Home and Away star Lynne McGranger speaks following Johnny Ruffo's death

 ‘He fought like a warrior and was brave and cheeky to the end.’

Home and Away star Lynne McGranger has issued a heartbreaking statement following the death of her friend and former co-star Johnny Ruffo.

Ruffo died aged 35 after a six-year brain cancer battle surrounded by his partner Tahnee Sims and family, a statement on Instagram announced on Friday.

McGranger and Ruffo met on the set of the hit Channel 7 drama Home and Away when Ruffo joined the cast in 2013 after finding fame on The X Factor.

The two became fast friends and continued to have a tight bond throughout his life.

McGranger said her “brave and cheeky” friend would be dearly missed.

“He was our friend and we loved him,” she shared on Instagram.

“But more than that he was a beloved son to Jill, a soulmate to his darling Tahnee, a brother to Michael, a cousin, and a precious grandson to his dearest Nonna.

“He fought like a warrior and was brave and cheeky to the end.

“Talented, funny, loyal and naughty — we love you my friend.

“Fly high free from pain. You are missed.”

In July, McGranger told of how her “initial thoughts” about Ruffo were “so, so wrong” and spoke about their friendship.

“I do remember him coming onto the show and, to be honest, probably rolling my eyes and thinking, b***** reality television star,” McGranger told 7Life in July.

“I did see him on X Factor and I remember thinking he was gorgeous, smart, funny and a beautiful guy.

“I thought he was such a talent, but then rolled my eyes going, ‘well he’s not an actor so what the hell is he doing here?’”

Lynne said that despite her reservations on his first on-set day, they got on like a house on fire.

“Those initial thoughts of mine were so, so wrong,” she admitted.

“It couldn’t have been further from the truth because he was a hard worker; he really, really wanted to nail it and learn about acting.”

Looking back on Ruffo’s three years on the show, Lynne said he was “fun to be around and naughty”.

“We just hit it off from day one, and I’m sort of like his older sister or he calls me his ‘East Coast Mama’ because his actual mama is on the west coast.”

Ruffo was born and raised in Western Australia, with his family remaining in their home state when he made the move to Sydney after finding fame.

Despite their 35-year age gap, Lynne believed the two remain close friends mainly because their “sense of humour is the same”.

“He is the most irreverent person you could ever, ever meet but because he’s funny and cheeky he gets away with murder,” she said at the time.

“I’m talking about his conversations and the jokes he will tell and all those things.

“He’s like a 60-year-old man instead of a 35-year-old man and he was like that 10 years ago when we met.

He’s just naughty and irrepressible and all those things, and I think that’s what I loved about him.

“Johnny doesn’t take himself too seriously, you know, for a young, handsome, talented man — he must have had women falling all over him.”

McGranger said her friend remained grounded when his career took off, crediting his background as a concreter before he auditioned for the talent show.

“It wasn’t an easy ride to get to where he is in the public eye. He really worked at it,” she said.

I think all of those things attracted me to him and we’ve just become terrific mates, you know, and laughed a lot.”

Lynne conceded that their age gap was “unusual”.

“You know those funny, quirky things that happen to you in life, where you just meet people that you wouldn’t expect to form lifelong friendships with, but you do?” she shared.

“You don’t have to live in each other’s pockets, or talk to each other every week, you just pick up exactly where you left off.”