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Home and Away golden girl Kate Ritchie will return to Summer Bay to play her much-loved character Sally Fletcher. We knew she'd be back!
The 34-year-old actress spilled the exciting news to New Idea, sharing that even she didn't expect to return to the show she was on for 20 years.

"It's funny, because I'd never considered going back," Kate told the mag.

"I'd been waiting by the mailbox for the past five years and the invitation finally arrived!

"It took me such a long time to pluck up the courage to leave Home and Away, that making a return visit was never on the agenda."

Kate, 34, left the popular weeknight soap back in late 2007. Luckily, the show's writers left the door open for schoolteacher Sally to return, as she simply went "travelling" rather than being killed off.

Since then, Kate's graced our screens in the ill-fated Cops LAC, the well-received Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities, and the short-lived reality show Don't Tell the Bride.

She also worked in radio with Merrick and Rosso for Nova 96.9, and later on their Foxtel TV show.

Her most steady gig has been as the face of Vaseline in Australia. Guess those commercials mustn't be paying the bills!

But Kate doesn't have the same attitude as former co-star Melissa George, who slagged off the show that made her famous in a recent interview.

"I guess I'm not like Melissa," Kate quipped.

Kate returns to the H & A set in the coming weeks, so we can expect her episodes a bit later in 2013.

It was recently revealed that Esther Anderson will also return to Summer Bay, however, her character Charlie Buckton was killed off more than a year ago.