Home and Away airs shock death in latest Australian episode

 A major storyline comes to a head.

Home and Away has killed off a guest character following its big return to screens in Australia.

The Summer Bay soap has aired its first episodes of 2023 on Channel 7 this week following its Christmas break.

Thursday's episode (January 12) featured the climax of Bree Cameron's domestic violence storyline, as her abusive husband Jacob continued to hold her against her will.

Late last year, Jacob forced Bree to leave the Bay with him, violating the terms of an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) which banned him from having any contact with her.

Since then, Jacob and Bree have been camping out in a remote location, with Jacob determined to avoid being captured by the police.

In the show's latest episode, unstable Jacob was outraged after discovering that Bree had secretly written a love letter to her boyfriend Remi Carter.

When Jacob demanded to know whether the note was true, Bree confirmed that she had fallen in love with her new partner.

Having spent several days trying to keep Jacob calm, Bree stood her ground and defended herself. Her evil husband responded by violently lashing out again, causing Bree to briefly lose consciousness.

In disturbing scenes, Bree came round and spotted Jacob digging a grave for her. Needing to stop him, Bree crept up on Jacob and hit him over the head with a spade.

Bree only hoped to knock Jacob out, but was soon shocked to realise that he was dead on the ground.

Summer Bay police officer Rose Delaney and her paramedic brother Xander were both called to the scene, where they pronounced Jacob dead despite Bree's desperate attempts to revive him.

Rose then paid a visit to Remi, confirming that Bree had been found alive and was being checked over at the hospital.

When Remi rushed to see Bree, he found her in a traumatised state. Bree immediately asked Remi to leave, struggling to process everything and making it clear that she wanted nothing more to do with him.

Alex Williams made his first appearance as Jacob late last year, but the latest episode marked the end of his stint on the show.

Home and Away fans in the UK will see these scenes on Channel 5 in March.