Home and Away is an Australian soap opera. It was first broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in 2006, by order of first appearance. They were all introduced by the show's series producer Julie McGuaran. The 19th season of Home and Away began airing on the Seven Network on 16 January 2006 and concluded on 1 December 2006. The first introduction of year was Amy Mathews as Rachel Armstrong in the year's premiere. Jessica Tovey joined the cast as Belle Taylor in February. Sam North began portraying Dom Moran in April. Rodger Corser and Trent Baines also joined the cast as Doctor Hugh Sullivan and Macca MacKenzie respectively. In July, Bobby Morley arrived as Drew Curtis and Chris Sadrinna was cast as Rachel's brother Brad Armstrong. October marked the introductions of Jessica Chapnik as Sam Tolhurst, her son Rory Tolhurst and the Cooper brothers Rocco and Johnny played by Ian Meadows and Callan Mulvey.
Rachel Armstrong
Rachel Armstrong, played by Amy Mathews, debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 16 January 2006. In 2010, Mathews quit the soap to pursue other projects and Rachel's husband Tony Holden (Jon Sivewright) was also written out. The serial's official website describe Rachel stating: "She has great instincts for people and has a sharp mind; she’s fiercely independent and has great strength of character." Of Rachel's persona, Mathews states: "Rachel is outgoing and fun with a sharp mind and good instincts for people. She has incredible strength and is fiercely independent. She has strong values and definite ideas about right and wrong but she is also a romantic at heart." In 2007, Mathews received the Logie for "New Female Talent" for her portrayal of Rachel. Mathews was nominated for "Best Actress" and "Best Couple" for her relationship with Kim at the 2007 Inside Soap Awards. Soap opera reporting website Holy Soap describe Rachel's most memorable moment as: "Being taken hostage by the Believers cult, who tried to force her to deliver Tasha's baby."
Belle Taylor
Susan "Belle" Taylor, played by Jessica Tovey, made her first on-screen appearance on 3 February 2006. Belle's storylines included finding her birth mother, a drug addiction, her relationship with Aden Jefferies and being diagnosed with cancer. In 2009, it was announced that Tovey had quit the show and the writers took the decision to kill off the character. Belle made her last appearance on 11 August 2009. Tovey joined Home and Away in 2006 when she was 18. The character of Belle was her first television role. In April 2009, Tovey announced that she had quit Home and Away. RTÉ's website describes Belle as being a "cheeky, extroverted young girl". She was full of insecurity from her "disciplined and controlling" upbringing. She craved love and attention from her parents, which they never gave to her. Belle's parents were shocked to discover their daughter was rejecting their conservative lifestyle and hanging out with the wrong crowd. Tovey earned various award nominations for her role as Belle. In 2007, Tovey earned a nomination for "Most Popular New Female Talent" at the Logie Awards. In 2010, she was nominated for "Most Popular Actress". At the 2007 Inside Soap Awards, Tovey was nominated for "Sexiest Female". In 2009, she received a nomination for "Best Actress" and "Best Storyline" for the drug addiction plot. 2010 saw Belle and Aden's wedding nominated in the Bride and Doom category at the 2010 All About Soap magazine awards. Belle's funeral episode was nominated for an Australian Writer's Guild Award in 2010. Virgin Media named Belle and Aden as one of "Soaps' sexiest couples", while viewers voted them "Home and Away's Hottest Couple" in a poll run by Holy Soap.
Dom Moran
Dominic "Dom" Moran, played by Sam North, first appeared on 20 April 2006 and departed on 14 February 2008.
Dom works for his uncle Ray (Damien Garvey) at his garage, Moran Motors. He begins playing many dangerous pranks on Ric Dalby (Mark Furze) and often gets him into trouble. Two of these incidents injure Ric, the first; Dom burns Ric with battery acid and in the second, he nearly kills him when he gives Ric a faulty jack which gives way and crushes him. He also begins harassing Ric's girlfriend Belle Taylor (Jessica Tovey) but is kneed in the groin by her and later punched by Ric. Ray then realises that Dom is too dangerous to work with and fires him.
The following year, Dom returns and begins supplying Drew Curtis (Bobby Morley) with illegal parts for his car, dubbed "The Beast" and is involved in the drag-racing scene with local thug, Denni Maitland (Joshua Helman). Denni is involved in a drag race against Drew and Lucas Holden (Rhys Wakefield), which results in Lucas' ex, Lisa Duffy (Jessica McNamee) being killed in a car crash. Dom steals Drew's car and torches it in order to prevent himself from being arrested for theft of the parts. He agrees to help exonerate Drew, now a suspect, if Belle gives him a kiss. Belle reluctantly complies and Dom confesses and is jailed for theft car parts.
