Next week in Home and Away on UK screens, long-buried wounds are torn open as the Langham family drama reaches a heartbreaking new peak. Just as Sergeant David Langham dares to hope that his fractured relationship with daughter Lacey might finally be healing, one devastating misstep threatens to destroy any chance of reconciliation. Elsewhere in Summer Bay, Jo Langham’s romantic life spirals into emotional chaos, proving that for this family, love is anything but simple.

When David Langham (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor) first arrived in Summer Bay as the newest recruit at Yabbie Creek Police Station, he believed he was stepping into a fresh chapter. What he didn’t realise was that the past he’d been running from was already there, hiding in plain sight. His estranged daughter Lacey had quietly settled in the bay under her mother’s maiden name, Miller, determined to keep her distance from the father and sister she left behind.

David’s world is upended when he spots Lacey’s name while reviewing files connected to the now-closed River Boy case. Asking Cash to bring her in for questioning, David has no idea that the routine request will lead to one of the most confronting moments of his life. When Lacey (Sophea Pennington) walks into the station and comes face to face with her father, the shock is palpable. For Lacey, it’s a past she’s been desperate to escape; for David, it’s a reminder of everything he’s lost.

The fractures within the Langham family run deep. Six months earlier, Lacey walked away from the family home following the death of her mother in a tragic car accident. Her mum was a passenger in a car driven by Jo (Maddison Brown), and Lacey has never forgiven her sister. Convinced that Jo was responsible and that David used his authority as a police officer to protect her, Lacey believes justice was never served. David and Jo insist the crash was a terrible accident—one Jo doesn’t even remember clearly—but for Lacey, grief has hardened into resentment.

Since David and Jo’s arrival in Summer Bay, Lacey has made it abundantly clear that she wants nothing to do with them. Every attempt at reconciliation has been met with icy rejection. Tensions explode when Jo tries to reason with her sister at the surf club, only for the confrontation to spill into the parkland and end with Lacey lashing out physically. It’s a stark reminder that this family is still raw with pain.

Next week, David prepares to deliver news he knows will devastate Lacey—and his first attempt goes disastrously wrong. Lacey refuses to even acknowledge his existence, forcing David to confide in Theo (Matt Evans). As Theo heads up the beach from a surf lesson, David warns him that Lacey is about to receive some life-altering news and asks him to be there for her afterwards.

But when Lacey sees Theo apparently bonding with her estranged father, she feels betrayed. The sense that David is infiltrating her carefully rebuilt life sends her reeling. Confronting Theo at Salt, Lacey demands answers. Theo tries to explain, but emotions flare—and then David arrives, carrying a suitcase that instantly catches Lacey’s attention.

The truth hits hard. David has sold the family home.

The place that held every memory of her mother, every echo of childhood, is gone. David explains that he’s brought her belongings—items he thought she’d want to keep—but for Lacey, the gesture feels like another betrayal. That night, a shellshocked Lacey sits with Theo in the diner apartment, bracing herself to open the suitcase and confront the past she’s been avoiding.

Inside are fragments of a happier life: photographs of a smiling family, treasured keepsakes from childhood. Overcome, Lacey admits how desperately she misses her mum. The process becomes unexpectedly cathartic. As Theo learns about the girl Lacey once was—sleeping with a teddy every night, captaining her netball team, serving as student council president—he realises how much she’s buried. Even ballet, a shared childhood passion with Jo, reveals a softer, more vulnerable side of Lacey that few have seen.

Theo gently points out that David must have held onto these items for a reason—that they mattered to him too. For the first time, Lacey allows herself to consider her father’s pain alongside her own. The next morning, she reaches out, texting David and agreeing to meet.

Their meeting by the beach is tentative but hopeful. David apologises for how he handled the house sale, explaining that staying there had become unbearable. Summer Bay, he admits, was meant to be a fresh start—a way to survive the grief. As they share memories of Lacey’s mum, walls begin to crumble. Lacey even smiles, and for a fleeting moment, it seems like father and daughter might finally find common ground.

But hope is fragile. When Lacey excitedly mentions finding her ballet shoes in the suitcase, David recalls taking her to the dance shop to buy them. Lacey freezes. That memory wasn’t hers—it was Jo’s. The mistake cuts deeply. To Lacey, it confirms her worst fear: that her father still doesn’t truly see her, that she’s forever overshadowed by the sister she blames for everything.

Devastated, Lacey storms off, leaving David alone with the crushing realisation that one wrong word has undone all his progress. Can this relationship be repaired, or has David lost his daughter for good?

Meanwhile, Jo’s own life is unraveling. Still reeling from the sale of the family home and her strained relationship with Lacey, Jo attempts to move forward—only to find herself entangled in a complicated romance with Tane (Ethan Browne). Their rocky beginning, sparked by Jo’s fierce independence and Tane’s unsolicited help with her car, soon gives way to mutual attraction. Encouraged by David to build connections of her own, Jo takes a leap and asks Tane out.

Their promising date at Salt is abruptly derailed when Harper appears, furious and demanding Tane’s attention. The revelation that Tane has a baby—and a very present ex—forces Jo to confront how messy his life really is.

As Harper returns from a work trip and begins to accept that Tane is moving on, Jo finds herself opening up to Dana, forming an unexpected friendship. A few drinks later, secrets spill, and Dana quickly pieces together the identity of Jo’s complicated love interest. Though Jo insists it’s going nowhere, her late-night, alcohol-fuelled text to Tane suggests otherwise.

With Harper determined not to stand in the way of Tane’s happiness, she clears the air with both him and Jo, giving her blessing for them to explore their connection. But when Tane, hopeful and newly reassured, asks Jo out again, she shocks him by saying no. It’s all too much—too messy, too painful—and Jo decides she can’t handle any more complications.

As Home and Away heads into another emotionally charged week, questions linger over whether love, forgiveness, and understanding can survive the weight of grief and regret. For David and Lacey, the past refuses to stay buried. And for Jo, the future feels anything but certain.