Kate Ritchie spoke about what prompted her decision to quit the long-running soap twelve years after leaving Home and Away.
The 41-year-old actress-turned-radio host said she was nearing her 30th birthday and when she decided to leave the series there was' a lot of change in the air.'
When she was just 10 years old, Kate first joined the cast in 1988 and after 20 years on television, she was looking for something different.
Emotional exit: Kate Ritchie spoke about what inspired her decision to quit the long-running soap twelve years after leaving Home and Away
' I realized at some point that I was going to leave, so why not then when my world changed?
Kate said she met the long-standing executive producer of the show, John Holmes, to talk to him about it, and he backed her decision. Though she had planned to take some time off, she said she landed a job on the radio quickly.
Ready for a change: Kate said she was nearing her 30th birthday in an interview on Tuesday and there was a lot of change in the air when she decided to leave the series.
All about my exit has been fine, personal and professional,' she said. It was this sense of being so confused in so many respects but so happy… It was that first time in my life when I really learned to trust my instincts about everything.' In an editorial piece for the Herald Sun in April 2008, just before her final appearance as Sally Fletcher, Kate likened leaving the show to end a relationship that you have outgrown.
Move on: Even though she planned to take some time off after leaving Home and Away, she said she landed a job on the radio quickly
Something was just no longer right and the time had come for the inevitable parting of ways,' she wrote.
Though she knew she had made the right decision, after growing up on the series she admitted it was an adjustment.I'm struggling to remember what life was like before I got to know this place.
' I knew at some point that I was going to leave, so why not then when my world changed? ' She told the newspaper. Former co-star Heath Ledger pictured
I know every join in the wall, every drawer that doesn't open and every photo frame that sits on every inch of furniture.' Describing Sally as' the best friend I've ever had,' Kate said she was surprised by how much she missed her character already.
She added:' Everything I've ever achieved was the result of her, the success I've had. I profoundly miss the comfort she gave me over the years.'
