Home and Away’s Richie wins Abigail back as Lacey erupts

Richie’s return to Summer Bay becomes far more complicated in Home and Away when Abigail decides she is willing to explore whether their relationship deserves another chance. Richie has already admitted that he came back because he misses her, but Abigail remains understandably frightened of being hurt again.

After everything surrounding Eden’s illness, Richie has also arrived at a moment when Abigail badly needs somebody she can talk to. He assures her that he is not planning another sudden disappearance and the pair eventually agree to take things slowly rather than immediately returning to where they were before.

There is one enormous obstacle waiting for them. Lacey discovers Richie is back and is furious that the former police officer who accidentally shot David is once again living in the same town as her family.

She orders Richie to leave Summer Bay, but this time he refuses to run. Richie acknowledges the damage he caused and the guilt he still carries over shooting David, while making it clear that he intends to stay and rebuild his life.

That decision puts Abigail directly between her relationship and one of her closest friendships. Lacey’s anger is rooted in seeing her father nearly die, but Abigail also knows Richie has already lost his police career and has been trying to accept responsibility for what happened.

The situation becomes even more uncomfortable with David still having to process Richie’s return himself. Richie once admired David as a senior officer, making the accidental shooting and everything that followed even more painful for both men.

For Abigail, taking Richie back may therefore prove to be the easy part. Convincing the people around her that he deserves another chance could be far harder.

Home and Away streams weekdays on 5 in the UK. SoapLandTV follows UK pace, so Australian viewers may already have seen these developments. Images: Channel 5 / Seven Network.