A record number of Home and Away viewers tuned in for Irene Roberts’ emotional farewell to Summer Bay in recent scenes.

The culmination of a storyline that has already aired in Australia saw Irene saying a tearful goodbye to her loved ones in a farewell party.

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The character recently discovered she had Alzheimer’s disease and decided to go see the world and enjoy some time in Europe while she still could.

Aired earlier this week Down Under, the episode made Home and Away the number one TV drama on Channel Seven. The soap was also the number one entertainment content for the night across all networks.

1.61 million viewers tuned in for Irene’s farewell, with a national audience of 1.1 million total.

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The episode was the highest-rated episode of Home and Away, confirming fans of the soap wanted to be there for Irene’s big moment. Viewers in the UK will have to wait until 1 October to catch the bittersweet scenes.

Earlier this year, it was announced that Lynne McGranger would leave the soap after 33 years in the role of Irene.

The soap star previously revealed the network had originally planned to axe her character a decade into her stint, but writer Coral Druyn “fought” to keep Irene on the show.

“She fought for me, for the character,” McGranger said.

“They probably felt I’d been painted into a bit of a corner. Sometimes you run in the wrong direction, and that’s life, right? But don’t sit and flounder. Find something about the character.”