Lynne McGranger reveals losing her parents was the wake-up call she needed
She’s been Irene Roberts on Home and Away for the past 25 years, but in her real life Lynne McGranger prefers to keep a low profile away from the spotlight.
"I deal with the fame of the show's notoriety," Lynne, 65, tells TV Week. "But it [being a public figure] is a bit weird. Especially with personal stuff – word gets out."
McGranger likes to keep her private life private, but as she’s grown older she’s relishing her profile to speak out on the importance of looking after your health as you age.
As ambassador for Hearing Awareness Week, McGranger recalls the heartbreak of losing her parents and how it has changed her life today.
"Dad's health had a huge impact on my life," she says. "He was a smoker since a young age and eventually quit when he turned 50."
McGranger’s father, Bruce, sadly passed away in 2005 of oesophageal and skin cancer at the age of 79.
As a smoker at the time, her father’s death was a huge wake-up call.
"At the time, I had been trying to give up smoking and wasn't able to," she explains. "Two weeks after Dad died, I decided to visit a hypnotist – I haven't touched a cigarette since."
McGranger didn’t just quit the ciggies, she decided to overhaul other facets of her life, including cutting her alcohol intake and exercising regularly.
"I used to have a few glasses of red wine every night while cooking dinner," she admits. "It doesn't seem like a lot, but it was the equivalent of nearly three bottles a week. As soon as I stopped, I lost two or three kilos,” she recalls.
"When you get to 60, your body says, 'Hang on, I just can't do that anymore.'"
When McGranger’s mother passed away from a stroke in 2015, it was another wake-up call for the actress.
Although she knows her mother, who died at 92, lived a happy life, McGranger is certain more could have been done in her final years.
"In the last 10 years of her life, she was as deaf as a post," McGranger explains. "We would have to stand in front of her and yell in her face – it was awful and incredibly sad to watch."
Since her mother’s passing, McGranger has been more determined than ever to spread the message of health and longevity to Australia's senior community.
"I thought, 'I'm no spring chicken and could be heading down that path,'" she says. "I'd hate for people to miss out on a big part of their life."