When Lynne McGranger first walked onto the set of Home and Away in 1993, she was hiding a big secret: ”I didn’t have a clue what I was doing!” she exclaims with a laugh.
It was her first big TV role after deciding to leave her theatre roots behind and she was terrified.
Lynne was 39 years old when she landed the role of Irene Roberts, so much of the cast and crew assumed she was a veteran of the screen.
“I felt absolute abject terror,” Lynne, 69, recalls.
”I was terrified because I’d never done anything like it. I’d acted on television a little bit in The Flying Doctors and other things, but not using steadicam [a camera stabiliser used for film and TV].
”I was so used to leaping about on stage that staying in one spot was bizarre. I remember one of the producers saying, ‘Just watch what Judy Nunn does, you get the sense of how it works.'”
And she did.
Lynne received immense support from Judy, who played Ailsa, and Ray Meagher who’s still there today as the iconic Alf Stewart.
But she admits it took a ”a year or so” until she finally felt at home.
”You muddle your way through and then suddenly, they keep paying you because they think you know what you’re doing [laughs],” she says.
”And here we are today.”
Lynne said that when she joined the Home and Away cast she ”didn’t have a clue” what she was doing.
(IMAGE:TV Week)Today, is a long way from where she started. The cast and crew are celebrating the show’s 35th anniversary.
Despite her humble and relaxed demeanour, Lynne is part of history. She holds the record for longest-serving female cast member – outdone by Ray who has been there since the series inception in 1988.
Her portrayal of the ‘Aussie battler with a heart of gold,’ whose dry humour and vernacular is recognisable anywhere, is imbedded in pop culture. And the show isn’t slowing down yet.
Earlier this year, the drama program took home the TV WEEK Logie award for Most Popular Drama Series bringing their accumulative total to 68.
”It really doesn’t feel like that [long]. But when I look back at my hairstyles then, it does!” she says with a laugh.
”When we talk about it and memories come out, I go, ‘Oh yeah, bloody hell. That was a long time ago!’ But overall, it doesn’t feel like the better part 30 years.”
Johnny and Lynne are in real life best friends.
(IMAGE: Instagram)As an established cast member, Lynne was often sought out for advice by younger cast members including former castmates Christie Hayes, who played Kirsty Sutherland, Tempany Deckert, who played Selina Cook, and Courtney Miller, who played Bella Nixon. She still speaks to them today.
But in more recent years, social media has witnessed the profound connection between Lynne and Johnny Ruffo, who was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in 2017.
He played Chris Harrington on the show from 2013-2016.
”He’s just lovely,” Lynne says of her former co-star.
”I can’t even imagine what it would be like to be that age and given that kind of a life sentence.
”But where there’s hope, there’s light and Johnny is not going to stop fighting. He is courageous, brave and totally inspiring. I love him to death – and he’s still as inappropriate as ever [laughs].”
Lynne who plays Irene on Home and Away, shares a tender on screen moment with Jasmine who is played by former Bachelorette Sam Frost.
(IMAGE: Channel Seven)With three decades of storylines, it’s understandably hard to highlight a favourite. But the most significant among them was portraying Irene’s battle with breast cancer.
”At that time, my best friend’s daughter Nikki was going through breast cancer,” Lynne says.
”Irene was mirroring what was happening with her. It was incredibly important to me to do it right because chemotherapy can affect people differently and I didn’t want to show it in a pretty way. I wanted to present it as a harsh reality, which we did, and I’m thankful for. And while Irene came through it, sadly, Nikki didn’t. She passed away a few years ago.”
It’s profound moments of reflection like this that Lynne says is what keeps her on the show.
”Home and Away has always tried to reflect society, which can be hard for a 7pm timeslot,” she says.
”I want to thank all of our loyal viewers for standing by us.”
