Home and Away dropped by Channel 5 until January 2020

To ensure the UK doesn't catch up with Australia, where the soap airs around four weeks ahead and also takes a break on native network Seven, and to give Channel 5 room for more festive-themed programmes in December, Summer Bay traditionally closes for Christmas.

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Whereas Australia makes a virtue of the break with carefully-plotted 'season finale' episodes with jaw-dropping cliffhangers, the timing of the UK hiatus can often feel unintentionally random - but not this year, as the last episode before the gap ends in pretty dramatic fashion.

What happens in the last episode of Home and Away in 2019?

Pregnant Tori Morgan (Penny McNamee) is hiding out in the safe house while baby daddy Robbo Shaw (Jake Ryan) finally gets closure on his violent past by apprehending gangster Victor, the man who killed his wife and kids.

With Robbo's wife Jasmine Delaney (Sam Frost) at her side, Tori goes into labour and there's a desperate race against time to reach the ex-cop so he can be there for the birth of the baby. Word finally reaches him just after a tense clifftop showdown with Victor, but can Robbo race to the safe house before his kid arrives?

Elsewhere, Ryder Jackson backs out of pal Blake's secret plan to cheat on a school exam by sneakily drugging the teacher supervising the test. Blake agrees the risks were too high, but disaster strikes when he still plots to slip a sleeping pill to Maggie Astoni, who is supervising the exam - will Ryder come clean and risk being a classroom outcast?

When does Home and Away return in 2020 and what happens?

Just to reiterate, Monday 6th January 2020 is the date for your diary as that's when normal service resumes. Among the big plots to look forward to in the new year are Tori suffering a stroke immediately after giving birth to baby girl, named Grace, causing her to lapse into a coma for six weeks.

Plus, Leah Patterson mysteriously disappears after receiving a worrying phone call. The police are called, but where has she gone? Also, Dr Alex Neilson's unexpected romance with Willow Harris is set to continue, Raffy Morrison makes an emotional exit, and the community is rocked by a terrible tragedy…

As a Christmas treat for fans, Channel 5's on-demand platform My5 are also releasing six episodes of online exclusive series Home and Away: Christmas in Summer Bay across the festive period from Monday 25th November, going behind the scenes on the soap with a nostalgic look back with the cast, as well as a sneak peek at plots coming up in 2020.

Visit our dedicated Home and Away page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers.