Home and Away star Shane Withington often gets asked whether he’ll leave the soap, but that certainly isn’t happening anytime soon.
The actor, 65, made his debut as the cranky but warm-hearted John Palmer in 2009. What was initially meant to be a three-month stand-alone stint turned into more than a decade on the Australian soap.
And he’s showing no signs of bidding farewell to Summer Bay as Shane opened up about the joys of his job. In a recent interview with Now To Love, he said: “Home And Away has been my life for the past 15 years, with a few ups and downs, but I’ve met terrific people along the way.”
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Shane added: “I’ve got to play some very comedic plots and it thrills me to do it. I love coming in every day.”
The same can be said for his co-star Lynne McGranger, who joined the cast as Irene Roberts in 1993. The 70-year-old is the longest serving female cast member of a TV soap in Australia and has gone from strength to strength over the last few years, receiving a nomination for Most Popular Actress at Australia’s TV Week Logie Awards in 2023.
Shane and Lynne regularly share the screen together – and it helps that they have such a great bond. “We’re great mates and we laugh a lot,” Lynne said of their friendship.
The A Country Practice star agreed, adding that his co-star “is the nicest, kindest and most accommodating soul I’ve ever met”. It’s been a rough few months for Irene after she was arrested for aiding a fugitive. Despite a potential seven-year prison sentence hanging over her head, Irene was exonerated and all charges were dropped.
John supported his best pal throughout the trial, but his own problems arrived this week after he became the instructor of the Bronze Medallion course. During the session, John targets a student he nicknames ‘Man-bun’, although the student corrects John each time with his real name, Banjo.
During Wednesday’s episode (January 31) of the Channel 5 soap, John fumed at Harper for being distracting and insulted Banjo’s colourful shorts. John’s grouchy mood backfires however, when Alf informs him that a student has dropped out of his course and has lodged a formal complaint.
Banjo cites bullying, disrespect and micro-aggressions for the reasons behind his complaint. After much persuasion, John picks up the phone to call and apologise.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
