FIRST ON 7: Kate Ritchie has made her long-awaited return to Home and Away.

She was on location at Palm Beach this morning while most of us slept, and although it was only for a special guest appearance, she admitted to feeling homesick.

At 5am, she was back in make-up, and back in the job she began 23 years ago, as eight-year-old Sally Fletcher.

She's been away from Summer Bay for five years, but has returned to help mark the soap's 25th anniversary.

"I was messaging my mum and my dad and saying, I feel a bit nervous, that even just sounds ridiculous," Ritchie said.

"I received the invitation and at first I thought, I don't know about that, it took me 20 years to leave in the first place."

While Kate has been busy shooting her first scene, Home and Away fans will have to wait months to see it.

"I think it'll be around the middle of the year," Ritchie said.

Kate will star in just a few episodes at the moment, but as one of the show's enduring characters, she will always be welcomed home.

"Your heart is always where you grew up I think and that's definitely the case for Sally."