Kate Ritchie has announced she will be stepping back from her drive time radio show.
The 43-year-old presenter said she will be off the air for the remainder of the year, but will return alongside co-hosts Joel Creasey and Tim Blackwell in early 2023.
Kate was busted for drinking and driving in August, and explained that after an “incredibly hectic” year, she needed some time off.
“This past year has been incredibly hectic and full-on for both me and my family,” she said.
“I have had much change and increased stress in my life, like many of you, in a short space of time. And it has taken its toll.”
“But still I am so proud that our Nova show, with Tim and Joel and the team, is just powering along, and going from strength to strength.”
She added, “We love our audience and they seem to put up with us.”
“And as you may have guessed, I invest a lot of emotional energy into everything I do, my work, and my family especially, and the last few months I have been working on radio, I’ve been returning to TV and in my spare time, I even wrote a children’s book.”
Rumours about Ritchie’s future at Nova began swirling in August, after she was charged with drink-driving in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
She was stopped by police for a random breath test in her car at 2:45pm, tested positive by the roadside and was taken to Maroubra Police Station.
There she underwent a secondary breath analysis which returned a positive reading of 0.06 – just over the legal limit.
A NSW Police spokesman said at the time, “She was issued with an infringement notice for the offence of Drive with Low Range Prescribed Concentration of Alcohol and issued a Licence Suspension Notice.”
Image credits: Instagram
This article first appeared on OverSixty.