'Home and Away' has resumed production after a four-week break.
Lynne McGranger
Lynne McGranger - who has played Irene Roberts on the Australian soap since 1993 - has told how filming has got back underway after the cast and crew had to extend a planned pause due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Appearing on ITV's 'This Morning' via video link, she said: "When we first went into lockdown about a month ago, we had a designated two-week production break away so we were always gonna take those two weeks off.
"However, while we were on that production break, things got worse and then we were supposed to go back to work a fortnight ago, and we got the email sent out, 'We're not going to go back to work.'
"So, we had an extra two weeks. Now, I think they've moved heaven and earth - and obviously extremely COVID-safe.
"We're getting tested every second day in the studio, Everybody has to wear masks the whole time, except for when they roll up.
"When they roll up, they have to take their masks off and we get on with it, and at the end of that, we put our masks back on again. They've obviously got dispensation to do this."
Meanwhile, the 68-year-old actress revealed the situation in Australia is "not very good" at the moment, and explained why their COVID-19 figures might seem less serious than the UK despite the lockdown measures now in place.
She added: "If you look at your numbers and you look at our numbers, I know a lot of my English friends were like, 'Oh please, get a life!'
"But we don't have a big population. So, you might have a couple of thousand a day, we have a couple of hundred a day ... most of us are in some sort of serious lockdown at the moment."
Lynne admitted lockdown restrictions are "pretty strict" in the country, as she urged people to "stay at home".
She said: "They're pretty strict. We've had to bring in the army - I shouldn't laugh. But the police were trying to keep people at home - basically, stay the hell at home.
"If you haven't got to go to a doctors appointment, or go out for a walk for an hour, or go and get your veggies and your meat. Just stay at home."