Word of the Bay

[Andy]

Word of the Bay

Daily Telegraph

23 January 2008

Copyright 2008 News Ltd. All Rights Reserved

The sudden appearance of a strange man on the beach will change Summer Bay forever.

In the last moments of a cliffhanger episode in Australia's favourite soap, Seven's Home And Away, at the end of last year, a scruffy-looking, seemingly homeless man writes the word in the sand. Now, as we return to Summer Bay this week, we will see that this very act is set to tear the once-sleepy coastal town apart. And change the course of Sally Fletcher's life forever.

Who or what is Milco? The appearance of the strange-looking hobo-esque man and the word he wrote give us the opportunity to speculate on a number of possibilities.

Firstly, as loyal Home And Away fans know, Milco is a name from when Sally was a little girl. It was the moniker she gave to her imaginary friend.

Could Milco be a real person? Does the scruffy man know where to find Milco? Could he, in fact, be Milco? Or is he playing an elaborate trick on Sally?

When former All Saints and Headland star Josh Quong Tart, who plays the strange man, was offered the role, he was told nothing about what it involved. Only when he met with producers was the veil of secrecy lifted. And when he was informed of the dramatic new direction in which his role would take the show, his mouth dropped.

The network won't spill the beans on the scruffy man. But viewers will find out the answer on Monday - in the first episode of 2008. And the revelation will pave the way for the departure of Kate Ritchie, the actress who has played Sally for more than 20 years.

One thing now known about Milco is the spelling of the name. For years, many people thought it was spelt Milko.

"It always was as far I was concerned, too," Ritchie says. "It's been quite funny. Over the last few months a lot of stories I had been working on, leading up to Sally's departure from the show, have, in a lot of ways, challenged some things that I always thought I knew.

"When I saw that name [Milco] in the script I thought, 'Hang on, that's a mistake'."

Ritchie, last year's Gold Logie winner, dropped the biggest bombshell in the show's history in September when she announced she was quitting Home And Away.

The actress filmed her final episode at Seven's Epping studios in December. It will go to air in April. Ritchie says she is happy with how Sally's final few months pan out.

"Those loyal viewers of Home And Away will be rewarded after all this time because we will revisit a lot of the show's history," she says. "It's certainly tidied up a few things for me and helped me say goodbye."

Saying farewell was not easy for Ritchie. Not when you've been on a show for two-thirds of your life and you've made such strong connections with cast and crew members over the years.

Not to mention the public. Not long after announcing her decision to leave the show, a fan approached Ritchie while she was filming a scene on Palm Beach, the northern Sydney beach which has become synonymous with the show. "This person grabbed my hands and said, 'I don't know what I'm going to do without you. You've been in my loungeroom for the past 20 years'," Ritchie says.

And yes, saying goodbye to fans of the show has been hard. But Ritchie has found the most difficult part was farewelling Sally. Strange, really, because for the longest time Sally and Kate weren't the best of friends.

"When I was a teenager it was hard. I was forever told, 'You and Sally must be so alike. You must be one and the same person'. And I hated that," Ritchie says.

"I fought it and I would laugh off the question and make up ridiculous answers. What I realise now is that she is part of me. I'm happy to embrace that now.

"I'm proud that I was the uncool teenager and that I was teased in the street for being Sally Fletcher. I'm glad that I stayed this long and that I've matured into a 29-year-old woman who is not embarrassed any more but who is proud of being part of something."

Similarly, Ritchie is now comfortable with the fact she stayed with Home And Away for as long as she did. For that too wasn't always the case.

"I forever felt the need to apologise and justify what some people felt was a lack of ambition on my part," she says.

"Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But no one will ever understand what Home And Away has meant to me."

Of course, Sally's storyline is not the only one viewers will follow with feverish interest this year. Other matters left unresolved from last year's finale include the identity of the person responsible for the hospital attacks.

We discover that Reverend Hall (Paul Tassone) is behind the assaults. He attacks Rachel (Amy Matthews), who puts up a fight, but is no match. Will she survive?

Also, as Belle (Jessica Tovey) is packing up at the diner she is shaken to find her last customer for the night is Dom (Sam North), who has reappeared after being left for dead.

And it's a big year for the show in general, which has just celebrated being on air for 20 years. Home And Away first went to air on Sunday, January 17, 1988. It was then that we first met the young foster child named Sally.

As the door closes on Sally's life on Home And Away, another opens for Ritchie, who is now doing breakfast radio on Nova.

Can she ever see a time when she might make a return to Summer Bay?

"I know when I have spoken to [seven drama chief] John Holmes about coming and going he has always assured me that I would be welcomed back to the Home And Away family," Ritchie says. "But is it a good thing to know this? I have finally got the courage to jump out of the nest. I am not sure I want to know that someone will come rescue me."

* Home And Away, weekdays, Seven, 7pm

[emmasi]

Not to mention the public. Not long after announcing her decision to leave the show, a fan approached Ritchie while she was filming a scene on Palm Beach, the northern Sydney beach which has become synonymous with the show. "This person grabbed my hands and said, 'I don't know what I'm going to do without you. You've been in my loungeroom for the past 20 years'," Ritchie says.

"...and then I called security."

I wish they hadn't kept saying the "scruffy" man. I was scanning it, and I kept thinking they were talking about the dog..

[13max13]

Not to mention the public. Not long after announcing her decision to leave the show, a fan approached Ritchie while she was filming a scene on Palm Beach, the northern Sydney beach which has become synonymous with the show. "This person grabbed my hands and said, 'I don't know what I'm going to do without you. You've been in my loungeroom for the past 20 years'," Ritchie says.

"...and then I called security."

I wish they hadn't kept saying the "scruffy" man. I was scanning it, and I kept thinking they were talking about the dog..

I love that dog