Why Lynne McGranger Quit Home & Away After 32 Years — Irene’s Emotional Farewell & What’s Next

After more than three decades in Summer Bay, Home and Away is preparing to bid farewell to one of its most beloved characters. Lynne McGranger, who has played Irene Roberts for nearly 33 years, is stepping away from the soap, marking the end of an extraordinary era. Irene, who has faced everything from alcoholism and cancer to domestic struggles and now an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, will finally leave the Bay in a moving farewell storyline that honors both the character and those affected by the illness.

Speaking exclusively to Radio Times, Lynne reflected on her decision. “I’d been thinking about it for a year or two,” she admitted. “I thought, maybe it’s time for a change—to do more theatre, to stop waking up at four in the morning and filming in the rain. I toured The Grandparents Club and realized how much I missed theatre, which is where my career began. That’s where I want to go back to.”

It was Lynne herself who suggested Irene’s exit storyline focus on Alzheimer’s disease. “It’s so widespread—everyone seems to know someone who has it, or has been diagnosed themselves. Yet it hasn’t really been explored much on Australian television,” she explained. Drawing on conversations with colleague Jessica Redmayne, whose mother was diagnosed in her fifties, Lynne researched carefully. “I haven’t experienced it personally in my family, so I relied on talking to people and reading. I wanted to make sure we treated it with respect.”

While she pushed for authenticity, Lynne also supported the writers’ decision to give Irene a hopeful send-off. Instead of depicting her gradual decline on screen, Irene chooses to leave town to travel before her condition worsens. “We wanted to honor people going through this without making it unbearably bleak. Who knows? In a few months there might be a new treatment. Anything is possible.”

Filming her final weeks was emotionally grueling. “We shoot out of order, so my last scene was handing over the diner to Leah,” Lynne recalled. “Ada Nicodemou and I couldn’t stop crying. Honestly, we cried through most of our scenes that month. The moment where Irene told John and Leah about her diagnosis was especially tough—it felt like the end was really coming.”

Looking back, Lynne never expected to play Irene for so long. “Originally, it was a three-month job. My daughter was only 20 months old, and I thought it was temporary. Then they asked me to stay six more months, then a year, and it just kept going. My husband even quit his job to look after Clancy. Somehow, it turned into 32 years.”

Would Lynne be friends with Irene in real life? “I think so. She reminds me of an old friend—straight-talking, sometimes blunt, never afraid of confrontation. I’m more reserved, but I admire how she doesn’t hold back. We’d be yin and yang, but we’d get along.”

As for why Irene has endured for so long, Lynne believes it comes down to relatability. “She’s flawed, unpredictable, and human. She’s made terrible mistakes—she once nearly killed an intruder!—but she’s also unafraid to admit when she’s wrong. That’s what people connect with.”

While Irene’s chapter closes, Lynne’s story continues. With plans to return to theatre and embrace new opportunities, she leaves Home and Away with gratitude—and fans with memories of one of Summer Bay’s most iconic characters.