Irene Roberts leaves Home and Away after an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, choosing to travel while she still can. Lynne McGranger’s final Australian-screen episode aired on 19 August 2025, after 33 years in the role. McGranger said she came up with the exit idea.
How Irene leaves Summer Bay
Irene’s farewell begins with worsening memory lapses. In the storyline announced by Seven in July 2025, she nearly left baby Archie alone after forgetting she was babysitting. With John Palmer’s support, she consulted Dr Bree Cameron. At that point, the announcement teased a difficult reality but did not disclose the diagnosis. PerthNow’s account of Seven’s announcement captured that pre-broadcast suspense.
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In the episodes that followed, tests and an appointment with a city neurologist confirmed Alzheimer’s disease. Irene put her affairs in order, selling her share of the Pier Diner and her house. As her condition progressed, she confronted the possibility that she might one day no longer recognise the people in her photographs. Rather than remain in Summer Bay waiting for that change, she decided to travel while she could.
Friends gathered to say goodbye. Irene’s last conversation with John included an invitation to meet her in France. She then left Summer Bay to begin her travels. The character’s story gives McGranger’s departure an emotional ending without presenting Irene’s illness as the reason the actor left.
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When the farewell aired
Irene’s final Australian-screen scenes aired on 19 August 2025. Back to the Bay’s episode recap dates the farewell to that broadcast. The UK Channel 5 showing followed later, so 19 August is the Australian air date, not a universal broadcast date.
Seven Network confirmed the farewell in a release on 20 August 2025, saying viewers had said goodbye to McGranger as Irene after 33 years. Irene first appeared in 1991, initially played by Jacqy Phillips; McGranger took over in 1993, according to ITV’s Home and Away page. Her tenure made Irene a long-running presence in the series, with earlier storylines including breast cancer, finding a long-lost son and surviving a plane crash.
Why Lynne McGranger left
McGranger’s departure was announced in February 2025. Speaking to ABC, she said, “I can say that I came up with the idea,” while keeping the details of Irene’s exit under wraps. She also described the story as “very pertinent and it’s very current,” and said she thought viewers would not be disappointed. ABC’s announcement reported that she planned another national theatre tour of The Grandparents Club; that context does not establish the tour as her sole reason for leaving.
What was known at each stage
| When | What viewers knew | Source |
|---|---|---|
| February 2025 | McGranger’s departure after 33 years was announced. She said she had contributed the exit idea; the storyline itself had not been revealed. | ABC |
| July 2025 | Seven’s announcement described Irene’s worrying memory lapses and consultations, but withheld the diagnosis. | PerthNow’s account of Seven’s release |
| August 2025 | The aired storyline confirmed Alzheimer’s disease and showed Irene settling her affairs, saying goodbye and leaving to travel. | Back to the Bay recap |
| 20 August 2025 | Seven confirmed that McGranger’s farewell had aired after 33 years in the role. | Seven Network release |
How many people watched Irene’s farewell?
Seven Network’s 20 August 2025 release reported that the farewell reached more than 1.6 million Australians and averaged 1.1 million viewers nationally across total TV. Those are separate measures: “reached” counts people who watched at least some of the episode, while the average audience is a different figure. Seven also reported about 173,000 7plus viewers, calling it a series streaming record, and described the episode as the most-watched broadcast-only episode since October 2021.
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For comparison, Seven said the preceding Monday episode reached 1.42 million Australians, averaged 956,000 nationally across total TV and had about 151,000 7plus viewers. The network reported year-on-year audience growth of 9% and a 37% rise in 7plus viewing. These are figures published by Seven, not independent audience measurements. Julie McGauran, Seven’s Director of Content, Scripted, said: “Viewers have given Irene the perfect send off from Home and Away, with her final farewell our highest rated episode this year, and thousands of fans sending in messages for Lynne as part of our ‘Goodbye Irene’ campaign.” Seven’s release contains the network’s figures and statement.
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