Next week on Home and Away in the UK, Irene’s friends are relieved when she claims to have turned over a new leaf, but they’re in for a shock when she reveals exactly what that entails!
Irene has secretly fallen off the wagon over the past couple of weeks following 9 years of sobriety, after she fell victim to conwoman Bronte (Stefanie Caccamo).
Leah (Ada Nicodemou), Marilyn (Emily Symons) and John (Shane Withington) have all seen that Irene has been struggling, but none of them had realised that she had turned back to alcohol.
When Leah organised a journalist from the Coastal News to tell her and Irene’s story, she hoped it would help prevent others being similarly scammed, and in turn provide some healing for Irene with a positive coming out of their ordeal.
But having swigged from a bottle of whisky to calm herself beforehand, Irene didn’t hold back with journo Fleur (Nikita Waldron), describing herself as an easy victim and promising to slam her door in the face of anyone else who shows up claiming to have a terminal illness.
After Irene stormed home to drown her sorrows, she was disturbed by John calling over to check on her, and dropped her bottle of whisky on the floor, causing it to smash.
Discovering her secret after walking in to find her crying over the broken bottle, John refuses to leave Irene on her own, offering to cook her dinner and sleep on the sofa.
Despite trying to initially force him out, Irene appreciates the support.
The next morning Irene thanks John but assures him that she has things under control, and that last night was just a blip.
When the Coastal News article drops, the result is a scathing story about Irene, making her out to be a monster. John offers to make her some tea but Irene points out she feels like a real drink.
She declines John’s offer to call Leah, who Irene doesn’t want finding out about her drinking, and is eventually convinced by John to attend an AA meeting.
Later in the week, as John covers for Irene’s absence, Leah and Marilyn are concerned that they’re not getting the full story.
But as they discuss their worries, Irene calls in at the diner right as rain. She claims she’s not worried about the bad press and has now turned a corner, and she wants to celebrate by treating them to dinner at Salt.
As they arrive at the bar, Irene orders three glasses of wine. Leah and Marilyn are curious as to who else is joining them, but they’re horrified when Irene declares that the third glass is for herself.
When Leah asks Irene about her turning a corner, Irene tells them that this is it—she’s decided to stop punishing herself and let herself join in the fun.
What’s the harm if she can control herself?
Leah points out that her history is what makes it a concern, and that remaining sober isn’t a punishment.
Irene’s mind is seemingly made up though, as she asks her friends to support her decision. Marilyn doesn’t know what to think, as she comments that Irene has obviously given it a lot of thought.
The next morning, Marilyn tells Leah that it’s hard to criticise Irene when she seems the happiest she’s been in a long time. Leah has seen what happens when Irene loses control in the past though, and isn’t convinced things are going to end well.
Meanwhile, Irene decides to carry on the celebrations by calling housemates Dana (Ally Harris) and Harper (Jessica Redmayne) into the living room for mimosas.
Neither sister is aware of Irene’s history, though Harper does wonder why Irene had initially told them it was a dry house.
“That was just to make sure there was no riffraff coming in,” Irene quips, and whilst Harper declines a drink on account her being (secretly) pregnant, Dana joins in the fun and spends the morning getting sozzled with Reenie.
When Dana toddles off to see Xander (Luke Van Os), Irene polishes off the bubbly herself, with Leah later spotting the empty bottle when she calls over to walk Irene to work.
Leah can’t help but comment on it, leading Irene to believe that she’s only there to stick her nose in. Irene tells Leah that she’s perfectly capable of walking herself to work.
Going on ahead, Leah warns Marilyn that Irene has been drinking, but Irene isn’t far behind and walks in to hear them talking about her.
Irene doesn’t appreciate being the subject of their idle gossip, and when Leah says she doesn’t want them to argue, Irene begins to cool down.
“If you are fit to be here, then let’s just get on with it,” Leah suggests. Irene quickly takes offence at the insinuation that she’s inebriated, and questions how many times Leah has turned up to work after a boozy lunch with Justin (James Stewart).
Leah’s quick to point out she’s never turned up drunk, and would like some reassurance that Irene won’t either.
But Irene has had enough, and storms off to the coffee cart.
With Irene seemingly having no intention to stop drinking, will any of her friends be able to make her see sense?
