Kate Ritchie shares rare photo of three-year-old daughter Mae to celebrate Home and Away's 30th anniversary

Kate Ritchie has marked Home and Away’s 30^th anniversary by sharing a rare photo with her three-year-old daughter on Instagram.

Ritchie, who played the iconic role of Sally Fletcher for 20 years captioned the sweet photo with: ‘Watching ‘Endless Summer - 30 Years of Home and Away’ 📺🏄🏼‍♂️☀️ with ALL the toys.. Including Mummy’s knitted doll who is also celebrating a thirtieth birthday.. 😉 #openingcredits #homeandaway #sallyfletcher #summerbay’

Watching 'Endless Summer - 30 Years of Home and Away' 📺🏄🏼‍♂️☀️ with ALL the toys.. Including Mummy's knitted doll who is also celebrating a thirtieth birthday.. 😉 #openingcredits #homeandaway #sallyfletcher #summerbay

The Nova radio host also responded to a comment on the Instagram snap asking whether or not her daughter recognised her as a little girl on the hit Aussie soap.

She revealed: "She’s never seen an episode but we sometimes sing the theme song at bedtime.. When she heard it on the tv she says to me ‘Mummy! They know our Home and Away song!’’

Kate Ritchie on Twitter

Feeling sentimental, Ritchie later posted an emotional note to fans on Instagram thanking them for all their support.

Thank you 🙏🏼 to everyone who watched along tonight (and will on the other side of the world soon enough) and bothered to comment so kindly and generously.. You didn't need to or have to but you did.. And in a world where it seems only the unkind like to comment it was beautifully comforting. Yes, @homeandaway may merely be a television show 😌 but what a lovely chapter of our lives. I've heard from so many of you.. For some it provided a family you never had, for others it taught you to speak English when first arriving in this wonderful country of ours and for the rest it perhaps taught you didn't have to be the prettiest or most popular girl at school to be happy and loved. ☀️☀️☀️ Here's to @homeandaway continuing to go strong - for the actors, the crew and the viewing audiences, young and old. Ni night x #homeandaway #sallyfletcher #summerbay

This week in TV podcast Binge List: The Handmaid's Tale, Sheldon and Amy's wedding in Big Bang Theory, Sacha Baron Cohen's Who Is America?, Wentworth axed, and UnReal season four. Subscribe on iTunes http://po.st/syE3JF, OMNY http://po.st/hxjAhm or listen below:

Ep 13: The Handmaid's Fail?

This article originally appeared on New Idea.

Shahbaz Malik

Shahbaz is the Digital Content Editor for Entertainment. He is shamelessly addicted to pop music (most notably Ariana Grande), teen dramas and a lover of all things pop culture.