Even the ‘Home And Away’ Cast Think Leah’s Storylines Are Bonkers
Summer Bay sounds like a picture-perfect, idyllic seaside town. But, as we all know, with the amount of kidnapping, cults, stabbing, car crashes and explosions that happen on Home and Away, nobody in their right mind would actually live there.
Most of the characters in the bay have some fun storylines to balance it out, like Ziggy and Dean’s surfing comp wins, or sweet weddings like Tori and Christian. Everyone except for Leah.
Leah Patterson in a hostage situation. Photo: Channel 7, Home and Away
I recently delved into Leah Patterson’s sordid history and it was even worse than I realised. She’s had two husbands die, been impaled by a metal pole, and she’s currently dealing with a creepy cult storyline. It turns out that Leah’s bad luck has turned into a bit of a joke with the Home and Away cast.
I chatted to the icon Lynne McGranger, who plays Irene Roberts, and I asked if Leah was ever going to get a break from constantly being terrorised.
“There’s a bit of a running gag at work,” she told me. “Behind the set of the diner, Shane Withington wrote, ‘Queue here to kidnap Leah’. Because seriously, she is kidnapped more times than we’ve had hot meals.”
Lynne is really close with Ada Nicodemou, who plays Leah, and hints that things might be looking up… eventually. “Hopefully there’ll be a bit of joy in her life down the track,” she said.
Irene Roberts, Leah Patterson and Marilyn Chambers. Photo credit: Channel 7, Home and Away
Leaked snaps appear to show Leah in yet another hostage situation.
The Aussie soap usually films out at Palm Beach or in the studio, but fans spotted Leah filming out in Taree, at an abandoned ice cream factory. A local told Back To The Bay that there was a “heavy police presence” during the scenes, and Leah didn’t have much makeup on.
This leads us to believe there’s some sort of hostage situation, and it’s likely to do with the Vita Nova cult that Leah and Justin have been involved with lately. Eek. I guess Leah’s not going to find joy anytime soon.
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Lynne McGranger reveals her favourite Home and Away storylines.
Lynne has been on the show for over 30 years, so she’s had her fair share of dramatic moments. When I asked what her favourite storyline was, there was one that sprung to mind, for what it meant to her personally.
“Irene’s cancer storyline meant a lot to me because my best friend’s daughter was going through the same struggle at the same time,” she said. “Irene came through it, sadly my best friend’s daughter didn’t, so that stays with me.”
On the opposite end of the spectrum, she also admitted pretending to be in love with John Palmer, played by Shane Withington, has been an absolute delight.
John Palmer and Irene Roberts. Photo: Channel 7, Home and Away
“The town were gossiping about it so [our characters] thought, blow it, let’s give them something to gossip about,” she explained. When I floated the idea of Irene and John becoming the new power couple of Summer Bay, Lynne wasn’t interested.
“John and Irene sort of tried, we’ll see, but you know what? I really love Irene being single,” she said. Irene takes on a role as a mother, often helping out characters in need, like Sam Frost’s Jasmine.
“I’m really content with that. There’s all sorts of awkward when old people start kissing on screen. So I don’t wanna be involved in that,” she joked.
Brb, I’m starting a petition to find Irene a new romantic love. It’s about time.
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Image credits: Channel 7, Home and Away