An emotional farewell for the Paratas.
Tragedy will strike the Parata family in Home and Away next week as they say an emotional farewell to Ari Parata, with Rob Kipa-Williams bowing out of the soap.
Upcoming scenes will see Ari rushed to hospital with suspected appendicitis, but in surgery the doctors discover the situation is much more serious – he has cancer of the appendix and tumours spreading in his abdomen.
Whilst he is told that there is no cure, doctors suggest an operation may be able to extend his time briefly, but it is something that would need to be regularly repeated. Instead of enduring the pain of procedures and delaying the inevitable, Ari makes the heartbreaking decision to undergo no treatment and instead die on his own terms.
Mia Anderson (Anna Samson) and Ari bring their wedding forward, but sadly it is not long after they have exchanged vows that he slips away, surrounded by his loved ones.
Speaking about the devastating turn of events, Kawakawa Fox-Reo, who plays Ari's nephew Nikau, has spoken about the overwhelming grief his character feels at the loss of his beloved uncle.
"He reacts in a way that any young boy would. It's very difficult, and there's no right or wrong way of grieving for someone," he said to Inside Soap. "He's going to lose it a little bit, and he'll struggle. It will affect his relationships with everyone around him – however, once he realises that he's not alone, he's going to have a better time."
Opening up on how he felt learning Kipa-Williams would be leaving, he said he was "struck" by the revelation, but appreciates "it was his time to go", adding: "I'm happy for him. Big love to the guy – I wish him all the best."
Last month, Kipa-Williams shared an emotional social media post to commemorate Ari's final scenes airing in Australia, saying he was honoured to have helped build Māori culture into the soap.
"Thank you to the fans, for all the love and crazy amounts of messages and support. Thank you to all the cast, crew, camera, directors, production, writing, makeup, art department and everyone else in between, that make the wheels spin.
"This iconic Ozzie TV show took risks. I'm honoured to have co-created Māori cultural storylines, and will forever be proud of those scenes that made it to screen... it was true teamwork. My hope is this opens the door for more diversity. Thank you for everything Ariki Wiremu Parata, you taught me a lot. I'm gonna miss you."