Home And Away's original Irene now - Russell Crowe link, name error and role exit

 Home And Away's Irene Roberts was played by actress Jacquy Phillips before Lynne McGranger took over. We have a look at why Jacquy left and what else she's been up to..

Think Home And Away's Irene Roberts and you are likely to have Lynne McGranger in your mind.

The actress is very well known for playing the Summer Bay stalwart, a role she's had since way back in 1993.

But what many people might not realise is that Lynne wasn't the first person to play Irene.

READ MORE: Home and Away re-castings - pregnancy exit, alcoholism and prison stint

When the character was introduced to the Aussie soap late in 1991, she was played by the actress Jacquy Phillips.

She carried on in the role until May 1992, and when she left soap bosses cast Lynne to take over.

So what else has Jacquy been in and where is she now?

Why was the role recast?

Jacquy was in the soap for less than a year.

She was mainly a stage actress so signing up for a stint in Summer Bay may not have been the obvious thing to do, but she loved it.

TV Week later quoted her as saying: "I never dreamed I would ever work in a soap and I'm not being snobbish about it ... but now I'm thrilled; I love it."

However, after around 15 episodes she decided to move on.

Horror movie fame

The actress is better known for her work in the theatre but in more recent years she has also racked up some parts in horror films.

In 2013 she was in Wolf Creek 2, a chilling tale about a deranged killer who kidnaps some tourists.

And the following year she was in The Babadook, an Australian psychological horror about a mum who has to confront her child's fear of a monster in their home.

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Jacquy's other film credits include Red Dog and she has appeared in TV series such as Police Rescue, Wildside and Blue Heelers.

Russell Crowe film

The actress has also shared the screen with Hollywood megastar Russell Crowe.

In 1990 - before Russell became the huge star he is now - they were both in an Australian film called The Crossing.

The romantic drama followed a man who was away for months and returned home to find that his former girlfriend had moved on with their friend.

Star's name is often spelled wrong

The unusual way that the actress spells her name has caused some confusion in the past.

While many sources say it is spelled "Jacquy", in some places she is listed as "Jacqui Phillips" or "Jacqy Phillips".

So the star's name appears differently in the credits of some of her TV programmes and films.