Home and Away's Lynne McGranger felt 'abject terror' walking onto Aussie soap set

 Home and Away star Lynne McGranger is currently the longest-serving female cast member on the Aussie soap but she was scared to death when she first got the job...

Home and Away star Lynne McGranger confessed she was terrified when she first walked onto the set of the Australian soap.

Earlier this year, the veteran actress recalled some of her earliest days on the set which kicked off in 1993. The 70-year-old has been playing Irene Roberts on and off ever since, making her the longest-serving female cast member on the soap.

"I felt absolute abject terror," she told TV Week in a previous interview. Being relatively knew to acting back then, Lynne admitted she had to readjust her approach and she had a little help from Judy Nunn, who starred as Ailsa Stewart on and off from 1988 until 2003.

She explained: "I was terrified because I'd never done anything like it. I'd acted on television a little bit in The Flying Doctors and other things, but not using steadicam.

"I was so used to leaping about on stage that staying in one spot was bizarre. I remember one of the producers saying, 'Just watch what Judy Nunn does, you get the sense of how it works'."

After her first few months on set, the soap icon gained more confidence, however, it too her "a year or so" before she felt completely comfortable. "You muddle your way through and then suddenly, they keep paying you because they think you know what you're doing," she laughed.

"And here we are today." Last month, Irene was told she could be facing prison time. When she returned to the Bay, she discovered Harper (Jessica Redmayne) was harbouring her fugitive sister Dana (Ally Harris) at her home.

After the siblings explained that Dana was wrongly wanted for possession of drugs, she decided to let both of them stay while they tried to prove her innocence. After bringing down the dodgy detective who framed Dana, the police dropped the charges against her.

But the same couldn't be said for Irene. During Friday's episode (November 17) of the Channel 5 soap, Irene continued to worry about the uncertainty of her status around the case. The following morning, Irene's worst fears were concerned when Rose arrived at the diner to place her under arrest.