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A BESOTTED RYDER SPENDS A STEAMY NIGHT WITH JADE

When sassy backpacker Jade (Mia Morrissey) arrived in town, she wasted no time setting her sights on Dean (Patrick O’connor) despite Dean being in a long-term relationship with Ziggy (Sophie Dillman). Things quickly got even more complicated when Jade then caught the eye of Ryder (Lukas Radovich)!

Realising she was going nowhere in her pursuit of Dean, an unperturbed Jade immediately refocused her charm offensive on a smitten Ryder – something the inexperienced teen couldn’t have been happier about!

“Ryder is a bit like a puppy dog as far as Jade’s concerned – and Jade loves all the attention and the fact that she has this power over Ryder,” says Mia. “Jade’s quite flippant and moves on as easily in her love life as she does in her travels.

“She’s forgotten all about Dean, because she realised he wasn’t an option, and is now concentrating on Ryder. She’s definitely aware of how strongly Ryder feels about her and is lapping it up. But her main focus is on having fun.”

And this week things get hot and heavy between the young pair when, after spending the afternoon together, Jade suggests they head back to her caravan for the night.

Meanwhile, Roo (Georgie Parker) can’t help but suspect that Jade − who isn’t exactly polite to the long-term resident − has brought a hefty dose of trouble to the Bay.

“Jade definitely suspects that Roo doesn’t like her,” says Mia. “But Jade typically has such an issue with authority that she really doesn’t care and actually enjoys it. She’s one of those young people who feels superior to anyone older than her and she’s happy to toy with Roo as well.”