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Sally Keating

Sally Fletcher
Sally Fletcher.jpg
Home and Away character
Portrayed by Kate Ritchie
Duration 1988–2008, 2013
First appearance 17 January 1988
Last appearance 5 September 2013
Introduced by Alan Bateman (1988)
Lucy Addario (2013)
Classification Former; regular
Profile
Occupation Student (1988–2000)
Teacher (2001–)
Caravan Park Owner
Principal of Summer Bay High (2003–04, 2007–08)
Deputy principal of Summer Bay High (2004–07)
Foster mother (2005–08)
Home United States

Sally Louise Fletcher (née Copeland, previously Keating) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by Kate Ritchie. She made her first screen appearance during the serial's pilot episode, which was broadcast on 17 January 1988. Sally became the longest running original female cast member. She departed on 3 April 2008. Ritchie earned various awards and nominations for her portrayal of Sally. In February 2013, it was announced that Ritchie would be reprising her role. Sally returned during the episode broadcast on 15 July 2013 with her daughter. They departed on 5 September 2013. In April 2017, Ritchie announced that she had declined a return to Home and Away for it's 30th anniversary in 2018.

Ritchie auditioned for the role of Sally in front of executive producer John Holmes in 1987. Her audition scene was all about strawberry jam and Sally's imaginary friend Milco. Ritchie told Jason Herbison of British magazine All About Soap that she could remember reading Sally's scenes for Holmes, before auditioning for the director who recorded it on video. She added "I remember when my mum told me I got the part of Sally. I didn't want her to tell anyone because I was really embarrassed." Holmes revealed Ritchie had stood out among the other actresses auditioning for the role. He said "Actors always choose themselves for a role and in this case Kate Ritchie shone head and shoulders above all the rest." During flashbacks to the character's childhood, Sally was played by Chloe Shelsher.

In 2008, Ritchie said of her role, "I well and truly know the girl that is Sally Fletcher. If only I had realised earlier she wasn't my enemy, she wasn't the embarrassing little sister always trying to spoil my fun but, in fact, the best friend I ever had....In my Logie acceptance speech last year I said Home and Away had always been my constant and the same goes for Sally. We have spent the past 20 years side by side....Sally is a good person. She is the true meaning of the word good, often a quality that goes unnoticed and is most definitely underrated. Sounds crazy, but it is true."

After twenty years, Ritchie departed Home and Away and her last episode aired on 3 April 2008. As Farah Farouque wrote, "the last episode featuring Sally is a TV moment of note."

On 10 February 2013, it was announced that Ritchie would be reprising her role for "a special story arc". Of her return, Ritchie stated "There will be a wonderful sense of familiarity stepping back into Sally’s shoes for a while. Summer Bay is a very different place these days and I am looking forward to working with all the fresh faces that have continued to take Home and Away from strength to strength. It will be a good opportunity to catch up with some old mates too! Those cast and crew I worked with for so many years are who I have missed the most." Ritchie said that her decision to reprise her role depended on Sally having a great return story, as she did not want to come back and change sheets. The actress began filming Sally's return on 25 February. A promotional trailer for Sally's return was released on 20 June. It shows Sally returning to Summer Bay and stating that she had to come back, but is afraid to tell anyone why. Sally returned with her daughter on 15 July 2013.


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