Kate Ritchie returned to her acting roots this week as she was spotted filming scenes for a brand new ABC series on Thursday.
The Home and Away actress, 45, cut a casual figure as she arrived on set to shoot for five-part series The Role Of A Lifetime alongside comedian Nazeem Hussain.
Kate showed off her laidback sense of style in denim dungarees, which she styled with a long-sleeved black T-shirt and white trainers.
She framed her face with a pair of red glasses and showed off her stunning features with a natural make-up palette.
The radio presenter carried a checkered jacket in one arm and kept her essentials in a black tote bag for the day of filming.
The new ABC and Screen Australia series will be fronted by TV favourite Amanda Keller and will explore the challenges parents face in today’s rapidly changing world.
Kate and comedian Nazeem, 39, will star as parents and will act out real-life family scenarios, giving an immersive and comedic touch to the factual program.
The show, produced by Dreamchaser, will also feature insightful parental guidance throughout from podcaster and author Maggie Dent.
The program aims to give millions of parents and caregivers the tools and confidence to navigate challenges facing families in today’s world.
Dreamchaser Executive Producer Debbie Cuell said: ‘I am delighted to be able to bring together the talents of Kate Ritchie and Nazeem Hussain alongside Amanda Keller as host and Maggie Dent as our resident queen of parenting.’
While Head of Screen NSW Kyas Hepworth added: ‘This series boldly explores the many contemporary and pertinent challenges facing parents today, while expertly blending factual and scripted comedy genres, with the help of Amanda Keller, Kate Ritchie, Nazeem Hussain and parenting expert Maggie Dent.
‘We are pleased to support Dreamchaser in bringing The Role Of A Lifetime to the ABC to help guide and empower the parents of today.’
Kate is a doting mother herself to her beloved daughter Mae, nine, who she shares with her ex-husband Stuart Webb.
Kate tied the knot with the former NRL star at the Quamby Estate in Tasmania in 2010, following a year-long engagement, but the couple parted ways in 2020.
TV personality Kate has often spoken about how much she loves motherhood and once described having Mae as her ‘greatest achievement’.
‘My only fear is that I will become a complete hermit and never leave the house because I adore being with her,’ she told The Australian Women’s Weekly after giving birth.
Elsewhere this week, Kate revealed she is still earning money from Home and Away, despite stepping down from her role as Sally Fletcher 16 years ago.
She admitted on her show, Nova 96.9’s Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie, that she still rakes in cash if scenes she starred in on the Channel Seven soap get reused.
‘What do you get for the replays of Sally on Home and Away?’ her co-host Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli asked, before Ryan Fitzgerald questioned if she gets royalty payments.
‘I get residuals [as] they call them here for Home and Away,’ she admitted before adding: ‘Home and Away goes to over 60 countries all over the world.’
‘So will you get a check for 80 bucks or something?’ Fitzy asked.
‘Yeah I think so… something like that,’ Kate responded.
Kate was just eight years old when she entered the spotlight in 1988, starring as Sally Fletcher on the long-running soap opera.
Despite winning two Gold Logies while she was on the show, Kate previously said was still left questioning her own worth.
‘People wanted to meet me because of Sally, or I won awards because of Sally, or I was invited to great events because of Sally,’ Kate told Stellar in 2017.
‘When you don’t remember your life without it and all of a sudden that doesn’t exist, you wonder, “What is it about me that is attractive?”’
Kate eventually sought therapy to cope with her issues, telling TV Week in March 2021: ‘It really did feel like the loss of a big part of who I was.’
‘It took me a long time to adjust to that,’ she said, adding: ‘[Therapy] was what I needed at that point.’
Since leaving Home and Away, Kate has dedicated most of her time to radio and co-hosts Nova 96.9’s Fitzy and Wippa with Kate Ritchie.
She has had other small successes as an actor, landing a small role in Underbelly’s second season, appearing in two episodes back in 2008.
Kate also briefly starred in Nine’s 2010 police drama Cops L.A.C. but the show rated so poorly that it was cancelled after its first season.