Though his Home and Away days are behind him, Johnny Ruffo, 34, is still as close as ever with one of Summer Bay’s most beloved residents.
The former actor’s relationship with Lynne McGranger – who plays Irene Roberts on the soap – is enough to bring a smile to anyone’s face.
And Johnny, who is battling terminal cancer, is more than grateful for Lynne’s comforting presence in his life.
Johnny Ruffo is good pals with Lynne McGranger.
(Image: Instagram)“She’s been amazing,” the X Factor alum tells TV WEEK. “She constantly checks in and asks how I’m doing. She always wants to go out for dinner.
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“I can’t stress enough how people like her help get through tough times. She’s just a wonderful person. Having people like that to say ‘Oh, how are you feeling this week?’ and little sweet things like that make all the difference. It’s a great support network.”
At the helm of this support network is his partner Tahnee Sims, whom he deems his “motivational speaker”.
“Tahnee’s always there motivating me to get outside and get some sun, go for a walk, and different little things,” Johnny gushes.
“I can’t stress enough how people like her help get through tough times.”
(Image: Instagram)“She’s constantly there by my side trying to motivate me to feel better and to just keep going. One foot in front of the other.”
The 34-year-old certainly heeded her advice in April this year when the triple threat made a surprise return to Dancing With The Stars.
Johnny was crowned winner of the dancing competition in June 2012, and headed back to the stage in 2022 for one more dance.
“It was a lot harder to remember the steps this time,” Johnny confesses of his comeback. “But it was just as much fun.
“I remember how much fun it was being on the show. It was a great experience. Even though it was very difficult to learn the dances; you only had like five or six days to learn a completely new dance.”
He continues: “And you enjoyed it when you finally got your routine down, and then you had to perform it on the night, live. It was such a rush.”
Amidst his cancer battle, Johnny has teamed up with Amazon Australia, who have announced their Top 100 list and 2022 toy trends for the holidays with the help of kids from the Starlight Foundation, as well as a stop motion film.
Johnny is lending his renowned pipes to the character of a naughty pirate from the TOMY Pop Up Pirate Action Game.
“The goal, I suppose, is to brighten the lives of seriously ill and hospitalized children across the country,” he explained.
“It’s an amazing initiative to work with them because you get to see the smile on the face of these kids that are facing such adversity, and you get to take them away from their everyday reality.”
Amidst his cancer battle, Johnny has teamed up with Amazon Australia.
(Image: Amazon Australia)He continues: “Being able to do that is such a good feeling. You see the smiles on their faces and they’re just completely lost in this world of playing with toys; it’s a really good feeling.”
Johnny admits the campaign has been a “huge distraction” for himself as well.
“I forget about what I’m going through. You’re like ‘Okay, so my goal today is to make these kids smile. I just want to make them smile and I want to make the whole day about them’.”
