Irene Roberts

Irene Roberts is a fictional character in the Australian soap opera Home and Away, portrayed by actress Jacqui Phillips from 1991 to 1992 and by Lynne McGranger from 1993 to the present.

Character
Irene arrived in Summer Bay to make up with her estranged children, Finlay (Tina Thomsen) and Damien (Matt Doran), who were being fostered by Pippa Ross (Debra Lawrance). They had been taken away from Irene because she was battling alcoholism and was unable to look after them properly. Her other son, Nathan (David Dixon), was in jail. Having her children taken away motivated Irene to beat her addiction.

A now-sober Irene soon made Summer Bay her home. For a long time she worked as a waitress and is now part-owner of the Beachside Diner.

Irene, known for her compassion, has an affinity for looking after troubled children and teenagers. She arguably changed the lives of Will (Zac Drayson), Hayley (Bec Hewitt & Ella Scott Lynch) and Nick Smith (Chris Egan), among many others. Irene was also the first to accept town pariah (and one-time remorseless rapist) Kane Phillips (Sam Atwell), and even offered Kane and his new wife Kirsty (Christie Hayes) a place to stay. She helped Kane to reform and came to think of him and Kirsty as her own children and was devastated when they were forced to leave town in early 2005, on the run from the law after Kane was mistakenly accused of armed robbery.

Irene also seems to have an uncanny ability to predict disasters – most notably when her fiance, Ken Smith, died underneath a car when the jack collapsed after Irene had had a nightmare about his demise.