Home and Awaybid farewell to one of its most beloved characters in Tuesday night’s episode as Irene Roberts, played by Lynne McGranger, left Summer Bay for good. Irene has been a central character on the series for the past three decades, with some of her storylines including her battle with alcoholism, breast cancer diagnosis, and multiple foster children.
Her exit storyline has been playing out on the show over the past few months, with a series of concerning memory lapses leading to a shock Alzheimer’s diagnosis. She then decided to leave Summer Bay and travel the world, with her nearest and dearest pulling out all the stops to organise the ultimate send-off.
After saying goodbye to her loved ones, Irene handed John Palmer (Shane Withington) a plane ticket to Paris and promised that they would meet again on top of the Eiffel Tower. She was then driven from the Bay by Sonny (Ryan Bown), who asked her if she had any regrets.
“None, love,” she said, looking directly into the camera. “Life’s too short.”
Viewers call out ‘missing’ detail
While many fans were in tears watching Irene’s final episode, which was soundtracked by Jessica Mauboy’s poignant song ‘While I’ve Got Time’, plenty of people questioned why so few characters attended her farewell party.
“Is it just me, or are others disappointed in who was there to say goodbye. I thought a lot more of the cast would have been inclu
“Yes I thought a lot of old characters would have come back for the farewell to say goodbye,” another added, while a third agreed, “Was hoping to see some old cast members come back to say goodbye. Would have been a nice touch for everyone”.
“C’mon scriptwriters and producers… This lovely lady deserved many more of the current and past cast to be there for her farewell! What happened to everyone?” someone else asked, followed by a different user who said, “Beautiful farewell, but disappointed that some were missing too”.
Couldn’t stop crying’
Meanwhile, others praised the emotional episode on social media, describing it as the “end of an era” for the Channel 7 series.
“I couldn’t stop crying after tonight’s episode! Such a beautiful exit for a true icon,” a fan commented, with another adding, “Well done everyone – a beautiful episode”.
“What a fantastic send off. Miss you Irene,” someone else said, while one viewer wrote, “That final scene in the car with Irene smiling and looking directly into the camera was very special indeed and a beautiful departure, well done to the producers and everyone involved”.
“Irene breaking the fourth wall at the very end of the episode; I didn’t feel that Irene was speaking, but rather Lynne was giving a message to dedicated fans, kind of a reminder to fulfil your dreams and live life with purpose,” a different user remarked. “Massive congratulations to @lynnemcgranger on her final episode; you’ll be dearly missed and sincerely, thank you for your dedication to the role. You’ve given us countless memories.”
Lynne McGranger speaks out about exit
Ahead of her on-screen farewell, Lynne spoke with Yahoo Lifestyle and said that the emotional fan response to her exit storyline has been “very rewarding”.
“I wanted the lead-up to her exit to be something that could be experienced by the audience as well,” she details. “I feel like the whole Alzheimer’s dementia thing hasn’t really been touched on or dealt with much on Australian television, because it is a sensitive subject, and I just think the writers and the producers have done such an honourable job with it. They’ve really treated it with delicacy and with honesty, and that’s what we wanted to do.”
“In an ideal world, I would have been hit by a bus outside the diner, and it would have been all over red rover. And maybe I’d be in the coffin, knocking on the door, going, ‘Oi, I haven’t gone yet!’. But they were never going to do that,” she laughs. “The fact that [the writers] can keep a being like Home and Away afloat and buoyant for so long, and still bring new innovation to it and be brave enough to tackle a story as potentially delicate as something like Alzheimer’s… It’s amazing.”
