Rumours about Kate Ritchie's return to Home and Away have been floating around for years, but a new report has suggested that the actress' long-awaited comeback will finally be happening.

The Nova radio host has been asked to reprise her character, Sally Fletcher, for a cameo on the long-running soap opera "sometime next year", according to New Idea.


Kate also gave a hint about her return when she posted a photo of herself and former co-star, Ray Meagher, having lunch together earlier this month.



Additionally, Kate told TV Week in a recent interview that she will “always feel attached to Home and Away”.

Kate said: “Even now, with some distance from those days and having had the chance to develop into my own person without the security blanket of Sally Fletcher, I still miss it desperately but I also realise I will never be able to recreate that time. Nor do I need to.”

The radio host starred on the Channel Seven soap opera from its premiere in 1988 when she was eight years old up until 2008.

The show has helped her become one of the most awarded female stars in Australia, winning two Gold Logie awards over her 20-year run on the show.

In 2013, Kate made a brief appearance on the show's 26th season.

Earlier this year, the actress opened up about how she struggled emotionally after leaving the Channel Seven series, revealing that she went through "loads of therapy".

“I didn't know where [Sally] ended and I began or vice versa, and I had to work out whether I was more than that,” she admitted on Anh's Brush with Fame.

“She gave me purpose and a sense of achievement. I thought the only thing I'd ever done of value in my life was when I was her. I was lost, and I wondered how I was going to survive without her.”



The year 2022 might be a busy year for Kate as it was also announced earlier this year that she will be joining the judging panel of Australia's Got Talent, confirming her first return to series television since 2013.

The actress took to Instagram to share the news, writing: “I am not only flattered to be sharing the AGT panel with Neil Patrick Harris, Alesha Dixon and Shane Jacobson but also super excited to see the incredible talent Australia has to offer... from what I believe to be the best seat in the house!”

Although Channel Seven confirmed in June that production for Australia's Got Talent was postponed "to a date to be determined", the series was expected to premiere sometime next year.