The latest episode of Home and Away in Australia saw Jai Simmons return to Summer Bay, bringing joy to Dean but making Ziggy feel unwelcome. Will he be able to accept her in his dad’s life?

Jai (River Jarvis) and Amber (Maddy Jevic) left Summer Bay in May of this year, after Amber finally admitted to herself that she would never be able to compete with Ziggy for Dean’s affections.

It was a heartbreaking scene as Dean said goodbye to the kid he had only recently gotten to know. Amber raised Jai alone for the first five years of his life, and when Dean left Mangrove River all those years ago, he had no idea that his old flame was even pregnant with his child.

While their new dynamic took some getting used to, Dean quickly formed a strong bond with his son, and happily settled into fatherhood.

This pre-built family unit provided him with some much-needed stability, but the cracks soon began to show.

Amber eventually realised that Dean was still in love with Ziggy, and took herself away from the bay to save herself the pain of watching him pine after another woman.

While they parted on good terms, and Dean has made plenty of visits to see his son over the last few months, Jai hasn’t come back to the bay since.

Then, Dean was involved in the horrific car accident which left him on crutches, and still faces months of difficult rehab to get back on his feet.

In Monday’s Australian episode, as Dean spoke to Jai on the phone, his son made it clear that he wanted to pay him a visit in the bay.

While Dean said yes, he pushed it down the road, claiming that maybe he could come in a few weeks.

However, Ziggy insisted that Jai should come as soon as possible, and even made the effort to put up his drawings all around the house. Dean still seemed reluctant, but refused to tell Ziggy how he was actually feeling.

He initially claimed to Ziggy that Jai is “obsessed with the beach,” seemingly taking issue with the fact that the Astoni farmhouse isn’t as close to the sea as his old apartment. Yet as Ziggy pointed out, it’s a pretty short car journey to get there, and she soon picked up on the fact there was more to it.

Eventually, Dean admitted that in all of the drawings Jai has made of them, he’s either running around, in the water or kicking a footie around.

“This is how Jai sees me,” he explained. “Right now, I can’t even get off this chair without these crutches.”

Jai knows Dean is out of hospital after the accident, so Dean believes that his son already expects him to be able to do those things again.

Ziggy eventually convinced him that he didn’t need to worry, and she could even take over the active side – “I can kick a footie,” she assured him, getting a playful “yeah, right!” as a response.

Yet while his initial concern was his lack of physical fitness, it turns out his relationship with Ziggy could prove to be the biggest stumbling block.

Jai was overjoyed when he first got to the farmhouse mid-way through Monday’s episode. He was impressed with the size and loved being out in the country, asking Dean “are there cows? Horses?”, before wanting to see his new room.

However, it didn’t take long for things to take a turn for the worse. It turns out neither Amber nor Dean have filled the poor kid in on the new developments in Dean’s love life, and when Ziggy arrived with lunch, he didn’t say a word in front of her.

When she left to set up Jai’s room, Jai asked “does she have to be here, dad?”

Ziggy looked heartbroken as she overheard the encounter.

It looks like he isn’t happy that his dad is back with his ex. Will he and Ziggy ever be able to bond, or will he always resent her for breaking up the loving family life that he, Dean and Amber briefly shared?

Jai will return to UK screens on Thursday 18th November.