Home And Away's Irene To Seek Support Amid Drinking Ordeal

Irene Roberts from Home and Away will go for help in the midst of her continuing drinking problem.

When Irene found out that her “friend” Bronte Langford had been deceiving her for several weeks, it completely turned her world upside down.

After being sober for some years, Irene began drinking again as a means to deal with the betrayal. She also pushed her loved ones away.

Irene’s drinking has been out of control this week, and as a result, she lost control when talking about her recent experience in a sit-down interview with a Coastal News reporter.

She calls herself a born loser and the ideal victim when she shows up for the interview intoxicated, saying that Bronte found her easy prey.

She also promises not to help the next person who requests for assistance because she doesn’t want to repeat her previous error.

Leah tries to talk the journalist out of printing the piece, but she says no, since it will be her first top page ever.

In scenes that will appear next week, Irene wounds herself on a broken whisky bottle and tells a worried John to leave her house. John stays to prepare Irene dinner and ends up spending the night, unfazed by her behavior.

Irene tries to persuade her companion the following morning that it was an anomaly and won’t happen again. When the Coastal News piece is released, John stays with Irene, and Irene acknowledges that she is ready for a real drink.

She grudgingly accepts John’s invitation to go to an AA meeting as long as no one else finds out. John swears that he will keep it a secret.

After the news piece surfaces, Leah and Marilyn get concerned about Irene. John reports that she’s sick with a cold, but in reality, she’s at an AA meeting. Leah, though, believes John is not being completely honest with her.

Irene is soon back in Summer Bay, feeling much better than when she left, having given up on the article. She offers to make Leah and Marilyn dinner after claiming to have turned a corner. However, Irene pours herself a huge glass of wine when the couple gets there.

She finishes the wine and pours another glass while she continues to justify her behavior, saying that it’s time to stop punishing herself.

After her altercation with Xander, Dana later has a few mimosas with Irene. Irene is left alone with the booze when a drunken Dana comes to dispute with her lover.

Upon her arrival, Leah notices the remains of her mimosas with Dana and decides to check on Irene. She berates Irene for her drinking, and Marilyn intervenes, pleading with Leah to offer assistance, but to no avail.

Finally, a displeased Irene loses her cool and demands at Leah to stop bringing up her drinking history. She insists that she has changed since attending her most recent AA meeting and determines she is healthy enough to resume drinking, both with friends and in trying circumstances.

Will Irene pay attention to her friends’ worries?