All the way from Australia, Lynne McGranger will grace our screens on Friday as she is set to drop in to the Late Late Show for a chat with Patrick Kielty.

The actress, known for playing her lovable Home and Away character, Irene Roberts, for 33 years, has been with her partner Paul McWaters, for even longer than that.

The couple have been together for over four decades, but how exactly did the pair meet?

The way Lynne and Paul met sounds like the plot of a romance film! The pair met over dinner and have been inseparable ever since.

Lynne told the story of how they met to Australian magazine New Idea in 2014, saying: ‘I invited him round to my place in 1984 [after having dinner together] and he never went home. Still hasn’t.’

While they’ve now been together for 41 years, Lynne and Paul are in no rush to walk down the aisle and have remained partners, rather than husband and wife.

She joked at the time: ‘We always joke and say we’ll do it when we want some white goods, and I’m here to tell you now, we need a new washing machine.’

One child

Lynne and Paul share one daughter together, Clancy, who was born in 1991. While they have decided not to get married, they were extremely supportive as their daughter Clancy tied the knot to her now husband Luke in August 2023.

Proud Mother of the Bride, Lynne, wore a cerise pink suit to the wedding and shared pics from the big day, writing: ‘What a perfect, magical day it was.

‘Our beautiful daughter Clancy married her love, our handsome son-in-law Luke.

‘Surrounded by our family and Luke’s family and all our close friends, we witnessed the gorgeous marriage of Luke and Clancy.

‘We laughed, we ate, we drank, we danced, and we partied – all in celebration of the 2 gorgeous newlyweds.’

No wedding plans

Despite celebrating four decades with her partner Paul, Lynne is no closer to tying the knot and is content with being partners.

Lynne told Australian magazine New Idea in 2021: ‘I was married once and I didn’t breed well in captivity – he was a nice man, but the wrong man.

‘Marriage has never been on our radar. We have been together 36 years, and it’s not important at all. I’m actually much more excited about Clancy’s wedding.’