Dark days in the Bay

With Summer Bay set to be rocked by both a dramatic car crash and a shock shooting, residents of the disaster-stricken town are set to face some of their most testing times yet when Home and Away returns to Channel 5 in September - not least because, for one familiar face, the end is nigh.

As the locals prepare for a funeral in episodes about to air Down Under, Home and Away series producer Lucy Addario tells TV Week that the impact will be significant. 'The whole town is dealing with the aftermath and shock of the past week's events. There is an avalanche of emotions.'

Lucy adds, 'Many residents are dealing with grief, shock and anger. It will take a long time to heal, and families and friendships will definitely be fractured. The consequences are ongoing.'

There's another shock in store when it's revealed that the car accident at the centre of one of the Bay's major dramas was a result of someone tampering with the brakes. 'For one resident in particular,' Lucy adds, 'moving on with life and facing the consequences of their actions will test the very fabric of their soul.'

But while viewers may expect to see families and friends united in their grief as they farewell one of their own, Lucy hints that tensions between some threaten to boil over. 'For many people a funeral means closure, but in this case the grief could tear relationships apart rather than bringing them closer together,' she explains. 'This could be the ultimate test to unite or divide a family.'