory decides to give Felicity his phone number. She’s uncertain and ponders if she’s ready for a new relationship following her drawn-out split with Tane Parata, as well as whether Rory is the right person for her.
Could this be the beginning of a new Summer Bay relationship, or is Felicity set for even more heartbreak?
When Orpin’s casting was announced in March, he described his character as “a bit of a bad boy” who would be stirring things up in the Bay – but also as someone who has “great depth”.
Speaking to TV Week, he’s since added that Rory’s status as a River Boy “comes with a preconceived notion about who he is based on the fact that he’s a member of a gang that has a legacy”.
Orpin added that key themes for Rory’s storylines are “love and loyalty and how far that loyalty extends”.
Home and Away airs weekdays at 1.45pm on Channel 5, with repeat screenings at 6pm on 5STAR and first look screenings at 6.30pm on 5STAR. Selected classic episodes are available via Prime Video in the UK.
In Australia, the show airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7pm on Channel 7 and streams on 7Plus.