Home and Away's Lynne McGranger reveals exit plans: 'Dramatic'

Just days after Home and Away’s Georgie Parker announced her break from the soap, veteran star Lynne McGranger has revealed how she wants to leave. The actress, 70, has played Irene Roberts for over 30 years.

In 2014, the redhead clinched the title of the longest-serving actress in the same role in Australia, previously held by radio host Kate Ritchie (Sally Fletcher). Although her character is a kind, motherly figure to Summer Bay residents, the star is hoping for a “dramatic exit”.

In an interview with Stuff.co.nz, Lynne floated some creative ideas for her final storyline.

“I want to go with the biggest bang, the most dramatic exit,” she spilled. “I want to get lost at sea, or I want to die a really sad, lengthy death with everyone weeping and wailing around me.

“Or Irene could get lost at sea and they never find the body, have the memorial service and everything and then she walks back into town.”

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Fans were upset by Lynne’s comments, after losing Kawakawa Fox-Reo (Nikau Parata), Sophie Dillman (Ziggy Astoni) and Patrick O’Connor (Dean Thompson) over the last two weeks.

“Please don't talk about your character leaving, too many good actors leaving the bay,” one fan wrote.

“It’s looking like the show is coming to an end. Wonder why all the good long term actors are leaving all of a sudden,” another observed.

“Alf and Irene have to die a boring death, like old age or something. Cause it’ll be like losing our parents or grandparents!” a third exclaimed.

Elsewhere in the interview, Lynne was asked what her ‘biggest regret’ was. When she landed the role of Irene Roberts, she was a proud mother of toddler Clancy with her partner Paul McWaters. The fast-paced nature of the soap and work demands meant Paul became a stay-at-home dad while Lynne continued working.

“You say things, do something and sometimes you go, ‘I wish I could take that back’, but in the grand scheme of things, I don’t really regret anything.

“However, a part of me thinks I would have liked to have spent a bit more time with my daughter when she was younger. I could have if there had been two of me — that would have been great. But I don’t think Clancy missed out at all. Paul was a fantastic parent,” she muses.

Bonnie Sveen opens up about her time on Home and Away

This comes after former Home and Away star Bonnie Sveen addressed a possible return to the show.

The star, who played Ricky Sharpe, felt some pressure stepping in as Darryl ‘Brax’ Braxton’s (Steve Peacocke) new love interest in 2013, but quickly won fans over.

Brax, Heath and Casey Braxton are among the most-loved characters from Summer Bay, with fans constantly hoping to see them reappear in the soap.

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When asked if she would return alongside the iconic River Boys, Bonnie tells Yahoo Lifestyle that she can’t rule it out completely.

“I never want to say a flat no,” she admits. “I have no plans to go back, and maybe I won’t [get an offer], maybe I should just prepare for myself that it’s not going to happen.”

In Bonnie and Steve’s heartfelt exit, the pair had an emotional reunion before leaving the bay with baby Casey. The actress says that their final storyline felt like ‘the right way’ for their characters to leave.

“It was a really beautiful time in my life, and I always think about it with nostalgia. I feel so lucky to have worked with those people,” she adds. “It has shaped my acting process a lot, just with all of that regularity and experience.”

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