It was sad to say goodbye to Lynne McGranger’s Home and Away character last year, as she had portrayed Irene Roberts for more than 30 years.

The actor has now thanked the writers of the long-running soap opera for sending her off into the sunset with a poignant final storyline.

For those who don’t remember, Irene gets diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, which typically presents in people over 65.

She leaves Summer Bay to travel the world and live out her latter days as best she can while she can.

Lynne told TV Week that she and the writers “wanted to do justice” to the disease that more than 400,000 Aussies have.

RELATED:

• Home and Away star praises storyline highlighting common issue affecting older Aussies

• Tourist praises ‘free’ perk Aussies take for granted

• $5 Bunnings buy to keep your home warmer this winter: ‘Stops cold air’

She revealed the idea for Irene’s exit actually came from the mum of fellow Home and Away star Jess Redmayne (Harper Matheson), who was diagnosed with early-onset dementia in her 50s.

“[Jess’s mum] was my age,” Lynne shared.

“It was beautifully done, and it made me very happy because of that, but it was also incredibly sad.”

When Lynne heard about that, she felt that would be the perfect way for Irene to leave Summer Bay with dignity.

Do you have a story? Email [email protected]

What was Irene Roberts’ final Home and Away storyline?

Last year, Lynne joked she would have been happy with a much more traditional soap opera exit like being “hit by a bus”.

But she said that was “too simple” and her character, who had been on the Channel 7 show for 32 years, deserved more.

Lynne felt it was a “positive message” for the audience to see someone using her time “the best she can” as there was a sense of “ongoingness” rather than her being killed off.

“I wanted the lead-up to her exit to be something that could be experienced by the audience as well,” she told Yahoo Lifestyle in August.

“I feel like the whole Alzheimer’s dementia thing hasn’t really been touched on or dealt with much on Australian television, because it is a sensitive subject, and I just think the writers and the producers have done such an honourable job with it. They’ve really treated it with delicacy and with honesty, and that’s what we wanted to do.”

She said she struggled to film those final scenes, which she described as “incredibly difficult”.

In the final episode, Irene’s closest friends decide to throw her a farewell party that was filled with speeches and even a musical performance.

“Ada [Nicodemou] was sobbing and Shane [Withington], I think, is still in denial,” she told TV Week.

“They were the hardest to tell that I was leaving, but I know we’ll always be friends beyond Home And Away.”

What is Lynne McGranger doing now?

Lynne has now jumped into a very different arena compared to the Channel 7 show.

She’s traded networks and is one of several Aussie stars exploring the scariest predator in the ocean.

Shark is set to premiere later this month, and Lynne stars alongside Olympian Ariarne Titmus , influencer and businesswoman Tammy Hembrow, The Block host Scott Cam, ex-NRL player Sam Thaiday, and actor Matt Nable .

Channel 9 said the reality series takes the celebrities “out of their comfort zones” by putting them through a series of shark-related challenges designed to “test their courage, resilience and push them to their mental and physical limits”.

Lynne can be seen in one of the promos getting medical attention while someone says, “We’re going to have to abort the dive”.

“The stakes rise with each escalating task, taking them from the safety of a cage to a daunting, open-water swim with one of the ocean’s most formidable, feared and misunderstood apex predators, the tiger shark,” Nine said about the show.

It premieres on May 31 on Channel 9 and 9Now.

Scroll back up to restore default view.