Thanks to her long-running role as the much-loved Irene Roberts on Home And Away, Lynne McGranger has been one of the most known faces on Australian television for almost 30 years.
However, in this exclusive excerpt from her new memoir Acting Up: Me, Myself, and Irene (out November 2), McGranger recalls the moment she discovered she’d almost been fired from the show – a revelation she made by accident during a live radio interview with broadcasters Amanda Keller and Brendan Jones in 2019…
Thank you very much. Coral
I consider myself really fortunate to be able to claim that I’ve gone to work every day feeling confident, pleased, and secure in my position. That is, until I was interviewed on WSFM in 2019 by radio talents Jonesy and Amanda. In terms of interviews, I usually enjoy speaking with these men since they’re smart, humorous, and genuinely kind people. ‘How does it feel to be the longest-running female cast member?’ and ‘Do you still love being on the show?’ she’s been asked for decades. I knew I could have this small talk in my sleep. I believe I was preparing breakfast at the same time as I was conversing.
Jonesy came in out of nowhere, saying, “It’s incredible to believe they almost wrote you out in 2002.”
‘Excuse me, but what?’ (I’m sure droplets would have been flying in the air if I’d had a drink in my mouth.)
‘It’s on Wikipedia,’
Irene was reportedly written out since the filmmakers believed she didn’t have someplace to go now that her children had left. A new script producer named Coral Drouyn had come by chance, and she was frightened. She pleaded with the producers to let me remain and promised Irene wonderful things. While you’d think I’d have heard about it from coworkers in the green room, this was the first I’d heard about it.
After the interview, I went straight to Paul [McWaters, Lynne’s 36-year partner] and informed him that a woman named Coral had saved my bacon in 2002! To be honest, I think I’m still processing this news due to the magnitude of the shock. I know that ‘job security’ and ‘actor’ aren’t two words that come to mind when you think of me, but my Home And Away ‘family’ is exactly that – a group of people who have greatly enriched my life, taught me so many valuable lessons, provided me with some of my most cherished memories, and given me some truly wonderful friendships.
