Irene Roberts
Encyclopedia
Irene Roberts is a fictional character
from the Australian Channel Seven
soap opera
Home and Away
, played by Lynne McGranger
. She was previously played by actress Jacqui Phillips from 1991 until 1992 when McGranger took over the role. Irene was originally a recurring character, in 1993 McGranger was promoted to the regular cast. McGranger is one of the longest serving cast members in the serial.
, McGranger stated: "Being very pragmatic, I love my job. You couldn’t be doing this for 18 years if you didn’t love it. You would go stark raving nuts, because it is intense."
Lynne McGranger, who portrays Roberts, said of her role, "Having to play that 'losing your mind' stuff was really a stretch for something like Home And Away, and for someone like Irene, who's very comfortably swanning around Summer Bay for 13 or 14 years, making people cups of tea and solving their problems...Sometimes you get a little too comfortable and that really jolted me out of my comfort zone. It was exhausting but exhilarating."
. Having hit rock bottom after an unhappy marriage, she had started drinking heavily as a coping mechanism, and it was soon revealed that she had used violence towards Damian (and also her other son Nathan) on occasions while under the influence. Although Damian and Fin tried to maintain a relationship with her following her arrival, her drunken antics proved too much, and in January 1992, after falling down the stairs after a binge, she falsely accusing Damian and Fin of pushing her and then threatened to harm Pippa if she did not release Damian from her care. This proved to be the final straw for Damian and Fin; unable to cope with her behaviour any longer, the two, backed by Pippa and her husband Michael, told Irene to leave the Bay and go home and get her life back together. Irene left shortly afterwards.
After an 18 month absence, Irene returned to the bay in July 1993 after hearing in the news that Fin had nearly drowned during a deep sea dive. By this time, Irene had turned her life around and had not touched alcohol in over a year. Although initially sceptical, her children soon warmed to her when they realised that she really had changed for the better, and, following the arrival of Damian and Fin's brother Nathan in the Bay in August 1993 when Irene was considering leaving, Nathan explained that their mother was now recovered from alcoholism and had left their father; as a result Damian and Fin decided that they wanted her to stay at Summer Bay permananently. Despite the previous animosity between the two, Irene also soon became firm friends with Pippa, displaying a kinder side to her personality when she helped Pippa come to terms with the loss of her baby son Dale who died of SIDS in late 1993, and the death of her husband Michael, who drowned in a flash flood in 1996.
Before long Irene would become one of the key characters in the series, taking over the Beach House. Her three biological children moved back in with her, and she also fostered a number of other young people over time.
For a long time she worked in Ailsa and Alf Stewart
's shop and then in the diner. She applied to become headmaster Donald Fisher
's secretary at Summer Bay High School, even though she could not do shorthand, type or use a computer. She got the job and managed to pull the wool over Don's eyes by using a tape recorder and doing all the work at home in the evenings. He eventually cottoned on, and impressed by her resourcefulness, he then arranged for her to attend secretarial classes. In 2003, she acquired a share in the diner, bought for her by foster daughter Tasha Andrews.
In 2011, Irene was diagnosed with breast cancer.
McGranger was nominated in the category of "Funniest Performance" for her portryal. The Sydney Morning Herald
have referred to Irene as one of the serial's three "legacy characters", along with Alf and Colleen. Holy Soap recall Irene's most memorable moment as being: "Being attacked by the mad ex-wife of her former lover Ken." In Catherine Deveny's book "It's not my fault they print them" described Irene as "the rough diamond with a heart of gold that speaks fluent Aussie cliché." She added that there was no need for her to speak so Australian with the use of dialogue such as: "Fair dinkum" and "What the flipping 'eck is goin' on?"
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the Australian Channel Seven
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Home and Away
Home and Away
Home and Away is an Australian soap opera that has been produced in Sydney since July 1987 and is airing on the Seven Network since 17 January 1988. It is the second-longest-running drama and most popular soap opera on Australian television...
, played by Lynne McGranger
Lynne McGranger
Lynne McGranger is an Australian actress best known for her role as Irene Roberts on soap opera Home and Away. She is the second-longest serving cast member as she joined in 1992 in the show at the moment, taking over from Jacqui Phillips.-Life and career:McGranger was originally a primary school...
. She was previously played by actress Jacqui Phillips from 1991 until 1992 when McGranger took over the role. Irene was originally a recurring character, in 1993 McGranger was promoted to the regular cast. McGranger is one of the longest serving cast members in the serial.
Casting
Actress Jacqui Phillips was cast the role in 1991, Irene was later recast with Lynne McGranger taking over the role. McGranger was part of the guest cast when she joined because Irene was a recurring character, in August 1993 she was promoted to the regular cast. McGranger is now one of the longest serving cast members in the serial. Speaking of her duration whilst interview by TV TonightTV Tonight
TV Tonight is an Australian-based television themed website which features news, programming and OzTAM ratings information. As of January 2011, the site places 1,083 in the Australian Alexa ranking system and 92,543 worldwide....
, McGranger stated: "Being very pragmatic, I love my job. You couldn’t be doing this for 18 years if you didn’t love it. You would go stark raving nuts, because it is intense."
