Home and Away icon bids farewell after 33 years

In news that has sent shockwaves through lounge rooms across the country, Lynne McGranger, the heart and soul of Home and Away, is preparing to hang up her iconic apron and bid farewell to her beloved character, Irene Roberts.

After an impressive 33 years of delivering heartfelt performances, dishing out sage advice and reminding every misbehaving local to "listen here, girlie", McGranger will be making her emotional exit later this year.

Seven has promised fans that Irene’s departure will be one for the history books – no, not via the usual dramatic Summer Bay methods of freak storms, runaway cars or inexplicable amnesia, but an “emotional exit” that “cannot be missed”.

While details are tightly under wraps, we can only speculate: Will Irene sail off into the sunset? Open a surf club for wayward teens? Or finally take that well-earned break from all the Summer Bay chaos and settle somewhere where people aren’t constantly getting lost at sea?

Fans, naturally, have been left reeling. Social media has been flooded with messages of heartbreak, nostalgia and a desperate plea for Irene to return – even if only for a guest appearance or as a ghostly vision (a Home and Away classic).

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Lynne herself has spoken out about the farewell, calling it “bittersweet” to leave a role that has been not just a job, but a family. "After almost 33 years in my dream role and working every day with people I love, respect and whom I now consider family, it’s bittersweet to be closing the chapter on what has been the best and longest gig of my life,” she said.

Ever the class act, Lynne expressed gratitude to the crew, writers and, of course, the fans – those who have stuck by Irene through every high, low and dramatic face-off at the Diner.

And let’s not forget Irene’s legendary status. TV Week readers ranked her as the second Greatest Australian TV Character of All Time (although we suspect if the voting had been left solely to Home and Away die-hards, she’d have taken the crown).

Julie McGauran, Home and Away’s Executive Producer, summed it up best: “Lynne’s extraordinary portrayal of down-to-earth Irene Roberts is why the character is held with such great affection by fans around the world.”

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Despite wrapping up filming in March, Irene will still grace our screens for months to come – enough time for fans to prepare themselves emotionally (and stock up on tissues). In the meantime, Lynne will return to the stage with her comedy show, "The Grandparents Club", proving that she has no plans to slow down anytime soon.

The farewell will undoubtedly be a tearjerker, but if we know anything about Irene Roberts, she’ll be leaving Summer Bay the same way she lived in it: with heart, humour and a no-nonsense attitude.

As one fan put it perfectly, "Now listen here, girlie, you are going to be missed soooo much."

And that, as they say, is the bottom line.

Image: Instagram