Theo continues to enrage the locals as Home and Away returns to UK screens next week, while Chloe ends her difficult relationship with Ryder…
Smooth-talker Theo Poulos (Matt Evans) has managed to get on the wrong side of half of Summer Bay since his dramatic entrance on Aunt Leah’s (Ada Nicodemou) doorstep back in October.
After seeing Theo come with a police escort, Leah’s boyfriend Justin was the first to see through his charm (James Stewart). Justin wasn’t shocked to learn that Theo had been ripping off clients at Dimitri’s auto dealership, despite his doubts about Theo’s statements of being booted out of home by his father Dimitri (Salvatore Coco).
Although she refused to allow Theo move in, Leah decided to put him up at a local hotel with one condition: Theo had to earn his way, and what better way to do it than in Justin’s garage.
After arriving late, messing about taking selfies in a customer’s car, and then feigning a migraine in front of Leah in order to skip off to visit Chloe, Theo’s work ethic left a lot to be desired (Sam Barrett).
Ryder (Lukas Radovich), Chloe’s boyfriend, has probably been the most affected by Theo’s presence, as Theo continued to make a play for her. Despite the fact that Chloe hasn’t taken Theo’s zeal seriously—he boasted that she could do so much better than Ryder—Ryder still sees Theo as a danger.
Things came to a head on Ryder’s 21st birthday, when Theo volunteered to help with the surprise party by loading Ryder into the trunk of his car and driving him to the location.
Ryder’s jealousy got the best of him, and the night concluded with Ryder being dragged out of the club, while Chloe spent the night on the beach with Theo strolling and chatting. As if their relationship wasn’t already strained enough, Ryder then proceeded to question Chloe whether she’d slept with Theo in front of his family at his birthday lunch!
When Home and Away returns to UK screens next week, Ryder will be there to assist his grandfather Alf (Ray Meagher) while Martha (Belinda Giblin) fights for her life after the chemical assault at the surf club. Alf tells Ryder that he can’t picture a future without Martha, despite having been warned to expect the worst.
Ryder is in an introspective mood after the conversation, so he goes over to Chloe’s apartment to attempt to clear things out once and for all. He apologises for asking if she slept with Theo, and while Chloe assures him that she did not, she also adds that the fact that he had to ask in the first place indicates that their relationship isn’t working.
Ryder wonders whether it has anything to do with Theo as she glumly informs him that it all feels too much like hard work. After proving her argument, Chloe says he shouldn’t have to ask… Ryder realises that their relationship is ended, and he accepts it.
Meanwhile, Theo is hanging out at the restaurant with Nikau (Kawakawa Fox-Reo), who invites Theo back to his apartment for dinner with Ryder, Chloe, and Bella in an act of stunningly terrible timing (Courtney Miller).
Given what transpired between Theo and Chloe following Ryder’s 21st, Theo warns that things may be a little uncomfortable.
Nik is perplexed when Theo tells that he spent the entire night on the beach with Chloe… While he does not explicitly claim to have had intercourse with her, the implication is undeniable.
With a mischievous look on his face, he continues, “I’m not authorised to kiss and tell.”
The meal is tense, especially as Nik struggles to accept what Theo has just told him, because Ryder and Chloe are keeping their split from their friends a secret.
Ryder then turns around and apologises to Theo for his behaviour at the party and how he allowed unjustified jealously get the best of him. Nik can’t stop looking at Theo as Theo and Ryder shake hands to start again.
When Nik confides in Bella the next day, she is as astounded. She’s fully aware of the agony this may bring, and neither Nik nor Bella are sure what to do in the best interests of the situation!
When Theo returns to the garage for another shift, he meets Ziggy (Sophie Dillman) for the first time, and things are off to a bad start.
“I expected you’d be a male,” he says, to which she responds, “And I thought you’d be on time, so I suppose we’re both incorrect!”
Ziggy reveals that he’ll be handling admin and preparing coffee after Justin gives him the skinny on Theo.
When faced with the easy chore of calling a customer with an estimate, Theo can’t help but fall back into old patterns and inflates the price by $200, despite Ziggy’s specific instructions.
Theo can’t wait to tell Ziggy about his resourcefulness and how he’s managed to make them some extra cash… Ziggy, on the other hand, is enraged and rapidly establishes the law!
When Theo sees a photo of Nik at the surf club with Chloe and Ryder on Nik’s social media account, he decides he’s had enough of work and fakes another migraine.
Ziggy thinks it’s odd that it happened just after the phone notification, but Theo assures her she can ask Justin about his migraines and he’ll back him up. As Theo brazenly walks away, she is left speechless.
However, when Theo arrives at the surf club, an enraged Bella breaks down and tells Ryder that Theo claims to have slept with Chloe.
What’s Theo’s plan to get out of this one?
