Sally Goes From Summer Bay To Sydney Radio

After announcing that this season of Home & Away would be her last after approximately 78 years on the popular soap, it’s safe to say most media observers wondered what the bloody hell Kate Ritchie would be doing with her “retirement” time.

Well, it turns out her not-very-well-kept secret is that she’s heading to radio – and not just the midnight shift or presenting the Saturday Night CD Jukebox, but morning.

The Home & Away hottie was groomed for the new gig earlier this year, switching from The Akmal Show to team with Merrick Watts and Tim Ross for an all-star assault on the number one FM spot.

Ritchie, who will be pitched as Nova’s answer to 2Day’s Jackie O, will up the oestrogen levels set to drop when newsreader Sami Lukis leaves for Brisbane next week.

Lukis is understood to have given her replacement her blessing, telling one Confidential source “she works really well with the boys and will be a great part of the team”.

Said through gritted teeth, no doubt, Sami…

Anyway, this is quite a coup for Ritchie, given that most breakfast radio presenters are paid largely in unused $100 notes and gold bullion.

But the question we’re sure everyone is asking now is: how soon before Alf Stewart joins the airwaves? The answer is of course, “Not soon enough.”