Home and Away actress Lynne McGranger has revealed she will be temporarily leaving the show to star in the original stage comedy The Grandparents Club.
The beloved performer shared the news with The Morning Show on January 29, 2024, assuring fans that she was only leaving Summer Bay for “a little while.”
“(I’ll be going for) just a little while — not leaving anything permanently,” Lynne said.
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Lynne joined Home and Away as Irene in 1993 and has remained on the series ever since, making her the longest-serving female cast member of a TV soap in Australia.
She has revealed that her starring role in the new stage show will take her back to her roots.
“I came from revue-type situations (shows) — from community theatre, all of that — I’m getting back to my roots, singing and dancing, interacting with the audience,” she said.
“I can hold a tune and I can belt-out a number, but I’m no Aretha Franklin.”
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The Grandparents Club marks her first musical aside from a small role she had in Legally Blonde: The Musical… the show holds a special place in Lynne’s heart because of the message attached to it and because it was written by radio star Wendy Harmer, who she has known since the 1980s.
“The audience has come to the club called The Grandparents Club — there is a sauna, gym, spa, there’s bingo, there is trivia. It is a way of taking the mickey out of what people perceive grandparents to be,” she said.
“Which is, of course, old and doddery, but in fact, grandparents can be in their 40s these days, bungee jumping or climbing Everest.”
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Lynne has previously talked about leaving Home and Away and it’s extremely “dramatic.”
“I want to go with the biggest bang, the most dramatic exit. I want to get lost at sea, or I want to die a really sad, lengthy death with everyone weeping and wailing around me,” Lynne had said in an interview with Stuff.
“Or Irene could get lost at sea and they never find the body, have the memorial service and everything, and then she walks back into town,” Lynne continued.
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