Wishing him a speedy recovery
Home and Away legend Ray Meagher was hospitalised this week after doctors discovered three serious blockages during a routine health check.
The soap star - who plays Alf Stewart – had to undergo an emergency triple bypass after doctors discovered the damage to his heart was more severe than they first thought.
According to the Melbourne Herald Sun, a simple stent procedure should have been enough but "the extent of the coronary calcification meant he was scheduled for open heart surgery the next day".
Thankfully, Ray is now back home in Sydney with his wife and recovering well from the surgery.
“We can confirm that Ray has recently undergone a triple bypass," his rep said in a statement. "He was in hospital for a couple of days and is now home and feeling pretty cheerful. We know that all of his UK fans will join us in wishing him a speedy recovery."
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The Australian actor has been part of Home And Away since the very first episode in 1988, and is now the only original member of the cast to still be in it.
He announced earlier this year that he would be reducing his hours on set, sparking concerns he would be quitting the soap altogether.
However, he later clarified his comments to Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on This Morning, reassuring fans he was simply cutting back so he could better fit in his UK work commitments.
“Over the last 10 to 20 years, each Christmas I go over to your country to do a pantomime, and more recently I went over twice to do Priscilla Queen Of The Desert in the West End," he said.
"One was a six-month stint, another a run of four months in that same show. If you average my time out over the last 10 to 15 years, I probably average 40 weeks a year.
"From now on, on a new contract, I'll probably work 35, 36 weeks of the year."
