Neighbours confirms death of 80s character in next week’s episodes

Next week on Neighbours, just a few weeks after returning to Erinsborough, an iconic 80s character is set to be killed off – with viewers left wondering whether Darcy is to blame!

Late April saw the return of Amanda Harris, as Briony Behets reprised the role she last played way back in 1987.

Back in the late 80s, Amanda had returned to Erinsborough to reconnect with daughter Jane (Annie Jones) after two years living in Hong Kong.

Now, just over a month after making a surprise return to Erinsborough, Amanda is set to be killed off, without even getting to make peace with her daughter!

Jane and Amanda have always had a troubled relationship. While Amanda was living in Hong Kong, her shy, booksmart daughter blossomed after her infamous makeover which saw Charlene (Kylie Minogue) spruce up Jane’s hair and remove her glasses, transforming her from dowdy bookworm “Plain Jane Superbrain” into a much more confident and stylish character.

It was Amanda who had encouraged her daughter’s dowdy dress sense, and her return to Australia saw her compete with her newly confident daughter for attention.

When Amanda returned in April of this year, it was clear that she and Jane were still at odds. Amanda returned in secret, moving into Eirini Rising and demanding that Susan (Jackie Woodburne) keep her arrival quiet, as she was waiting for her daughter to reach out to her…

While she may have kept her daughter at arm’s length, Amanda was quick to befriend Doctor Darcy (Mark Raffety) and distract him from his break-up with Chelsea (Viva Bianca) with some serious flirting!

When Darcy supported Amanda with some admin, he realised that, despite her claiming to have little in the way of savings, she was actually filthy rich.

Her share portfolio had risen significantly in recent years, and better still, she was completely oblivious!

Instead of telling Amanda the good news, Darcy stole her login details and made a transfer to his bank account – swiftly taking care of his debt issues, and then some!

Meanwhile, the Harris family discussed Amanda’s increasingly frequent memory lapses, and decided to encourage her to get a test. Seeing a way in to discuss the appointment with his grandmother, Byron (Xavier Molyneux) offered to help with her banking.

After hearing this, Darcy freaked out and went on to gaslight Amanda to stop it from happening. He convinced Amanda that her family were out for her money, which prompted her to send Byron packing.

All the while, Karl (Alan Fletcher) was growing ever more suspicious about Darcy. Looking to gather intel, he met with Darcy’s ex, Tess Bell (Krista Vendy), who confessed that she married a deceiving Darcy in what were some of the worst years of her life…

Tess made it crystal clear to Karl that Darcy cannot be trusted, mentioning that he’s in a significant amount of debt to her.

Yesterday, Karl enquired with Amanda whether Darcy had asked her for money. This didn’t go down well, as in her eyes, Darcy can do no wrong.

Realising that Karl could be onto him, Darcy then decided to replace Karl’s herbal medication with the strong stuff. When Karl collapsed at The Waterhole soon after, Darcy took the opportunity to reveal Karl’s opioid dependence to Susan (Jackie Woodburne) and Terese (Rebekah Elmaloglou), which results in Karl being sacked!

Later this week, Sadie (Emerald Chan) offers to help Jane by subtly testing Amanda’s memory at her spa appointment. The session proves that Amanda is struggling and Byron insists she needs to get a professional diagnosis.

Hoping that a family trip away will help her get through to her mum, Jane arranges a trip to the Dandenongs, one of Amanda’s favourite places.

Elsewhere, Karl accuses Darcy of being responsible for slipping him the opioids and hiding them in the Eirene Rising office. Darcy denies any wrongdoing, but both Holly (Lucinda Armstrong Hall) and Terese have started to become suspicious, and they’re watching his every move.

Darcy then faces another hurdle when Jane decides she’s going to take control of her mum’s affairs because of her cognitive decline. With Jane about to have intel on her mother’s finances, the clock is ticking for Darcy before his villainous act is found out.

Trying to save himself before it’s too late, Darcy continues to gaslight Amanda to turn against Jane once and for all.

Sure enough, Darcy’s plan works – as Amanda’s family surround her, she unleashes on them, cancelling the family trip to the Dandenongs and ordering Jane not to follow her.

Reflecting on the latest development, her family remember that Amanda’s mood can often change, and they managed to turn Mother’s Day around.

Jane sets out to find her mum, feeling positive that she can persuade her again – but it seems she won’t be able to talk Amanda round, as Darcy gets to her first.

As Darcy gets to the Dangenongs to meet Amanda, he’s set up the perfect alibi with his ex, Tess, by arranging to meet her around the same time.

At the Dandenongs, Amanda becomes confused and thinks Darcy is Jane.

Standing in Jane’s place, Darcy is given the apology speech that Jane could only dream of, as Amanda acknowledges just how badly she’s treated her daughter.

Amanda suddenly realises that it isn’t Jane standing in front of her after all, which leaves her emotional. She confides in Darcy about how frightened she is about what’s happening to her.

Darcy shows a glimmer of decency when he feels empathy for Amanda. However, he decides to prioritise himself and goes ahead with covering his tracks…

Looking down the steep cliff where Amanda was standing just seconds earlier, we’re left wondering – did Amanda fall, or was she pushed?

Soon after, Darcy attends his catch-up with ex-wife, Tess, ensuring he has a watertight alibi and that nobody will ever know he was at the Dandeongs with Amanda!

Despite Tess’s stark warning to Karl last week, Darcy quickly manages to weasel himself back into favour after paying her back (with Amanda’s money).

Meanwhile, Jane can’t locate her mum and asks Susan for help. Susan confirms that Amanda was last seen taking an Uber.

Jane’s concerned about her mum going off alone in her current mental state so calls the police. A search for Amanda begins… Will Jane ever get the chance to hear Amanda’s apology herself?

Susan calls Darcy to update him and see if he knows anything, but there’s no answer…

As Jane and family wait to see if Amanda is found, Andrew (Lloyd Will) arrives to relay some very difficult news: Amanda has been found dead in the Dandenongs!