Home and Away Spoilers – Irene’s friends beg her to reconsider leaving

Next week on Home and Away in the UK, a chat with Sonny gives Irene an idea – she’s going to leave Summer Bay and travel the world! But will her friends support her?

After signing over her half of the diner business after two decades, Irene (Lynne McGranger) is wasting no time in getting her affairs in order following her devastating Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

When John (Shane Withington) calls over next week, he finds Irene sorting through boxes of ornaments and trinkets. Wondering if she’s having a garage sale, Irene explains that she’s sorting out gifts for people.

Whilst Irene wishes to hang on to her memories, she’s determined to declutter and ensure that when the time comes, her loved ones aren’t left with masses of stuff to sort through.

John’s concern ensures that word soon gets back to Leah (Ada Nicodemou) who later calls in at the Beach House herself.

It’s ideal timing for Irene, who surprises Leah with a gift—a teapot.

Irene explains that making tea in it was what helped her through her initial recovery from alcoholism.

She adds that she wouldn’t have managed without friends like Leah, and she wants her to have it to remind her of their special bond. Leah accepts, but remains unsettled at how freely Irene is parting with her possessions.

As they head to the Diner, Marilyn (Emily Symons) tries to lift the mood, but Irene makes it clear she’s serious about putting things in order. Leah and John protest, saying she doesn’t need to rush, but Irene insists she’s not going to drag it out.

She asks them to support her, and whilst they agree to do so, none of them are at ease.

Later, Irene flicks through old photographs, smiling at memories of happier times, including Leah and Justin’s (James Stewart) wedding day.

When John drops by, he promises to support her decisions, but admits he can’t bear the thought of losing her sooner than necessary, and urges her not to shut her friends out.

When Dana (Ally Harris) returns home with Sonny (Ryan Bown), John is still trying to rein Irene in over how much she’s clearing out.

The tension in the room rises as she explains to both John and Dana that she could end up being shipped off to a home at any point, and doesn’t want to be a burden on anyone.

When Sonny attempts to cut the tension with a joke about Irene’s memory, Dana and John are astonished. But Sonny’s risk pays off as Irene laughs, the mood immediately lightened as he offers to take some of the boxes to the charity shop.

Later that night, Sonny finds Irene going through her collection of postcards from loved ones over the years, including such exotic locations as Paris, Lima, Hạ Long Bay and Birmingham.

As a regretful Irene admits there are so many places she’ll never see, Sonny challenges her on it.

He believes that her getting her life together should be freeing—her illness shouldn’t dictate what comes next; that’s still something under her control.

Whilst Irene is upstairs, Leah and Dana struggle to dissect her bombshell. Dana is thrown when Sonny subsequently shares his view that it’s a good idea.

As they reconvene in the diner and share the news with Alf, he’s curious as to where Irene would get such a daft idea. Sonny owns up, leading Dana to storm off.

Sonny follows where Dana gives him a serve, telling him he needs to grow up, though she eventually softens and admits her reaction may have been clouded by her own feelings about the mother figure she’s found in Irene.

In the end, she decides that if this is what Irene wants, then she should be able to go for it, and vows to spend as much time with her as she can.

When Irene is summoned to the diner by Alf, she arrives to find him sitting down with Leah. She can guess what’s coming next, as they confront her with their concerns directly, but she bristles as she warns them not to ambush her.

She briskly tells them her mind is made up, and they can either support her or step aside.

When they later visit her at home as she looks through her postcards again, the mood is less heated, and Irene explains herself more openly.

The trip won’t be simple, and she’ll make sure she has safeguards in place, but she’s not willing to sit around in Summer Bay waiting for things to get worse when she can be out there seeing the world.

Here are the full spoilers for next week’s Home and Away episodes in the UK:

Cohen’s world is turned upside down. Mackenzie and Levi receive good news. Harper delivers a tough truth.

Levi worries for Mackenzie. Justin needs Theo at work. John is troubled by Irene’s sudden urge to declutter. Lacey’s investigator is on the case.

Irene gets a big idea. Will Jo and Tane finally succeed in a date? Lacey asks Abigail for help.

Remi’s stressed ahead of his gig at Salt. Abigail’s in trouble. Dana and Sonny clash.