Lynne McGranger says she “jumped” at the chance to undress for charity. With a career spanning more than two decades, the Home And Away star has seen it all, but has never bared all in front of the nation.
Soon she and seven other female celebrities will put on the performance of their lives for Channel Seven’s The All New Monty: Ladies Night to raise awareness for women’s health, in particular, breast cancer.
For Lynne, signing up was a no-brainer.
“My best friend Maureen recently lost her daughter Nikki to breast cancer,” the actress, 66, reveals to TV WEEK.
“I couldn’t go to her funeral because it was the week we started rehearsals for this. It really upset me that I couldn’t be there, but doing Ladies’ Night and bringing focus to the disease was more important, in a way. It’s very much in Nikki’s memory.”
Lynne is one of the well-known faces starring in The All New Monty: Ladies’ Night.
To many, Lynne is considered an icon for the over-sixties. While she doesn’t necessarily agree with that label – “That word gets thrown around a bit!” she says with a laugh – Lynne is thrilled that she can “inspire people to live their life and not their age.”
Lynne found the striptease “liberating”. But does she think her on-screen character, Irene Roberts, would dare to bare?
“She’d be really terrified,” Lynne says. “But she’s a breast cancer survivor herself, so I think she probably would!”
Another star stripping off in the name of women’s health is Casey Donovan. The singer and winner of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! 2017 admits she, along with her co-stars, is “nervous” to appear on stage.
“It’s a big thing being on stage knowing that you’re also being filmed, and all you have to hide behind is a bra that’s about to be snapped off and a big feather boa!” she says.
Casey Donovan (centre) is set to bare all on Ladies’ Night.
Casey reveals she is body confident “to a certain degree,” but that doesn’t mean she’s found the task of stripping off on stage easy.
“Being a plus-size woman, there are always going to be skeletons that come out of the closet, mainly from the body shaming that happens to women no matter what their size,” she says. “I’m confident in the way I feel when I’m dressed. But once you undress, you can’t hide!”
Despite any reservations, Casey signed on to the project because she believes in the importance of its message.
“I’ve met a lot of people throughout the years who’ve been affected by breast cancer. That’s why this is important – so women go and get their breasts checked at any age.”
The All New Monty: Ladies’ Night airs Sunday, 7pm, on Channel Seven.
