‘Coming for a while’ – Soap star, 72, reveals reason behind shock exit & hardest part of goodbye on RTE’s Late Late Show
FORMER Home and Away star Lynne McGranger has opened up on the real reason behind her shock exit from the soap.
The 72-year-old played Irene Roberts on the hit Australian soap for over 30 years.
Lynne is one of the longest serving actresses on an Australian soap opera, with few coming close to her feat.
But, sadly for fans of the soap, her time on the show came to a dramatic end earlier this year when her character decided to go off and see the world before her Alzheimer’s progressed.
Last night, she was on The Late Late Show and spoke to Patrick Kielty openly about her exit from the show.
She said: “To be honest Patrick, it was coming for a while.
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“I was exhausted, everyone goes ‘ you look so well now’, that’s what giving up Home and Away does to you.
“It’s hard work, it’s great fun. I was working 14 hour days, and I thought ‘I’m too old for this s***’.”
And after having spent more than three decades on the soap and seeing hundreds of residents come and go from Summer Bay, Lynne admitted that saying goodbye to her co-stars was the hardest part of her exit.
She said: “It was hard to walk away from my friends, but they are still there. No one’s gone anywhere.
“Still great mates with Ada [Nicodemou, who plays Leah], Shane [Withington, who plays John], with Emily [Symons, who plays Marilyn], and Alf of course, lovely Ray [Meagher].”
And even though her time has come to an end on the show, she still gets recognised on the street all over the world.
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She explained: “I might be able to hide, but I just open my gob and everyone goes ‘oh I know that voice’.”
Elsewhere on last night’s show, another legend opened up about his connection to Ireland.
80s rock icon Jon Bon Jovi joined Patrick Kielty on the Late Late Show just weeks after announcing his huge Croke Park gig.
The 63-year-old is set to rock the house down at the home of GAA on Sunday, August 30, 2026 – in an unforgettable night of Bon Jovi hits.
IRISH PRIDE
The Livin’ On A Prayer singer reflected on his four decades in the music industry and the ups and downs that came along with it.
Jon spoke about his admiration for Thin Lizzy and his long-standing connection with Irish fans.
The US megastar said he visits Phil Lynott‘s statue in Dublin every time he is in the area.
Jon told how Bon Jovi was influenced by Thin Lizzy when they first started out as a band.
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He said: “They came up at such an influential time in my life. We were all teenage boys when Lizzy was doing Jailbreak and The Boys Are Back In Town.
“They made storytelling fun. I’ve sung their songs way too many times over the years.”