Lynne McGranger collectively broke hearts across the nation when she left her iconic role as Irene Roberts on Home and Away in 2025 — but it may not be the last fans have seen of her, with the actress telling Chattr that she’d be open to returning to the soap.
Towards the end of Irene’s time in Summer Bay, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and decided she wants to travel the world and make the most of the time she had left before the disease progressed.
In an exclusive interview with Chattr, Lynne admitted that she would only consider returning to Home and Away if the new storyline didn’t undermine what had been established upon her exit.
“It would have to be a superlative storyline because I feel like it would break reality. If this were a real scenario, then chances are Irene’s health would have declined quite a lot and quite quickly,” she said.
The Gold Logie winner added that while she’d want to keep Irene’s storyline realistic in light of her Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis, she wouldn’t want to return for an overly sad storyline.
“I think I wouldn’t want to diminish the storyline, but I wouldn’t want to make so sad and that you know, almost like there’s no hope,” she said.
Lynne McGranger’s idea for Irene’s Home and Away return
Lynne told Chattr that while she wouldn’t want to return to the soap for a negative storyline, she has some ideas about how a cameo could work.
“I think the idea of Irene still being able to maybe get around on you know the odd kind of catered tour and still be able to catch up with her friends and maybe still be in contact with her friends in the bay is if they wanted to reintroduce her or remind the the public of her, that might be a way to do it,” she suggested.
Lynne then floated the idea of Irene returning in a dream sequence or as a ghost, saying that’s something she’d be interested in doing.
“Unless they suddenly come up with some, you know, genius cure, which I can’t see happening anytime soon, sadly, or unless she appears in a dream sequence. That’d be fun.
“Where she comes to somebody in a dream to bring them news or to bring them a warning or something like that. She suddenly becomes their, I don’t know, their good ghost. I would do that.
“I think that would be a bit of fun because that would be more about the person whose dreams she was appearing in, rather than her. But it might be a nice way to bring her back into the show for a minute.”
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