Radio star Kate Ritchie was overcome with emotion on Friday after her Nova co-hosts, Michael "Wippa" Wipfli and Ryan "Fitzy" Fitzgerald, surprised her with a special guest from her past. The reunion brought back cherished memories for Ritchie, who spent two decades playing Sally Fletcher on the iconic Australian soap opera Home and Away.
A Surprise Reunion with Her On-Screen Mother
During the Fitzy, Wippa & Kate show on Nova, Wippa and Fitzy arranged for actress Debra Lawrence to appear. Lawrence portrayed Ritchie's on-screen mother, Pippa, on Home and Away. The segment began with Wippa asking Ritchie to guess her surprise guest.
"I know exactly who it is and I was thinking about them this morning because I need to buy tickets to their show. Is it Debra Lawrence?" Ritchie said on-air. When Lawrence appeared, the two shared an emotional reunion, with both shedding happy tears.
"Sorry I didn't mean to cry!" Lawrence said, wiping her eyes. Wippa then invited Lawrence to come closer to the microphone, saying, "Even hearing your voice brings so much comfort to so many Australians, because it's so familiar." He added, "We grew up loving it."
Lawrence joked about her appearance, saying, "That's funny, because you know, I've got white hair now and look completely different." Wippa then asked about her bond with Ritchie and other past cast members. "Well, Kate's really the only one we see, because we have got a very close bond," Lawrence replied.
Another Surprise: Her On-Screen Father Joins
The surprises continued as Lawrence brought in her husband, actor Dennis Coard, who played Ritchie's on-screen foster father on Home and Away. The trio reminisced about their time together in Summer Bay and the many memories they have shared since.
Fitzy asked Coard about helping Ritchie navigate her early career. "Did you feel like you did have to sort of nurture Kate a little bit through this and help her through this period?" Fitzy inquired. Coard responded, "Far from it. She was, even at that age, much more experienced than I was as an actor. But as she grew, what she shared with me a lot was sarcasm, and I get that from my kids as well, my real kids."
Ritchie starred on Home and Away as Sally Fletcher for two decades, from 1988 to 2008, and won two Gold Logie awards for her performance. She briefly reprised the role in 2013 for the show's anniversary. The emotional reunion on Nova's show was a touching tribute to her long-running career and the lasting bonds formed on set.
