Katherine Leigh Ritchie is an Australian actress, radio presenter and children's author, she remains best known for her long-running role as original character Sally Fletcher on the television soap opera ''

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a tri ...

'', for which she won two Gold Logie awards. She played the character for 20 years, appearing from the pilot episode in 1988 until 2008. Ritchie is currently part of Nova FM's national drive show, ''Kate, Tim & Joel'' with Tim Blackwell and Joel Creasey. Prior to her retirement from ''

'', she shared with fellow original cast members

Ray Meagher Raymond Francis Meagher (born 4 July 1944) is an Australian actor, who has appeared in Australian film and television since the mid-1970s. He is notable as the longest continuing performer in an Australian television role, portraying Alf Stew ...

and

Norman Coburn Norman Coburn (born 6 March 1937) is an Australian former actor best known for his television serial and soap opera roles. He started his early career in theatre, film and television in the United Kingdom in the late 1950s. Coburn became famous ...

the record (recognised by

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

) for the longest continuous role in an Australian drama series. After a five-year absence, Ritchie returned to ''Home and Away'' in 2013 for a short reprise of her role as Sally Fletcher to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the series. In addition to 20 years on ''Home and Away'', Ritchie has also hosted various television events and appeared in commercials, a mini-series and an Australian film. She has also been involved with the Campbelltown Musical Society.

Early life

Ritchie was born as Katherine Leigh Ritchie. Her parents are Heather and Steve, and she has three younger siblings, Rebekah, Stuart and Susan. Ritchie attended Campbelltown North Public School and Hurlstone Agricultural High School – the latter a New South Wales agricultural and selective school.

Career

1986–2007

Ritchie was cast as Molly, the child lead in the 1986

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

– PBL mini-series '' Cyclone Tracy'', starring Chris Haywood and Tracy Mann. She started working with ''Home and Away'' in 1987, at age 8. Production began in July 1987 (shortly before her ninth birthday) and it premiered on the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

on 17 January 1988. In 2006, Ritchie played "Nicole" in the ABC film ''Stepfather of the Bride''. Whilst promoting ''Home and Away'' in the United Kingdom in 2006 with Mark Furze and Jodi Gordon, Ritchie appeared on ''

The Friday Night Project ''The Sunday Night Project'' is a British comedy-variety show by Princess Productions that first aired on Channel 4 in February 2005 under the title ''The Friday Night Project''. Originally broadcast on Friday nights, the show moved to Sunday n ...

'' and ''

Loose Women ''Loose Women'' (previously known as ''Live Talk'' from 2000 to 2001) is a British talk show that broadcasts on ITV1 weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk about ...

'', and appeared on interviews for

Five 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awa ...

and Five Life. In 2006, Ritchie was a contestant on the celebrity singing competition '' It Takes Two'', partnered with Troy Cassar-Daley. The pair placed fourth in the competition. She co-hosted the second series of ''It Takes Two'' with Grant Denyer in 2007."It takes two and Kate's happy"
''The Daily Telegraph'', 25 April 2007 In 2007 Ritchie joined

Nova radio A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

to co-host the drive show with comedian Akmal Saleh, replacing Matthew Newton. She was replaced in May by New Zealand comedian

Cal Wilson Cal Wilson (born 5 October 1970) is a New Zealand stand-up comedian, author, radio and television presenter. Early life After attending high school in Christchurch, New Zealand, Wilson completed a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Cant ...

. In September 2007, Ritchie announced that she would be leaving ''Home and Away'' in mid-December. Her final scenes were filmed on 13 December 2007, and she last appeared on Australian screens as Sally Fletcher on 3 April 2008, with her final episode being screened on UK terrestrial television on 12 May 2008.

2008–present

On 14 January 2008, Ritchie began work on the

Nova 96.9 Nova 96.9 (call sign: 2SYD) is a commercial radio station operating in Sydney, Australia. The station is owned by NOVA Entertainment along with sister station, smoothfm 95.3 Audience In 2014 Nova had a 4% share of the Sydney audience on a ...

breakfast show with

Merrick & Rosso Merrick and Rosso were an Australian comedy duo, composed of Merrick Watts (Merrick) and Tim Ross (Rosso). The duo began in stand up comedy, and first came together when they teamed up for what was intended to be a one-off comedy show in 1996. ...

