Home and Away star Jacqui Purvis has shared that Felicity "Flick" Newman’s new venture is about to start her on a whole new chapter when she offers to buy into one of the bay’s best-loved businesses.
After the HUGE drama of the illegal poker nights at Salt, struggling owner Mackenzie Booth (Emily Weir) thought that her days as the restaurant’s boss lady were over.
Despite escaping a prison term for the illegal activities, Mac can’t find a suitable investor for the failing business and in a shock decision she decides to sell up.
But an unstoppable Felicity isn’t about to let Mac go down with a sinking ship and comes up with a bold new plan… Investing her inheritance from her late father to become Salt’s new co-owner!
“Flick was a bit of a wild child when she first arrived in the bay. She didn’t know what she wanted to do and she didn’t really have any goals set,” explained Jacqui.
“She was just having a bit of fun, getting a job here and there and just being chilled and seeing what happened.
“This is the first time that she’s stepped back and thought, ‘I actually really want to do this and I’m good at it!’
“It’s exciting to see that journey for her and the fact that she’s got her eyes set on something she wants to commit to.”
Although Mac is incredibly grateful to Felicity for helping her save her restaurant, their co-ownership gets off to a bumpy start when Mack wants to play things safe.
She’s uneasy with Felicity’s determination to relaunch the restaurant with a bang!
“Flick doesn’t really have a filter so she says a lot of things and has a lot of ideas that sometimes she doesn’t really think through,” pointed out Jacqui.
“Salt is Mac’s baby, she’s been making the decisions herself for so long now, it’s become a habit.
“Now having someone else that you have to all of a sudden think, ‘I need to talk this through with you first before I can make a decision,’ it’s hard for her to get used to.”
When Mackenzie’s brother Dean Thomson (Patrick O’Connor) points out that she needs to stop being such a control freak, she agrees to have an open mind.
Mac's had a rough ride after the poker nights ended in terror when high roller Peter ‘PK’ King tried to blackmail her, but it was potentially a good money spinner! And that was all down to Felicity.
“She gained a lot of trust from Mack because she did prove herself in the way that she can make things happen and she can bring money to the business,” shared Jacqui.
“She actually does have good ideas and they do come through. It’s just there was a bit of a mix up and a miscommunication and other things happened!
After Felicity's old friends arrive with their band, Lyrik, she has an off-the-wall idea to run a music night.
It could really change the restaurant's image. But will Mac listen?
“She does need to relaunch Salt. They need to come up with something fresh and new and still help Mack through those money problems so Flick’s trying and she’s really putting herself out there," insisted Jacqui.
“Mac is kind of the books, the brains, the stats behind it whereas Flick is kind of the heart and the soul in the way of energy and just passion.
“It’s cool to see those two approaches and how they work together. I think that actually they level themselves out and they help each other and support each other.
“In saying that it can also cause a bit of friction! They’re both trying to work out how to deal with this partnership and move forward.”
With Felicity now in a more settled role than we’ve seen her before, Jacqui teased that there’s still plenty of twists and turns on the horizon!
“I can’t say too much but what I CAN say is that you will definitely see more of that beautiful boss woman dynamic between Flick and Mac, which is just awesome to see on screen.
“Then there’s this storyline coming up with a few dodgy characters who come into the bay and definitely stir the pot and make Flick’s life pretty hard!
“They get in the way of people that she really cares about. You’ll have to stay tuned for that!”
Home and Away airs weekdays at 1:15 pm on Channel 5 and 6:00 pm on 5Star followed by a 'first look' episode on 5Star at 6:30 pm.