Following his release, Dom kidnaps Belle. Drew, acting on a tip from Ray tracks them down and rescues Belle, they flee and hit Dom in the process. However, when they return to the site, Dom has disappeared. He resurfaces several days later in Belle's room and leaves a ring he gave her but leaves. A couple of weeks later, Dom turns up at the diner and collapses. Belle rushes Dom to hospital and Drew turns up and warns him off. A confrontation results in Dom needing emergency surgery and Belle tells him she loves him but admits to Drew she only did that to get Dom through the surgery. He recovers and begins rehab with the aid of Sam Holden (Jessica Chapnik), his physiotherapist who unwittingly convinces him to continue to pursue Belle. Dom takes a job at the diner and mocks Drew for having to repeat Year 12 when he serves him. Irene Roberts (Lynne McGranger) and Roman Harris (Conrad Coleby) engineer a plan to get Dom away from Belle by arranging for him to have an interview with Irene's daughter, Finlay (Tina Thomsen), who owns a restaurant in the city. However, Dom ruins his chances intentionally and exposed to Belle. He leaves for the city, saying he will return for Belle.
Clayton Smales of The Townsville Bulletin was critical of North's acting. He described North's stint as a "woeful turn" and labelled the character a "flannel-shirted, sparsely bearded Lothario".
Hugh Sullivan
Hugh Sullivan, played by Rodger Corser, made his first appearance on 5 April 2006 and made his last on 12 June 2007. In October 2020, Corser was pictured with Home and Away actors James Stewart and Ditch Davey in Coogee prompting speculation that he was rejoining the show. TV Week's Beth Brennan observed that his character was not killed off, so "the door is still open" for Corser to reprise his role.
Hugh arrives in Summer Bay as a friend and former lover of Rachel Armstrong (Amy Mathews). Rachel invites him to join her and Leah Patterson-Baker (Ada Nicodemou) for lunch at Leah's place. Hugh learns Leah is the midst of a separation from her husband Dan (Tim Campbell) and asks her on a date. Leah is reluctant at first and declines but she agrees later agrees and they share a kiss, which is witnessed by Dan. Hugh leaves after Leah rejects him, admitting that she did not feel that anything was there.
Hugh returns several months later and falls for Rachel, who is now married to Kim Hyde (Chris Hemsworth). He becomes a confidant to Rachel when she and Kim goes through a rough patch in their marriage and even organizes a picnic with him. Rachel sees Hugh flirting with Nurse Julie Cooper (Lisa Hayson-Phillips) and sets them up on a dinner date which proves very uncomfortable for them both. Julie asks Hugh if he still has feelings for Rachel, which he lies and says he does not. Rachel later invites Hugh to stay with her and Kim. When they attend a medical conference together a drunken Rachel tells Hugh she thinks she is more suited to her than Kim is. Hugh, uncomfortable moves out and begins sharing the diner flat with Martha MacKenzie (Jodi Gordon).
On a night out with Kim, Tony Holden (Jon Sivewright) and Ric Dalby (Mark Furze), Hugh meets Ingrid Lynch (Leigh Shorten) and spends the night with her. Rachel is jealous when she finds out but Hugh admits to Ingrid that he is emotionally unavailable. Rachel confronts Hugh about his awkwardness around her and he admits his feelings. She is shocked and was quick to tells him that he is just feeling that way because they used to live together and are still having to work together. Several days later, Hugh invites Rachel to join him for dinner which she accepts but leaves halfway through. She returns after a falling out with Kim and High agrees to let her stay. Hugh and Rachel then share a kiss after he comforts her.
Hugh receives a posting in Johannesburg and tries to keep it a secret, but Julie tells Rachel. He then gives Rachel an ultimatum; he will only stay if they can be together. Hugh gives Rachel some time to think, but leaves for South Africa following her indecisiveness. Several months later, Hugh emails Rachel, who is now engaged to Tony and asks to meet up with her, however, she turns down his offer.
Inside Soap ran a poll asking their readers to decide who Rachel should be with out of Hugh and Kim. The results indicated that they wanted Rachel to be with Hugh – who received fifty-seven percent of the vote.
Macca MacKenzie
Michael "Macca" MacKenzie, played by Trent Baines, made his first appearance on 7 April 2006. Macca is introduced as Martha MacKenzie's (Jodi Gordon)'s brother and a love interest for Cassie Turner (Sharni Vinson). He comes to Summer Bay to help Martha celebrate her birthday. Gordon commented "He surprises her when he turns up. No one else has met him yet. But Martha's ecstatic to see him again. She's just over the moon." Baines described his character as "a bit of a bogan" and "a bit of a country boy", adding that he likes beer, parties and riding quad bikes. Macca soon wins Martha's friends over with his "charm and quick wit".
Macca's main storyline focuses on his relationship with Cassie and repeated domestic abuse of her. Baines spoke about the story on the serial's official website: "It’s something that happens in society and it’s a shame and any of the girls who are out there I think they need to talk to somebody even if it’s not a friend or a family – possibly counselling or something like that – because I think that they might get stuck into the little world that gets created in a violent relationship." He added "I’ve learnt since playing the role of Macca that it’s a strange way of thinking, I can understand to an extent how it happens, but I certainly think that people in that situation have got some issues and I’ve got no cure for it. I wish I could say that all they need to do is 'this' and that will fix it, but I don't know."