Ray Meagher admits some ‘Home and Away’ cast members found out about their characters’ deaths by reading the script.
The 75-year-old actor – who has played Alf Stewart on the Australian soap since its first episode in 1988 – admitted bosses can sometimes be quite cruel when it comes to letting stars know when they’ve been killed off.
Speaking to hit105’s Stav, Abby and Matt, he revealed in the past the cast have read the script and said: "Oh my God, I’m not in this!"
However, he laughed: "But normally, it’s done in a fairly orderly sort of manner at that place!"
And Ray insisted while individual situations could call for a "different" approach, the actors’ agents are the ones who are meant to make the decision.
He added: "I think everyone is different, and officially it’s down to their agent."
Last summer, the soap star had an unplanned triple heart bypass after a routine health check revealed several blockages in his arteries, and he joked "life clearly decided to emulate art" with his health problems.
Speaking late last year, he said: "It’s been 12 weeks since I went under the chainsaw! Alf’s had ticker problems for years, so life clearly decided to emulate art…
"I didn’t have time to think about it – which is probably a good thing. It makes you count your blessings."
And Ray revealed while he’ll still have a big part to play on the Channel 5 show, he’s decided to take a bit of a step back from his role.
He explained: "I’ll still be there more often than not. I had some extra time off last year, and I felt the sun of my face and thought, ‘Ahhh, this is all right!’
"So I asked ‘Home and Away’ to work a few less weeks per year."
Home and Away’s Ray Meagher admits some cast discover deaths in script
