Having portrayed Irene Roberts on Home and Away for for 30 years, she is one of the most recognisable faces in the soap opera industry. Lynne McGranger has now revealed insider information from the set of the beloved Australian TV show in a new memoir.
In an appearance on This Morning on Wednesday, the longtime soap star discussed how, after struggling with an eating disorder, a marijuana addiction, and a failed teaching career, she felt like she’d “win the jackpot” when she was given the temporary part of Irene Roberts in 1993.
The soap performer said she had only planned to play the part for three months when she spoke to hosts Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby from Australia, but the producers kept calling her back.
When discussing anecdotes from the book Acting Up, McGranger had the audience in fits of laughter when she related how Irene’s character description had been changed to “thin-waisted alcoholic” due to food poisoning just before the audition.
She stated of continuing in the position for so long: “I still have to pinch myself.” It’s strange because the contract called for a three-month commitment.
The producers told me they would like me to return and work for an additional six months. I exclaimed, “Hell yeah!” It simply kept happening, and I feel so fortunate that it has been such a fantastic trip.
She had tried teaching before joining the show, but discovered she only truly enjoyed kids “if they were in groups of one,” calling her former classmates “snotty and nasty.”
The Home and Away actress, 68, revealed last month in an interview with The Daily Telegraph that her prior marijuana addiction and eating disorder are also discussed in the book.
The actress, who gave up using cigarettes and marijuana in 2005, claims she had a serious addiction and even performed as Irene while intoxicated.
I have performed in the theatre while high, but not at Home And Away. You know, I didn’t drink, therefore that wine was mine.
As Irene Roberts on the soap opera for more than 28 years, Lynne said that she once grew the prohibited plant in her backyard.
It will be completely scandalous, and it wasn’t even close (of marijuana). I used a lot of marijuana. I simply adored it. I’d smoke joints,” she admitted.
The actress also admitted that between the ages of 15 and 28, she battled bulimia.
She admitted, “I developed a sort of bulimia where you binge and take laxatives instead of vomiting.”
At the time, it seemed like a wise decision. There wasn’t a label for it back then, but I now recognise it as a sort of bulimia.
Acting Up: Me, Myself & Irene is a “warm, humorous and intimate peek into the life of one of Australia’s living TV icons,” according to the book’s publishers Allen & Unwin.
One of Australia’s most well-known television actors and actresses raises the lid on life, both on and off-screen, with humour, honesty, and self-deprecating charm.
Lynne will talk about everything, including her early years and her work on television.