Character development
The serial's official website describe Irene stating: "Irene is your classic Aussie battler. Down to earth and with a wry sense of humour, she's always good for a yarn and a laugh. It doesn't matter who you are, young or old, Irene's door is always open to you." Irene is seen as a caring woman who constantly takes in children to foster, of this they say: "Helping kids in need has given her a second chance at being a mum, and the opportunity to make up for all the mistakes she made with her own kids."Lynne McGranger, who portrays Roberts, said of her role, "Having to play that 'losing your mind' stuff was really a stretch for something like Home And Away, and for someone like Irene, who's very comfortably swanning around Summer Bay for 13 or 14 years, making people cups of tea and solving their problems...Sometimes you get a little too comfortable and that really jolted me out of my comfort zone. It was exhausting but exhilarating."
Storylines
Irene arrived in Summer Bay in October 1991 as the alcoholic mother of two children, Damian and Fin, being fostered by Pippa RossPippa Ross
Phillipa "Pippa" Routledge OAM is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away. Actress Vanessa Downing originated the role from 1988 to 1990, then Debra Lawrance took over from 1990 to 1998. The character has made guest returns in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and...
. Having hit rock bottom after an unhappy marriage, she had started drinking heavily as a coping mechanism, and it was soon revealed that she had used violence towards Damian (and also her other son Nathan) on occasions while under the influence. Although Damian and Fin tried to maintain a relationship with her following her arrival, her drunken antics proved too much, and in January 1992, after falling down the stairs after a binge, she falsely accusing Damian and Fin of pushing her and then threatened to harm Pippa if she did not release Damian from her care. This proved to be the final straw for Damian and Fin; unable to cope with her behaviour any longer, the two, backed by Pippa and her husband Michael, told Irene to leave the Bay and go home and get her life back together. Irene left shortly afterwards.
After an 18 month absence, Irene returned to the bay in July 1993 after hearing in the news that Fin had nearly drowned during a deep sea dive. By this time, Irene had turned her life around and had not touched alcohol in over a year. Although initially sceptical, her children soon warmed to her when they realised that she really had changed for the better, and, following the arrival of Damian and Fin's brother Nathan in the Bay in August 1993 when Irene was considering leaving, Nathan explained that their mother was now recovered from alcoholism and had left their father; as a result Damian and Fin decided that they wanted her to stay at Summer Bay permananently. Despite the previous animosity between the two, Irene also soon became firm friends with Pippa, displaying a kinder side to her personality when she helped Pippa come to terms with the loss of her baby son Dale who died of SIDS in late 1993, and the death of her husband Michael, who drowned in a flash flood in 1996.
Before long Irene would become one of the key characters in the series, taking over the Beach House. Her three biological children moved back in with her, and she also fostered a number of other young people over time.
For a long time she worked in Ailsa and Alf Stewart
Alf Stewart
Alfred Douglas "Alf" Stewart is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera Home and Away, played by Ray Meagher. The character debuted on-screen during the serial's pilot episode on 17 January 1988...
's shop and then in the diner. She applied to become headmaster Donald Fisher
Donald Fisher (Home and Away)
Donald Fisher is a fictional character in the Australian television soap opera Home and Away played by actor Norman Coburn as a regular character, from the soap's inception in 1988 to 2003. Coburn has since returned for brief appearances in 2004, 2005 and 2007...
's secretary at Summer Bay High School, even though she could not do shorthand, type or use a computer. She got the job and managed to pull the wool over Don's eyes by using a tape recorder and doing all the work at home in the evenings. He eventually cottoned on, and impressed by her resourcefulness, he then arranged for her to attend secretarial classes. In 2003, she acquired a share in the diner, bought for her by foster daughter Tasha Andrews.
In 2011, Irene was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Reception
At the 2007 Inside Soap AwardsInside Soap Awards
The Inside Soap Awards is a yearly award ceremony run by Inside Soap magazine since 1996. The awards celebrate the British and Australian soap operas and their actors. Until 2007, EastEnders had won the award for "Best Soap" on every occasion...
McGranger was nominated in the category of "Funniest Performance" for her portryal. The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
have referred to Irene as one of the serial's three "legacy characters", along with Alf and Colleen. Holy Soap recall Irene's most memorable moment as being: "Being attacked by the mad ex-wife of her former lover Ken." In Catherine Deveny's book "It's not my fault they print them" described Irene as "the rough diamond with a heart of gold that speaks fluent Aussie cliché." She added that there was no need for her to speak so Australian with the use of dialogue such as: "Fair dinkum" and "What the flipping 'eck is goin' on?"
External links
- Character profile at the Official Home and Away websiteYahoo!7Yahoo!7 is a 50-50 partnership between the Seven Network and Yahoo! Inc. in Australia.As part of the Yahoo! Inc. and the Seven Media Group, Yahoo!7 brings together the online assets of Yahoo! Inc. and the television and magazine content of the Seven Network and Pacific Magazines...
- Character profile at the 'Raidió Teilifís Éireann' websiteRaidió Teilifís ÉireannRaidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
- Character profile at Holy SoapHoly SoapHoly Soap is a UK television and entertainment website founded in June 2009 by the British television company Channel 5. The website is the official UK home of the Australian soap operas Home and Away and Neighbours, which are broadcast on the channel...