We already knew that Irene would be taking a break from the show this year, as Lynne McGranger prepared for an upcoming theatre production, and this scene could give us a clue as to how it will be explained on-screen.

We anticipate that this block of episodes will air around mid-late August, dependent on Seven’s future scheduling.

Emily and Tristan go through the scene with this block’s director, Chris-Martin Jones. © Back to the Bay

The scene starts ordinarily enough with a loved-up Mac and Levi walking towards the club whilst Levi carries a gift bag. John catches up and has a few words with them, but as they walk off he turns around and something catches his eye further up the road.

The last time Irene did something like this, she and Bella (Courtney Miller) were dumping the unconscious body of Tommy O’Reilly (Adam Sollis) outside the hospital, after Irene thwacked him over the head with a champagne bottle, so naturally John can’t help but be a little curious.

As John heads over to the bins to investigate, he’s extremely concerned by what he finds inside… empty bottles of booze!

Is Irene back on the grog?!

“It’s a career highlight,” Shane joked when we later commended him on his finely acted bin-diving.

After jetting off for a short break in the UK only a week after this scene was filmed, Lynne went straight into rehearsals on her return and is now starring as Liz in new comedy musical ‘The Grandparents Club’, which opened this week and will be touring theatres in NSW, ACT and Victoria until 4th August.

“(I’ll be going for) just a little while, not leaving anything permanently,” Lynne revealed on Seven’s The Morning Show earlier this year.

“I came from revue-type situations, from community theatre, all of that,” she explained of the production. “I’m getting back to my roots, singing and dancing, interacting with the audience. I can hold a tune and I can belt-out a number, but I’m no Aretha Franklin!”

With it looking as though Irene could be gone for a few months, could falling off the wagon be the cause of Irene’s departure?

“It’s something I’ve mulled over, and it has been in the back of my mind for the last year or two. Certainly, no date has been set [to leave] but what I love about working on The Grandparents Club and being involved in this wonderful celebration is that it’s taking me back to my roots.”

“Who knows what the future holds,” she added teasingly. “If this is successful, god willing, I might just be hanging up my diner apron.”

Although early fans of the show will remember Irene back in 1991-1992 as an alcoholic, abusive mother to kids Nathan (David Dixon), Finlay (Tina Thomsen), and Damian (Matt Doran), she was played by Jacqy Phillips during those times.

With recently moved-in housemate Marilyn (Emily Symons) unaware of the ‘no alcohol’ rule in Irene’s house, she had bought a bottle of wine to put in a casserole, and promised Selina (Tempany Deckert) that she’d get rid of the leftover.

However, when Irene subsequently found the open bottle on the kitchen shelf, she fought against temptation.

In 1998, Irene was at a particularly low ebb after being fired from Summer Bay High as Don Fisher’s (Norman Coburn) secretary. Having previously left the Bayside Diner, when she felt she didn’t fit in with the new youthful revamp, Irene was left unemployed for the first time in years and struggling for money.

Tearfully sitting down with a bottle of wine as she flicked through her family album, Irene poured out a glass and immediately knocked it over onto photos of grandson Paul, which thankfully brought her to her senses.

It wasn’t until 2009 that we saw Lynne’s Irene fall off the wagon for the first time, following a particularly traumatic event. Having gone away on a sailing trip with boyfriend Lou De Bono (David Roberts), the yacht was found drifting several weeks later 100km off the coast.

As Angelo (Luke Jacobz) and fellow police approached, a paranoid and intoxicated Irene shot at them, wounding an officer.