A throwback video has surfaced that has fans wondering if Kate Ritchie suffered from her long-running role on Home and Away.
The much-loved radio star, 46, started her media career in 1988 at the age of eight in the Seven soap where she played the character Sally.
A compilation clip on the Instagram page ‘Home and Away The Early Years’ shows Kate’s character being belittled and neglected in scripted scenes.
Many of the scenes show a pre-teen Sally being sent away as the characters attempt to have “adult conversations.”
You can hear a young Sally, in character, whining, “No one tells me anything,” throughout the clip as character after character belittles her.
One scene even shows the little character being sent outside to play in the dark.
A throwback video has surfaced that has fans wondering if Kate Ritchie suffered from her long-running role on Home and Away
A compilation clip on the Instagram page ‘Home and Away The Early Years’ shows Kate’s character being belittled and neglected in scripted scenes. Pictured: a young Kate Ritchie in Home and Away
Fans quickly commented on the shared post.
‘Holy f***, this is actually pretty awful. Poor Sally,” said one fan.
“I hope there was a supervisor on set,” another commented.
“Ah, but how did Kate feel playing Sally? It was actually sad to see that,” one person said.
Another fan speculated, “This must have traumatized the actress later in life!”
Kate left Home and Away after twenty years and her final episode aired in 2008.
33 years after her departure from the series, Kate told Woman’s Day in 2021 that it was difficult to leave the show:
“It really felt like losing a big part of who I was, and it took me a long time to adjust to that.”
A young Sally-in-character can be heard whining, “Nobody tells me anything” throughout the clip, as character after character belittles her
Fans had a lot of sympathy for Kate’s character Sally, with one asking if there was a chaperone on set
In the same interview, the Nova radio star confessed that she used therapy to help her cope with leaving the show.
“That’s what I needed at that moment.”
It comes after Kate has tried to get her life back on track following her shock drink-driving charge in August 2022.
Last year she announced her decision to seek professional help after crossing the line when she was stopped by police for a random breath test.
She said that after struggling with several personal challenges in 2022, she decided it was time to get help.
‘It took a long time. I sought professional help, the help I needed. Sometimes enough is enough,” she said at the time.
‘Life has presented me with challenges in recent years, but I am not alone. I was lucky that I could take the time.’
Kate returned a reading of 0.06 – just above the legal limit – when she was stopped by police for a random breath test in her station wagon in Pagewood at 2.45pm on August 22, 2022.
She was fined $600, banned from driving for three months and apologized on Instagram.
“I recently took a random breath test,” she wrote.
‘Although it was low level, the test was positive.
“I made a bad decision and there is no doubt that I understand the gravity of my actions. I’m really sorry.’
In October 2022, Kate announced she would be stepping away from her radio show, before it was revealed she was seeking treatment at an exclusive drug rehab facility in Sydney.
Kate left Home and Away after twenty years and her final episode aired in 2008
In December that year, Daily Mail Australia broke the news that Kate had entered an exclusive private mental health facility in Sydney to help treat her alcohol addiction.
She said in a statement at the time that the past year had been challenging and stressful, leading to an “unhealthy dependence on alcohol.”
Kate made the news again last month after a new traffic incident.
She was reportedly behind the wheel of her black 2023 BMW X5 xDrive40i when the incident occurred in Dudley Street, Randwick, on Wednesday, November 6.
According to eyewitness accounts, her BMW collided with a parked Mitsubishi Pajero, forcing it off the road and into a parked Kia.
She exchanged details with the driver before quickly leaving to pick up her nine-year-old daughter Mae, who she shares with ex-husband Stuart Webb.
No roadside sobriety test was administered and NSW Police were not on scene.
It is not suggested that Kate was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident.
It appears the drivers will handle the matter privately and Ritchie may be hit with a hefty repair bill.
Kate herself is a doting mother to daughter Mae, nine, who she shares with her ex-husband Stuart Webb.
She married the former NRL star at the Quamby Estate in Tasmania in 2010 after a year-long engagement, but the couple split in 2020.