Goodbye Irene, hello Lynne McGranger
Having won the Gold Logie at 72, what’s next for Home and Away actor Lynne McGranger?
Advice on Alzheimer’s and dementia
The Home and Away story line that sees Lynne McGranger’s Irene Roberts character leave Summer Bay is a realistic depiction of a phenomenon confronting ageing Australians.
Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia that affects memory, thinking, and behaviour. More than 342,000 Australians are living with dementia – a number expected to increase to 400,000 in less than a decade. Worldwide, at least 44 million people are living with dementia, making the disease a global health crisis that must be addressed.
A diagnosis of Alzheimer’s is life changing for the person with the disease, as well as their family and friends, but information and support are available. No one has to face Alzheimer’s or another dementia alone.
More information is available on the Alzheimer’s and Dementia website.
It’s a common dilemma for people who have arrived at the end of long careers and lives spent in the workforce. What’s next? Is retirement really what I want?
For 33 years, former schoolteacher Lynne McGranger’s alter-ego, Irene Roberts, has been living in Summer Bay, dispensing sage advice and facing personal challenges. She’s been a stalwart of the long-running TV soap, Home and Away.
While she was a sentimental favourite to take out the Gold Logie at the recent television awards night, which she did, what really pleased her was winning the Silver Logie for best actress.
She also relished the opportunity to recognise and praise the other female contenders for the gold trophy – Ally Langdon, Julia Morris, Lisa Millar, Poh Ling Yeow, and Sonia Kruger.
“I want to acknowledge all the other nominees, all the beautiful, fierce women of all ages. And I am the eldest! If you live as long as I do, it's fantastic,” McGranger said, while also acknowledging the only male nominee, Hamish Blake.
“This show has been kept afloat because of the wonderful writers and the wonderful production. Yeah, it is a soap. But, you know what, it gives Australia’s actors and crew so much work, and we are so proud of it. 38 years, the bloody thing has been going for. It just won’t die. Fantastic."
McGranger holds the record as the longest-serving female cast member of an Australian TV soap, and will exit the show as her character, Irene, battles Alzheimer’s disease, using the time she has left to travel, visit family, and live her life.
Saying she was “thrilled and honoured”, McGranger quipped that the Logie “is going to be pride of place next to my 1974 Wagga Wagga Drama Festival Best Actress (award)”.
McGranger is not ruling out a return to TV – for the right role! But right now, she’s traded the TV cameras for the stage, with a tour of the play, The Grandparents' Club 2, in which she plays modern grandmother, Liz, who is navigating family complexities.
The play, described as a celebration of grandparenthood, was written by comedian, Wendy Harmer.
“I’m not retiring, absolutely not,” McGranger told the media.
“If I had the opportunity to come back to television at some point, of course I would consider it, depending on the role and the show… but not another 33 years because otherwise I’d be very, very old.”
Related reading: The Australian, Sky News
