Home and Away – Harper and Dana Matheson’s secret backstory revealed
The Summer Bay soap explores the sisters' past.
Home and Away‘s UK fans can expect to learn more about Harper and Dana Matheson’s backstory in May as the sisters reflect on their traumatic childhood.
The siblings take some time to discuss the past as the mysterious case of an abandoned baby in the Bay causes tensions between them.
These intriguing scenes aired in Australia last Thursday (March 7) and there’ll be a few weeks before they hit screens in the UK, so if you can’t wait that long, read on for our guide to the sisters’ revelations.
The abandoned baby
One of Home and Away‘s biggest recent stories on Australian screens has revolved around Tane Parata finding a baby abandoned on the beach.
This moment airs on Channel 5 on Thursday, April 18, as Tane takes control by rescuing the little girl and raising the alarm.
Tane then decides to join the baby at the hospital, where he unofficially names her Maia in the absence of any other information about her.
The gym boss is adamant that he’s all Maia has and he’ll continue to keep an eye on her until someone comes forward. This sparks inevitable concern that he’s growing too attached.
When Tane’s involvement with the baby’s case is later criticised in the local press, the Northern Districts Hospital gets stricter with protocol and asks him to stay away.
Meanwhile, Rose Delaney leads the police’s investigation into the abandoned baby, making public appeals for information.
Rose explains that baby Maia is statistically most likely to have been left on the beach by a struggling mother.
This sparks mixed reactions in the Bay, with some people criticising Maia’s mum for endangering her. Others push for a more understanding approach until they know the full details of what Maia’s loved ones were going through.
What happened in Harper and Dana’s childhood?
Harper and Dana are among those who have different outlooks on the abandoned baby situation. This is partly due to Harper’s history of social work and her being directly involved in the search for Maia’s mum.
With plenty of press attention and concern from the local community, Harper expresses her hope that Maia’s mother will be brave enough to come forward soon.
Dana suggests that this might not be the best outcome, arguing that “some people are not cut out to be parents”.
Although Harper disagrees, Dana goes a step further by claiming that they both would have been better off if they’d been “left on a beach” when they were younger.
The frank exchange of views paves the way for revelations about the Matheson sisters’ backstory, as it’s revealed that their parents were both drug addicts.
Dana describes their mother and father as “too irresponsible” to take care of their children properly and feels frustrated that Harper is more reluctant to criticise them.
She also harshly accuses Harper of taking the same approach to her social work – constantly defending and enabling people who don’t deserve it.
Dana later tells her friend Xander Delaney about the reasons behind the row, explaining: “Let’s just say that our parents weren’t really equipped to have children.”
Despite the earlier tensions, Dana also acknowledges that Harper protected her from the worst of their parents’ behaviour when they were growing up.
The sisters find common ground again as they admit that the best part of their childhood was being with each other.
So far, it’s unclear whether these scenes were introduced to merely flesh out Harper and Dana’s characters, or whether the show is paving the way to introduce more members of their family at a later date.
When do these scenes air in the UK?
Home and Away‘s Australian broadcasts are currently running around eight weeks ahead of the UK airdates on Channel 5.
This means that UK fans can look forward to Harper and Dana’s revealing argument hitting screens on Friday, May 3.
