As Home and Away in Australia approaches, Irene appears in court and might spend up to seven years behind bars. Will the jury find her guilty?
In upcoming episodes, Irene (Lynne McGranger) will eventually appear in court since she might perhaps go to jail for harbouring wanted fugitive Dana Matheson (Ally Harris).
At first, Irene didn’t even realise Dana was living with her. After responding to Irene’s post for a lodger, Dana’s sister Harper (Jessica Redmayne) travelled to the bay to ask her old acquaintance Cash (Nicholas Cartwright) for help with Dana’s case.
We didn’t realise Dana was with Harper until after she moved into the downstairs bedroom and slipped in via the window to share the bed.
The siblings were somewhat relieved when Irene left to visit her granddaughter, but Cash later discovered Dana during an unexpected visit. Dana was able to persuade Cash that going to the station with him would be throwing her to the wolves, despite his initial reaction ordering her to follow him.
In fact, as Cash dug deeper, it became clear that corrupt city detective Will Madden (Jonny Pasvolsky) and Dana’s ex-boyfriend Olly had set her up.
The girls told Irene the whole incident when she came home later and noticed someone was hidden in Harper’s bedroom. Irene chose to assist them despite being cautioned about the potential consequences after discussing the situation with Cash, who verified Dana’s innocence.
Dana turned herself up to Madden as he increased the pressure and threatened to arrest her. However, Madden and his crony Fletcher (James Biasetto) kept her imprisoned in a deserted barn, saying she had fled while travelling to the station.
Dana was rescued just in time and sent to the hospital after Madden tried to murder her by injecting her with the same medication that she was charged with stealing. Upon her subsequent awakening, she verified Madden’s actions, and he was taken into custody.
After that, Dana’s accusations were all withdrawn, but Cash was placed on administrative leave while the matter was looked into. Harper and Irene were foolish to believe that they would not be pursued by the authorities when Rose (Kirsty Marillier) had to forcibly arrest them both two weeks prior for obstructing a police investigation and providing sanctuary to a wanted person.
Given that they were all assisting a woman who was innocent but had been falsely accused by police corruption, Cash has been furious at the injustice of it all and has been unable to comprehend the police’s position. Cash has even talked about leaving the police entirely as a result.
Harper’s attorney warned her to avoid Irene because of her past criminal history when they spoke with her.
In 2019, Irene was accused of causing great bodily harm to Tommy O’Reilly after she discovered him attempting to sexually abuse Bella (Courtney Miller). Irene was put on a bond for good behaviour.
It hasn’t been reported, however, that Irene was previously convicted of stealing from her workplace in 1985, when she was an abusive drinker.
Lynne McGranger told TV Week, “The thought of going back to jail would be too much to bear.” “She ended up getting back on alcohol after her last stint in jail.”
For those who don’t recall, Irene was convicted and imprisoned for several weeks in 2009 when it was alleged that she had killed her partner Lou De Bono (David Roberts) while sailing.
Lou’s estranged wife Donna (Suzie McKenzie), certain of Irene’s culpability and aware that she was a beneficiary in his estate, paid a prison guard to give Irene alcohol in order to further damage Irene’s reputation.
In 2009, Irene was detained on accusations of killing someone.
Evidence of a third person aboard the boat led to Irene’s release, and later on it was discovered that Lou had been killed after getting into a fight with people smugglers Derrick Quaid (John Atkinson) and Hugo Austin (Bernard Curry) when he spotted their boat.
Irene has been putting off seeing her attorney Greta Hunt (Amanda McGregor), much to the dismay of her close friend John (Shane Withington), believing that she would simply confirm what she already knew—that she would be returning to prison.
Rewinding to the present, Greta welcomes Irene to the courtroom before to her hearing and tells her that the judge is a strict enforcer of the law. It will undoubtedly be a difficult battle, made worse by the prosecution’s desire for Irene to receive the maximum sentence of seven years in jail!
“She feels terrible in court,” Lynne continues. Rose had warned her that she might spend seven years in prison, so she believes she’s gone for all the money.
Even though Irene has advised Dana and Harper to follow Harper’s attorney’s advice and avoid her, Irene is moved that they are there to support her.
Shane Withington posted a brief video on X/Twitter that gave us a preview of the filming of these episodes, which we previously reported in our August Spoiler Roundup article.
Greta becomes concerned when the judge seems uncaring about Irene’s situation and informs the court that Irene would like to make a statement. However, it’s a bit of a bet as to whether it will help given Irene’s past performance.
Irene, despite her fear, talks honestly when she explains why she decided to assist Dana.
Given the current state of police corruption, it is evident that Irene made the morally correct decision, but it is unclear if her speech was sufficient to persuade them.
Irene, in tears, comes to court the following day, eager to hear her decision. Is she going to jail or prison?
