Home and Away star Lynne McGranger has broken her silence on the “gut-wrenching” exit of her character, Irene Roberts.

The soap legend is leaving the Australian series after 33 years in the role, and after much teasing of the storyline that she pitched to producers herself, the details have finally been revealed.

As shown earlier this month, Irene had begun to exhibit signs of confusion and memory loss, with it being confirmed last week that the health issues would be a factor in the character’s exit storyline.

In this week’s Australian-paced scenes, Irene will visit Dr Bree Cameron to undergo tests, fearful of what she might hear. Despite her trepidation, McGranger shared with TV Week that it’s a necessary move for her character.

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“She realises that things aren’t right,” said the actor. “This is the turning point for her. She tries to get out of babysitting from then on because she’s terrified.

“Bree doesn’t want to say it’s one thing or another – she’s in no position to do so yet – but she does strongly recommend the tests.”

McGranger also stated that Irene’s friend John Palmer suspects she could’ve had a “small stroke or something of that nature”, with all tests barring one coming back clear – what will the pair hear?

Related: Home and Away cast pay sweet tribute to show legend on special occasion

Irene’s exit was billed as “gut-wrenching” in a press release last week, with the logline teasing: “The Bay will rally to support one of its most-beloved residents through her biggest challenge yet, building towards an episode that will go down in soap TV history.”

Elsewhere in this week’s episodes, Bree faces her own personal issues as Remi continues to spiral out of control following his recent collapse. As the figure buckles under the weight of stress, he makes a terrible decision which could end his relationship with Bree…