After more than three decades of heart, heartbreak, and hard-won survival, Summer Bay is preparing to say goodbye to one of its most treasured souls. And if Irene Roberts’ journey

has proven anything, it’s that peace has always come at a price. As Lynne McGranger filmed her final scenes in early 2025, cast and crew gathered on the studio floor knowing

they weren’t simply farewelling a character. They were closing the book on a woman who, for 33 years, embodied resilience for generations of viewers. Fighting back tears

, McGranger thanked her colleagues, calling it the privilege of a lifetime. The emotion in the room was raw, earned by decades of shared history.

Yet Irene’s legacy is not built on nostalgia alone. It is carved from some of the most harrowing stories ever told in Summer Bay — tales of addiction, loss, betrayal, and moments so dark they still echo.

From villain to guardian angel

When Irene first arrived in the early 1990s, few would have predicted she would become a fan favorite. The character, initially portrayed as volatile and alcohol-dependent, frightened audiences as much as she moved them. Redemption seemed unlikely.

Then came transformation.

Under McGranger’s stewardship, Irene clawed her way toward sobriety and rebuilt herself piece by painful piece. She became a foster mother, a protector, the sharp-tongued but soft-hearted woman whose kitchen table doubled as a refuge for lost kids and broken adults alike.

Summer Bay didn’t just forgive Irene.

It needed her.

Love never came easy

Happiness, however, remained elusive.

Her romance with Ken Smith in 1999 felt like destiny. Two recovering alcoholics daring to imagine a future together — it was the kind of hope soaps thrive on. Their engagement promised stability Irene had long been denied.

Then tragedy struck with cruel precision.

Days before the wedding, Ken was killed in a horrific accident at his garage. Irene had sensed something was wrong, haunted by dreams of him calling her toward danger. The premonition became a wound she carried for years, reinforcing a brutal pattern: when Irene loved deeply, fate intervened.

The son who returned with vengeance

But nothing — not bereavement, not relapse, not humiliation — compared to the horror that unfolded in 2015.

In a storyline that stunned viewers, Irene revealed she had given birth as a teenager after a rape and had placed the child for adoption. The secret had shaped her life, lingering beneath every protective instinct she later showed.

Then her past arrived on the doorstep.

Mick Jennings appeared, concealing his identity while studying the woman who had given him up. What followed was psychological warfare that escalated into terror. When Irene grew wary, Mick abducted her, holding her captive for weeks while sending messages from her phone to convince everyone she had willingly left.

The betrayal cut deeper than the imprisonment.

In wrenching scenes, Mick forced Irene into the bush, intent on abandoning her as he believed she had abandoned him. Survival instinct finally overpowered guilt. Irene struck him with a rock, an act that saved her life and ended his control.

For many fans, it remains the most traumatic chapter in the character’s history — proof that Irene’s strength is never abstract. It is fought for.

Branded a killer

Years earlier, Irene had endured another nightmare: being accused of murder.

After her partner Lou vanished during a sailing trip, Irene was found alone on the drifting yacht. A gunshot in the night. No witness. No body — at first. Suspicion fell fast and hard.

When Lou’s remains were eventually recovered with a bullet wound, Irene became the easiest answer. She was arrested, vilified, and forced to relive every mistake she had ever made in the court of public opinion.

Prison broke something inside her. The shame, the fear, the isolation drove her back to alcohol, undoing years of recovery.

Eventually, authorities discovered Lou had been killed by criminals unrelated to Irene. She was freed, but exoneration did not erase the damage. In Summer Bay, whispers linger.

They always do.

A relapse that reminded everyone

In 2024, Irene’s sobriety — a badge of honor she wore quietly — shattered again after she was conned by someone she trusted. Humiliated, she sought refuge in the one escape she understood too well.

Watching her stumble into rehab once more was devastating, not because it betrayed her progress, but because it affirmed the show’s commitment to truth. Recovery is not linear. Even heroes fall.

And Irene, flawed and furious and tender, remained achingly human.

Why her exit hurts so much

To newer viewers, Irene might be comic relief — the bright clothes, the booming affection, the legendary catchphrases. But longtime fans know she is the moral spine of the Bay.

She is who people call when life collapses.

She is who waits up.

She is who forgives.

Remove Irene, and you remove a piece of safety.

The woman behind the legend

McGranger’s portrayal ensured Irene never drifted into caricature. She infused every meltdown, every hug, every relapse with lived-in authenticity. That is why audiences grew alongside her. Why they protected her. Why they wept for her.

In honoring Irene, they were honoring endurance itself.

The end of an era

As filming wrapped, applause filled the studio, but grief sat just beneath it. Cast members past and present understand the magnitude of the goodbye. Few actors get to shape a character across generations. Fewer still get to leave while still adored.

Irene Roberts arrived broken.

She leaves iconic.

And somewhere in Summer Bay, you can almost hear her voice one last time — fierce, funny, unbreakable — reminding everyone that no matter how brutal the storm, you keep going.

Because that’s what Irene always did.