If you had to pick a different original to still be in the show today

[nenehcherry2]

I can't recall or find the precise source any longer but there was definitely an interview on TV in the UK at some point that I remember watching in the late 90s / very early 00s where Lynne essentially confirmed that she was bought in permanently in late 93 to fill the gap left by Nicolle's departure (and also in anticipation of Mat Stevenson's imminent departure, i.e. the comedy gap) and that her earlier 93 run was (what I refer to as) a "testie guestie" (Nicolle had announced her intention to quit in mid/late 1992, making it VERY clear to producers that her final 12 months was going to be her final 12 months). In the same interview, Lynne admitted that the whole function of her earlier 93 appearance was solely to fill the gap of so many regular actors being away in short bursts for various reasons in that very period, saying something like "they said they'd call me back in a few months if they'd need me again, hopefully for longer, thank God they did!".

If you think that entire first quarter of 93, you have Ray doing Goldilocks in the UK with Bobby Davro(!), Debra's maternity leave, Mat Stevenson's continued personal time off, Nicolle & Bruce also doing UK panto, Tristian Bancks taking HSC study leave and it was also the gap between Rebekah & Les leaving and Melissa coming in. Irene has little purpose in her early 1993 stint other than comedy (it's not exactly a story-driven guest tenure is it? She's just "there", causing chaos in the store with a ciggie in her hand whilst calling Sally "toots" in every other episode), so it's likely that the Producers were assessing her performance, the audience's reception to her and Lynne's chemistry with the other actors during this period of skeleton actor availability to see if she could realistically fit in as a viable future permanent character and replace the void left when Nicolle left several months later, budget permitting. Which all makes sense = good advanced planning. 

55 minutes ago, nenehcherry2 said:

 

 

On 03/03/2026 at 19:40, adam436 said:

I'm the same. Rewatching the early years in the 90s when I was about 10 years old, that's how I viewed her. In hindsight though, she's a tragic character when you consider how much the loss of Les defined her life - she never married or had kids and threw herself into religion.  

I had exactly the same experience with Julie Martin in Neighbours. As a 6/7 year old, I DESPISED Julie, who was just Hannah's nasty Mum to me. But, as I've got older, I've just grown to love her more and more. Our perceptions (and who we hold as interesting characters) really does evolve with age, doesn't it?

On 03/03/2026 at 19:40, adam436 said:

You're probably right there. Irene joined the cast full-time not long after Bobby's death, and had Bobby stayed, she'd have likely continued to foster so probably would have had Selina, Joey, Chloe, the Smith kids, Tasha etc live with her. They both also had a long stint owning the Diner too. Like Irene, hopefully she'd have remained single for the most part rather than Sally and Pippa's fate of a new husband/partner as soon as she lost one. Apart from Ken and Barry Hyde, Irene never really had a long-term love interest in the show. 

When I watch the 1995-6 "golden era" episodes, it really does feel like Irene & Angel have each taken on different bits of 90s Bobby's personality and function. Both form close friendships with Maz (Angel has the more age-appropriate "girly giggles" with her that Bobby had in 91/2, whilst Irene has the sharper moments that Bobby could also provide Maz with in the same period). Angel (although not as much as Bobby) is serving milkshakes and "I've been there and done it not that long ago" comments to the teens, as does Irene (but in a more "tough love" way that Bobby could also display). Irene stands up against draconian Alf, Don etc on behalf of the teens. Angel has the closeness with Don and brings out his soft side, whilst also evolving a closer friendship with Pippa which was somewhat reminiscent of how DL's Pip's rapport with latter years Bobby played out. And Angel / Shane / Dylan really are a younger version of Bobby / Greg / Sam (with much more gripping storylines thrown their way, alongside the bickering about "having no spare cash"). Not to mention the already said likelihood that Selina almost certainly would have been living with Bobby in the Beach House. 

Don't get me wrong here, both Irene and Angel were still immensely different characters to Bobby (across all of her eras). But, to me at least, it was like some of the younger / yearning for a real family / nagging & thrifty young wife / moody / more passive sides to Bobby's very dynamic personality were handed to Angel, whilst the stronger / dry-humoured / old-beyond-her-years / proactively helping teens in need / independent sides of Bob went to Irene. 

Edited May 20 by nenehcherry2

[adam436]

It was definitely good advance planning on the producers part to consider Bobby's replacement long before she'd gone if that were the case. I can't really recall any other time this has happened with a major character in H&A. I guess the closest would be Miles replacing Sally? Travis and Rebecca were also married off not long before Pippa's exit, and then Travis' brother Joel was brought in not long after that, but that "succession plan" fell through pretty quickly with the show being overhauled in 2000. 

 

11 hours ago, nenehcherry2 said:

I had exactly the same experience with Julie Martin in Neighbours. As a 6/7 year old, I DESPISED Julie, who was just Hannah's nasty Mum to me. But, as I've got older, I've just grown to love her more and more. Our perceptions (and who we hold as interesting characters) really does evolve with age, doesn't it?

They definitely do. As I said, I used to find Celia a comic relief character, but really it's quite tragic how Les's death defined her whole life - I think Ailsa even mentioned at one point Celia wouldn't be the busybody she is if she had had a family of her own to care for, I quite liked Neville and Floss as a young child too, but in a recent watch, I just found them really annoying and aside from the story with their grandson, mostly two-dimensional comic relief characters. Martin was another character too - I initially saw him as a comedy character as a child, but really he seems quite lonely. It becomes evident during his "break ups" with Lance or when Marilyn initially came onto the scene, or when he tries and often fails to become "one of the gang" with Carly, Bobby etc. 

[j.laur5]

I think if Sally had stayed they wouldn’t have brought back Roo as a regular. Roo to me was brought in so Alf would have someone close to him. If Sally was there to fill Alf role as someone close to him it wouldn’t have made need for Alf to have someone bought in  to be close to him .

Sally could easily be one to take Maddy and Spencer under her wing .