. Shortly after the 2008 Logie Awards Ritchie did an interview with

Rove McManus John Henry Michael McManus (born 21 January 1974), better known by the stage name Rove McManus, is an Australian triple Gold Logie award-winning comedian, television and radio presenter, producer and media personality. He was the host of the e ...

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of fiv ...

, her first interview with another network since leaving ''

'', and her first television appearance since leaving the show. On 16 October Ritchie appeared on pay-TV, on '' The Merrick & Rosso Show''. In November, it was revealed that Ritchie would appear in the second series of '' Underbelly'', as Judi Kane, the wife of slain 1970s standover man Les Kane. The series screened in 2009. This was her first TV drama role since leaving Home and Away. Throughout 2009, Ritchie continued her radio role on the ''Merrick & Rosso and Kate Ritchie Show''. In 2009 Ritchie became the face of Vaseline. It was announced on 7 November 2009 that Ritchie would host the 2009 ARIA Awards on 26 November, alongside actor and fellow ''Underbelly'' cast member Gyton Grantley. Kate Ritchie 3

On 10 November 2009, Ritchie announced she would be leaving Nova 96.9's breakfast team and returning to acting. In January 2010 it was announced that Ritchie had been cast with a lead role in Nine's new police drama '' Cops L.A.C.'' The series did not rate well and was cancelled after the season finale. In 2012, Ritchie narrated the Australian version of the reality series '' Don't Tell the Bride'', which aired on Ch-10. In early 2013, it was announced that Ritchie was returning to ''Home & Away'', reprising her role as Sally Fletcher. In 2013, Ritchie announced via Twitter that she would be hosting the Nova FM drive show with Tim Blackwell and Marty Sheargold in 2014, following the departure of

Meshel Laurie Meshel Laurie (born Michelle Laurie 29 May 1973) is an Australian podcaster and author. Comedy career Laurie's first Melbourne International Comedy Festival show was ''Dairy Belles'' which she performed with Corinne Grant. In 1998 she was gra ...

, who went on to host ''Breakfast'' on

Nova 100 Nova 100 (call sign: 3MEL) is a commercial radio station in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, broadcasting on 100.3 MHz. The station is owned by NOVA Entertainment along with sister station, smoothfm 91.5. History Nova 100 commenced on th ...

in Melbourne.The show won three major ACRA awards. In 2015 the team won Best Networked Program at the Australian Commercial Radio Awards, and the Best On Air team in both 2016 and 2017. On 25 November 2015, Ritchie became the Godmother of the Cruise liner ''Pacific Eden'', which is from the P&O Fleet. Kate Ritchie 6

In 2016 Ritchie released a children's book illustrated by Hannah Sommerville called ''I Just Couldn't Wait To Meet You''. Her second book, ''It's Not Scribble to Me'', was illustrated by Jedda Robaard and published by Random House Australia in 2018. In June 2016 Ritchie was announced as the brand ambassador for QV Skincare. Ritchie was to host the retrospective 50th anniversary of '' Play School'' in July 2016. In June 2021, Ritchie was announced to be a judge on '' Australia's Got Talent''.

Personal life

Ritchie started dating St George Illawara Dragons player

Stuart Webb Stuart Webb (born 3 September 1980) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played for the St George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League. He previously played for the Sydney Roosters and the South Sydney Rabbitohs. His ...

in 2008. On 9 September 2009, it was announced that they were engaged. On 25 September 2010 Ritchie married Webb in a countryside outdoor wedding at

Quamby Estate Quamby Estate is a country homestead situated on 150 acres in Tasmania's Meander Valley. The estate is a Tasmanian historically important property and dates back to 1828. Quamby was the home of Sir Richard Dry, a premier of Tasmania and the first ...

in Tasmania. On 17 August 2014, Ritchie gave birth to daughter. On 7 November 2019, Stuart Webb agreed to an AVO which was applied for by a police constable on behalf of Ritchie following a domestic incident on 17 October. The AVO prevents Webb from stalking, intimidating, assaulting or threatening, as well as approaching or being in the company of Ritchie "for at least 12 hours after drinking alcohol or taking illicit drugs". In August 2022, she was caught drink driving with alcohol level of 0.06. She was suspended driving for 3 months.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ritchie, Kate Australian soap opera actresses Australian child actresses Nova (radio network) announcers Australian women radio presenters Living people Gold Logie winners Actors from New South Wales 1978 births