Tonight’s Home and Away in Australia has seen the return of Dean’s mum Karen Thompson, just days before Ziggy is expected to give birth.
These scenes will run on Tuesday, March 21, when UK viewers of Home and Away will be approximately two months behind Australian viewers.
In September of last year, just as her surfing career was about to take off, Ziggy (Sophie Dillman) learned she was pregnant for the first time.
Although she wasn’t sure she wanted to have the child at first, Dean (Patrick O’Connor) was ecstatic. Not only was he happy to give his son Jai (River Jarvis) a younger sibling, but it also allowed Dean to fully experience motherhood after being unaware of Jai for the first five years of Jai’s life.
The couple ultimately decided to retain the child, and despite Ziggy’s frequent struggles to balance her pregnancy and her demanding job at the garage, they have both been eager to begin their new life together.
Since they were already 18 weeks along when they had their first ultrasound, the couple knew Ziggy would give birth soon.
In order to free up his time so that he could concentrate on Ziggy and the baby, Dean hired newcomer Mali Hudson (Kyle Shilling) to operate the board shop and his surf lessons. In order to finally slow down in time for the delivery, Ziggy has also scaled up her duties at the garage.
While Ziggy has been seen talking on the phone with her parents while pregnant, Dean’s mother Karen has remained silent for a while (Georgia Adamson).
Because of Karen’s erratic behavior when Dean was a child and her refusal to get treatment for her mental health concerns, their relationship has always been rocky.
While Ziggy has been seen talking on the phone with her parents while pregnant, Dean’s mother Karen has remained silent for a while (Georgia Adamson).
Because of Karen’s erratic behavior when Dean was a child and her refusal to get treatment for her mental health concerns, their relationship has always been rocky.
It took Dean several weeks to eventually tell Karen that he was a father, and even longer for Amber to agree to let Karen and Jai get together.
However, their encounter in February 2022 was a delightful occasion that confirmed Karen had changed significantly since she first arrived in Summer Bay in 2018.
In tonight’s Australian show, Dean took a worrying call from Karen and reassured her by telling her that Ziggy wasn’t answering the phone since she was merely sleeping in bed.
He told Mali that although Ziggy’s due date still being weeks away, it appeared that Karen had been checking whether Zig had given birth continuously since she was already quite anxious about the grommet’s arrival.
Dean believed he had done enough to get Karen to stop bothering him, but he was mistaken.
The following day, as he was at the beach, he received a call from his mother. He was required to reassure her that Ziggy wasn’t having contractions and to remind her once more that the baby wasn’t due for another three weeks.
He told her that he had it all under control, but that still wasn’t enough to placate her.
In the episode’s concluding moments, while Dean and Ziggy were back at the farmhouse, Karen entered and greeted the pregnant Ziggy for the first time by saying, “Oh, look at you!”
“Hey Deano,” she murmured as she turned to address Dean. Her son’s expression told it all.
The two appeared more than a little astonished at her response when Dean asked what she was doing there: “Well, what do you reckon? I’m here to assist.
The two try to come up with a strategy to get rid of Karen in the upcoming episode, but Ziggy gives birth first!
As Dean and Karen argue in the farmhouse, Ziggy is compelled to call their attention. “Hello, pregnant woman in labor over here!” she yells, eliciting an enthusiastic squeal from Karen.
Dean is left to take care of his mother, who has camped out at the birthing suite, as the terrified expectant mother goes into labor.
Even though the birth appears to occur without incident—Ziggy and Dean can be seen holding their infant in several previous promos—a recent press statement gives the new parents cause for concern:
“Despite Karen’s involvement, everyone is happy to welcome Baby Thompson into the world.
But when the new parents encounter their greatest obstacle yet, the joy is fleeting. Will everything turn sour for their happy ending?
Karen is the first of a number of returnees set to arrive in Summer Bay in the next few weeks.
Ava, Justin’s daughter, is scheduled to make a return very soon. Bella Nixon (Courtney Miller), however, appears to be returning for only a brief period of time, which could coincide with Nikau’s (Kawakawa Fox-Reo) departure from the program.
