The Aussie soap legend asked bosses for something to get her teeth into
After almost 30 years Irene Roberts is still at the heart of Home and Away, but actress Lynne McGranger confesses she was desperate for a big storyline for her alter ego and begged bosses on the long-running Australian soap for a juicy plot. Her wish was granted and Reenie is to be confronted with her painful past when she foils an attempted sexual assault on teenager Bella Nixon (Courtney Miller) by online groomer Tommy, almost killing him the process.
“To be brutally honest I was very pleased to have a good storyline as I hadn’t had one in a while,” admits the soap veteran in a candid interview with RadioTimes.com. “When I heard it was about online grooming I welcomed it as this is a huge problem and important to tackle. And having it bring up Irene’s past, and the fact she was raped as a teenager, I really didn’t expect.”
On Tuesday 20th August Irene returns home from a trip overseas, having stopped off at Robbo and Jasmine’s wedding, and walks in on the horrific moment her young charge Bella is physically overpowered by sinister Tommy, who has befriended her in an internet chat room and inveigled his way into her life, showering her with compliments and gifts and eventually turning up at the house and forcing himself on her.
“Irene has been away so has no idea Bella has been effectively groomed,” explains McGranger. “The first she knows of it she sees Bella pinned down on the bed by this guy attacking her, then Irene clouts him over the head and knocks him out to save her. She basically takes control of the situation.
“When he’s lying there unconscious Bella tells her everything about how Tommy has been grooming her, boosting her confidence, making her feel like her best friend, and it all unravels.”