‘It’s something I’ve mulled over’: Home And Away legend teases exit from hit soapie

As she unveils a new project with Wendy Harmer, Lynne McGranger – aka Irene from Home And Away – reveals what her future is on the Australian soapie.

Ever since her daughter tied the knot last year, Home And Away star Lynne McGranger, 71, has been impatiently waiting for the pitter-patter of tiny feet: “I’m like, come on! Do it while I’ve still got my marbles.”

Likewise, comedian and writer Wendy Harmer, 68, weighs up her trampoline skills for any future grandchildren: “It’s probably already too late for that!” Now the longtime friends tell Stellar why their new stage show about, well, grandparents is both a creative feat of wish fulfilment and proof that as far as they’re concerned, age really is nothing but a number

Does your new stage show, the musical comedy The Grandparents Club, challenge outdated stereotypes about grandmothers being little old ladies who have grey perms and a penchant for shortbread?

Wendy Harmer: Yes, that was Little Old Mrs Pepperpot, a rotund granny with an apron and hair bun [from the 1950s book]. That’s very much changed. I mean, isn’t the head of the International Monetary Fund [Kristalina Georgieva] a grandmother?

I remember when Hillary Clinton was running for president, they were like, “Oh, a grandma-in-chief, how would that work?” Like she’s going to be putting doilies out at the White House.

Lynne McGranger: And the contenders at the moment are so young. Unbelievable.

Lynne McGranger and Wendy Harmer. Picture: Steven Chee for Stellar

There have been many shows poking fun at parenting but rarely anything focused on grandparenting. Why do you think that is?

Wendy: One of the reasons is ad agencies are staffed by 30-year-old blokes. So this is a segment of the population that has been overlooked. And it’s ridiculous because apparently you buy the biggest number of cars when you’re over 50. And, when the economy is tanking, it’s over-50 women’s travel that’s the most resilient segment of the market. Advertising is late to the party on the spending power of older people.

Lynne: Also, I feel that there are so many more of us living longer. We don’t get to 70 and suddenly crumple into a ball and sit at home, crocheting in a rocking chair. That may float your boat, but most people are out on cruises, exploring, having a good time and enjoying their grandchildren.

Have you observed – and felt – a shift on the small and big screen for older actors?

Lynne: As a performer, it’s fabulous to see the Meryl Streeps and the Dame Maggie Smiths – all these wonderful older actors – out there nailing it. It’s happening here, too. I could use myself as an example. There are also people like Jackie Woodburne and Debra Lawrance. The list is quite endless. It is being reflected, but there’s more work to be done because I still think a lot of women can feel invisible. They get to 50 or 60, they retire, they become a grandma, and they feel like they’re no longer useful.

Wendy: A lot of women leave the field voluntarily. Many look around at youth culture and they think, “Oh, gosh, I don’t want to appear on screen looking like an old lady,” or “I’ve got too many wrinkles,” and all that sort of business. They absent themselves. So it’s a two-way street.

Picture: Steven Chee for Stellar

Lynne: I’m very grateful to the actors of my age who have gone, “Oh, I can’t do that anymore.” It means more roles for me. If you’re really dedicated to your craft as an actor, you shouldn’t be afraid to be old or ugly or not look your best. I remember [theatre director and NIDA teacher] Kevin Jackson, who sadly passed recently, told me while I was a drama student, “You’ll make it because you’re not afraid to be ugly.” I thought that was a bit rough,

but now I know what he meant.

Wendy: Magda Szubanski, Marg Downey and Gina Riley told me that not being afraid to “ug up” – or ugly up – was the reason for the success of [sketch show] Big Girl’s Blouse. Just think of Magda in that bloody netball skirt!

Lynne: Or Gina [in Kath & Kim] with that G-string and half her crack hanging out. I was like, “My god, girl, you’re brave.”

Read the full interview inside the latest issue of Stellar. Picture: Stellar

And we saw it with Kate Winslet in the 2021 drama series Mare Of Easttown, when she demanded her “bulgy bit of belly” wasn’t edited out of a sex scene because, she said, viewers had been “starved” of shows that accurately portray women’s bodies.

Wendy: Although it wouldn’t be too bad, to walk around and have someone who was able to edit out your fat rolls …

Lynne: [Laughing] Just for one night! I’ll have them back tomorrow.

Still, there’s far more scrutiny of women in the public eye than men. When you hosted the Logies in 2002, Wendy, you copped some fierce criticism. Do you think people were harsher because you’re a woman?

Wendy: I’ve been getting out and about on a book tour with my memoir [Lies My Mirror Told Me] and as an exercise, I read the first joke [that I told the audience at the Logies] and, I say, “You tell me whether this is funny or not.” I read the joke, and the whole place just falls about laughing, because it’s a pretty good joke. So, yeah, there’s still that scrutiny, but award shows are often a poisoned chalice. There would be a lot of blokes who wouldn’t put their hand up to host the host the Logies or any award show. In America, David Letterman said he would never host the Oscars again. And Rove [McManus] told me he would never do [the Logies] again, either.

Lynne: Only Sam Pang, when he hosted last year … I don’t know if it was the writing or his “couldn’t give a sh*t attitude”, but he’s the first person who has hosted any Logies I’ve been to that’s really grabbed it by the short and curlies. I agree with Wendy that women may be treated slightly differently but there have been blokes who have failed massively in that role, too.

Lynne, you’ve been playing the character of Irene Roberts on Home And Away for 31 years. Do you ever plan to retire?

Lynne: 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. We’re not doing Shakespeare. I couldn’t turn around and go, “I don’t want to say that as Lady Macbeth.” What we’re doing is collaborative, and Wen uses that word a

lot. We’re workshopping things all the time. So, I feel like I’ve arrived back at my roots at the Murray River Performing Group. I’m making a dick of myself, singing and dancing and doing stuff that’s so good for the soul. Who knows what the future holds. If this is successful, god willing, I might just be hanging up my diner apron.

For more details about The Grandparents Club, visit thegrandparentsclub.com. Read the full interview and see the shoot in Stellar.

Originally published as ‘It’s something I’ve mulled over’: Home And Away legend teases exit from hit soapie