Home and Away star has barely aged a day in 36 years since playing rebellious teenager on soap – and drink drive arrest
MUCH to the shock of noughties telly fans, Katie Ritchie has barely aged since playing a teenage character on Home and Away.
The 45-year-old actress is best known for playing defiant foster kid Sally Fletcher on the iconic Australian soap opera.
Remarkably, she looks almost identical to when she first graced our screens over three decades ago.
Although Sally was portrayed as a teenager when the show first aired, Katie was just eight years old when she landed the role.
Fans watched Sally navigate the ups and downs of life in Summer Bay from 1988 to 2008.
Even after Katie left the show, she returned for special episodes until 2013.
Katie’s enduring youthful appearance has left fans astonished.
In a recent Instagram post she shared a snap taken with co-star Ray Meagher at his 80th birthday party.
Her youthful glowing complexion was on full display in the photo.
One fan commented: ” I grew up watching you and you haven’t changed a bit.”
Another added: “You look stunning Kate.”
Katie, who was born in Sydney, continued her acting career after her time on Home and Away.
She went on to appear in several Australian television dramas, including Underbelly and Cops L.A.C.
The actress recently even joined the panel of judges on both Australia’s Got Talent and Britain’s Got Talent.
However, her portrayal of Sally Fletcher is still a fan favourite.
Over the years viewers saw Sally face challenges from family drama to romantic entanglements, all while maintaining her fierce independence and sense of integrity.
Off-screen, Katie’s life has been equally eventful.
She married former NFL rugby player Stuart Webb in 2010, and the pair had their daughter Mae together.
But things started going downhill when Stuart faced run ins with the law over drink driving and had to be bailed out of a prison sentence.
The couple eventually split in 2019, and it was revealed that police had applied for an AVO (apprehended violence order) on Katie’s behalf.
This meant that Stuart as the defendant was banned from assaulting or threatening, stalking harassing or intimidating, or deliberately destroying anything belonging to Katie.
The protection order was upheld and extended to last for a year after their split.
Katie herself was fined $600 for drunk driving in 2022 when she was found 0.01 over the legal limit during a random breath test.