Home and Away will return to Seven and 7plus at 7.00pm on Monday, 19 January 2026, launching one of its most high-stakes seasons yet as viewers learn the fate of multiple characters caught in a catastrophic train derailment.
The storyline, which closed out 2025, left audiences questioning who would make it home to Summer Bay after a party train bound for a Broken Hill music festival crashed inside a tunnel. Among those on board are Justin (James Stewart), Mackenzie (Emily Weir), Remi (Adam Rowland), Abigail (Hailey Pinto), Dana (Ally Harris), Sonny (Ryan Bown), Lacey (Sophea Pennington), Jo (Maddison Brown) and Eddie (Stephen Madsen).
When the series resumes, emergency teams scramble to stabilise the wreckage as the train’s structure threatens to collapse.
David (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor), Cash (Nicholas Cartwright), Levi (Tristan Gorey) and Tane (Ethan Browne) are all on site, working to free survivors while grappling with the fear that their own loved ones remain trapped inside.
As tensions rise, Tane defies police orders and enters the tunnel in a last-ditch effort to reach those still in danger.
The storyline positions his actions as a major turning point in the opening weeks of the season, raising questions about the personal cost of his decision.
Fan favourites return
Adding to the momentum, Seven has released a first look at the return of fan favourites Brax (Stephen Peacocke) and Ricky (Bonnie Sveen).
The pair will appear in an upcoming Western Australia event storyline produced in partnership with Tourism Western Australia, marking their first on-screen return together since their departure.
In an interview with Mediaweek earlier this year, Peacocke admitted to feeling a few nerves about stepping back into such an iconic role. “I’m a bit nervous,” he said. “I get nervous all the time. There’s never a day I come home and think, I’ve nailed that.”
Brax and Ricky were last seen driving out of Summer Bay in 2016. Now, a decade later, the new episodes promise to finally answer the question that’s lingered ever since: where did life take the pair?
Reflecting on the timing of his return, Peacocke added, “I didn’t even realise it had been 10 years, but as a kind of marker since leaving the show, it felt like the right time. It was a pretty popular storyline and a popular character that I played, so they thought it’d be great to catch up with him – to see where he’s at now that there’s a bit of water under the bridge.”
Peacocke added that the entire event felt like a homecoming of sorts. “I love playing that character so much, and I love the crew and the people I was working with,” he said.
Their comeback is expected to be one of the network’s biggest audience drivers as Home and Away embarks on its thirty-ninth year.
Home and Away returns 7.00pm Monday, 19 January 2026 on Seven and 7plus.
Top image: Tane (Ethan Browne) eyes the derailed train