“Change the description of your post. I thought he had passed away. Misleading,” one wrote.

“Omg I thought he died. Wow. Just terrify a nation,” said another.

“Stone the flaming crows. Strewth I thought he had passed. You lot are a bunch of flaming galahs making people think that,” another joked, referencing some of Alf’s iconic lines.

“Jesus guys! Don’t give the whole of Australia a collective heart attack. PICK YOUR HEADLINES BETTER,” added one more.

Another called it a “disgusting attempt at clickbait”.

In October last year, the actor known as Summer Bay statesman Alf Stewart revealed he had undergone more heart surgery after a shock triple bypass.

The star told News Corp he had suffered “a few twinges” while doing his post-op exercise six months after his surgery.

“For me, it’s the same old message: people have got to get checked,” he said in support of a Heart Foundation fundraiser last year.

“Blokes feel like they’re hypochondriacs or wusses or something if they’ve got a bit of a twinge and tend to ignore it. Not all blokes, but a lot do and I think men are worse than women in ignoring those things. Like it’s a dreadful sign of weakness … I don’t know what the rationale is, but they don’t listen to the body and you’ve got to,” he said, firmly.

“If you’re getting a bit of a niggle, then go and see your GP and he’ll send you to the right people. You might be alive instead of dead, and I think that’s a better option,” he said.

Meagher has played Alf Stewart since 1988.