‘The luckiest little girl in Australia’: Kate Ritchie remembers Home And Away scene with John Farnham
Kate Ritchie has opened up about the Home And Away scene she shot in 1988 with iconic Aussie singer John Farnham.
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Actor and radio presenter Kate Ritchie has revealed her joy at being able to talk publicly about a 1988 Home And Away scene she shot with iconic singer John Farnham.
Footage of the episode came out of the vault along with other footage of Farnham not seen for decades in a special tribute to the legend on Sunday night.
The special, aired on the 7NEWS Spotlight program, also saw a collection of much-loved Aussie stars share memories of their personal stories about the music icon known as Whispering Jack.
Farnham, 74, continues his recovery from marathon cancer surgery in 2022 and a health battle earlier this year.
Ritchie said she and the entire cast and crew on the set of Home And Away had been star struck the day Farnham came to shoot the scene. It was built around the storyline that young Sally Fletcher (played by Ritchie) had been struck down with chickenpox and was unable to attend a John Farnham concert.
When the singer heard this he paid a personal visit and sang Help Me If You Can to young Sally. Ritchie was just nine years old at the time but remembered being “impressed” by him.
“I was the luckiest little girl in Australia,” she said.
“Sally won tickets to see Johnny Farnham perform … and because John Farnham is such a great guy and isn’t worried about catching chickenpox he came back to Summer Bay and visited Sally.”
“There were a lot of people (on the set), holding cables and pretending to do things because The Voice was coming to town.”
Ritchie said Farnham had left a lasting impression on her.
“I think we forget not only was he incredibly talented and so, so likeable … he was our soundtrack but he was also the guy you wanted to be friends with,” she said.
She also revealed her pleasure at being able to talk publicly about the shoot after so many years.
“It’s really nice to talk about it – I’ve bored my family for so many years,” Ritchie said.
The show follows the release of the documentary John Farnham: Finding The Voice, Farnham’s first authorised biopic, featuring the late Olivia Newton John, Jimmy Barnes, Celine Dion, Farnham’s family and others.
Other stars to join the program included Glenn Shorrock, Tottie Goldsmith, Jack Jones, Jon Stevens, Shannon Noll and Natalie Bassingthwaighte.
Program presenter Michael Usher said John Farnham would be embarrassed by all the attention.
“He told us he’s been overwhelmed by the recent outpouring of love and support in the past few months,” Usher said.
Jon Stevens said he was six or seven years old when he first heart Farnham’s song Sadie the Cleaning Lady. He described Farnham’s voice as a “natural God-given gift.”
But not everyone loved the song. Quite the opposite. Many “hated the song”, including Farnham’s own father, who said “you’ve got to be joking” said Jane Gazzo, who wrote the 2015 book John Farnham: The Untold Story.
She said the “radio stations didn’t like it either and refused to play it”, instead making fun of it.
Singer Glenn Shorrock, who was replaced by Farnham in the Little River Band revealed that while there had been a “lot of hurt” being ousted from the band, he had nothing against Farnham.
“He was lucky enough to fill my shoes,” said Shorrock.
In video aired in the show Farnham explained his decision to leave the Little River Band because he wasn’t enjoying it, even though the move almost ruined him financially.
“John says himself he was on the bones of his arse, in Bulleen in Melbourne” said Gazzo.
“They all knew John had something – his career wasn’t over but they (Farnham, his wife Jill and manager Glenn Wheatley) just knew they had to get something out there.”
His hit album Whispering Jack came next and the first single was You’re The Voice, which launched him into the history books and cemented him as an Aussie legend.
Bassingthwaighte said she was a “massive fan”, before performing a duet with Shannon Noll of Farnham’s hit Two Strong Hearts. Jack Jones later performed Burn For You.
“I’ve always been an absolute massive fan of Farnsey, like people all around the world,” she said.
Footage of Farnham’s early performances were aired, including a clips of a performance on the Don Lane show. After performance Lane said to Farnham that fellow guest Sammy Davis Jnr had said something “extremely complimentary”.
“You have a magnificent presence and your voice … it’s just a joy to listen too,” said Davis Jnr.
Tottie Goldsmith described the singer as a “master”.
“He is a master of his voice and the stage … he doesn’t have to try, he just is,” she said.
The program finished with a moving rendition of his hit song You’re the Voice by the Australian Girls’ Choir.
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