Kate Ritchie has finally broken her silence on her surprise role in the Channel Seven miniseries The Claremont Murders.
Her triumphant return to the small screen was kept under wraps as filming took place in August and September last year in Perth, Western Australia.
Now the former Home and Away star, 44, has spoken up about the ‘privilege’ she felt during filming in an Instagram post she shared on Friday.
‘It was truly an honour and a privilege to be part of bringing such a delicate home grown story to the screen,’ she said alongside a trailer for the series.
In the teaser, Ritchie pleads, ‘Just tell us where Sarah is please,’ as she performs alongside Erik Thomson.
Kate Ritchie, 44, (pictured) broke her silence on her surprise role in the Channel Seven miniseries The Claremont Murders during an Instagram post on Friday
She is referring to Sarah Spiers, who went missing from Perth in 1996.
It appears Ritchie and Thomson are playing the missing woman’s parents, Carol Spiers and Don Spiers.
The miniseries covers the Claremont murders, one of the most high profile mysteries to grip the nation.
‘It was truly an honour and a privilege to be part of bringing such a delicate home grown story to the screen,’ she said alongside a trailer for the series
Ritchie and Erik Thomson (left) are playing Carol and Don Spiers, the parents of Sarah Spiers who went missing from Perth, Western Australia in 1996
When three young women went missing in Claremont in the late nineties it set off the biggest unsolved murder case in West Australian history.
It took 25 years to solve the crime, and the miniseries will tell the story of how the Claremont Killer was caught.
The Claremont Murders follows the police investigation and twists and turns that brought a serial killer to justice.
It focuses on the police who never let the case go and the journalist who followed the case from the day the first woman went missing, all the way through to the end of the trial.
Don and Carol Spiers are pictured in 2019
In the clip, an emotional Ritchie pleads, ‘Just tell us where Sarah is please’
Sarah’s body was never found. She was just 18 when she vanished. Sarah Spiers is pictured
The two-part drama event stars Ryan Johnson, Catherine Văn-Davies, Aaron Glenane, Laura Gordon, Andrea Demetriades, Craig Hall, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Tasma Walton, Joel Jackson, Tom O’Sullivan, Erik Thomson and Kate Ritchie.
No release date has yet been announced but the series is coming soon to Channel 7 and 7plus.
Ritchie has not taken on an acting role since leaving Home and Away in 2013, after playing beloved Sally Fletcher from 1988.
She also appeared in Underbelly as Judy Kane in 2009 and in Cops LAC as Samantha Cooper in 2010, as well as roles in Mr & Mrs Murder and It’s a Date in 2013.
Ritchie has since turned her attentions to a successful radio career.
The miniseries covers the Claremont murders. Three young women went missing in Claremont in the late nineties, setting off the biggest unsolved murder case in West Australian history
The Claremont Murders follows the police investigation and twists and turns that brought a serial killer to justice
It comes after the actress reflected on her decision to get professional help after her shock drink driving charge in August.
In December, Daily Mail Australia broke the news Ritchie had entered an exclusive private mental health facility in Sydney to help treat her alcohol dependency.
She told The Sunday Telegraph that after struggling with several personal challenges last year she decided it was time to seek help.
‘It was a long time coming. I sought professional help, the help that I needed. Sometimes enough is enough,’ she said.
‘Life has thrown me its challenges over the last few years, but I am not alone in that. I was fortunate to be able to take time.
‘I gained clarity and that is why I feel so good about coming back now,’ she added.
It comes after the actress reflected on her decision to get professional help after her shock drink driving charge in August. ‘It was a long time coming. I sought professional help, the help that I needed. Sometimes enough is enough,’ she said
Ritchie’s new lease on life comes ahead of her new radio hosting gig starting earlier this month on Nova’s new Fitzy and Wippa with Kate Ritchie breakfast show.
‘I just wanted to be a better version of myself for me and my family. I am coming back clear and refreshed,’ she said.
In October, Ritchie announced she was stepping away from the Kate, Tim and Joel show in October, before it was revealed she was seeking treatment at an exclusive rehab clinic in Sydney.
In December, she said in a statement that the last year had been challenging and stressful which led to an ‘unhealthy reliance on alcohol’.
Ritchie returned a reading of 0.06 – just over the legal limit – when she was stopped by police for a random breath test in her station wagon at Pagewood at 2.45pm on August 22.
She was fined $600, suspended from driving for three months, and apologised on Instagram.
Ritchie’s new lease on life comes ahead of her new radio hosting gig starting earlier this month on Nova’s new Fitzy and Wippa with Kate Ritchie breakfast show. Pictured L-R: Ryan ‘Fitzy’ FItzgerald, Kate Ritchie, Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli
