7de Laan’s fan favourite Amorey is back

7de Laan fans will be happy to know there are some welcome returns to the soapie, including fan favourite Amorey Welman, played by Kristen Raath.

After her resignation two years ago, Raath said it felt like her season had come to an end, but that she wouldn’t think twice about returning when the time was right.

Her vibrant character, Welman, was married to Willem Spies (played by Markus Haywood). Welman moved overseas after finding out Willem had cheated on her.

In reality, Kristen Raath took a break from 7de Laan to focus on other passions.

“I wanted to experience new things apart from acting and I wanted to grow from within,” she says.

Raath spent a lot of time focusing on her music in 2019. She also released her first single, My Elke Dag. At the end of 2019, an undiagnosed illness caught her off guard and she was quarantined in hospital with a variety of symptoms.

Doctors are still baffled, and she says to this day no one knows what happened. “All we know is that my body barely made it,” says Raath, “and it’s a miracle I am still here and healthy.”

After her recovery, she took a break from the entertainment industry and finished her BSc degree in computer science, after which she inevitably found her way back to her 7de Laan family.

“It feels like I am back home,” says Raath. “It’s not just being back in Amorey Welman’s shoes, but also being back and working there with Kristen. The people feel like my family and the set’s like my home.”

Raath’s character is lively and limitless, but it is often her vulnerability – an unfiltered human trait – that undoubtedly resonates with her fans. It seems Raath could not have returned to 7de Laan at a better time.

The spirited Welman’s return to Hillside certainly doesn’t come without its intrigues. Tiaan Terreblanche (Frank Rautenbach), a well-known 7de Laner from the ’90s who has always been tailed by trouble, has also returned and human bones seem to have been found in his family home where Welamn’s family now live.

See Frank Rautenbach in Lioness

In an Instagram post, Carina Nel who plays Amorey’s sister in 7de Laan said her television sister was back. She said she was happy to have her beautiful, amazing friend Raath acting alongside her on 7de Laan again.

Raath posted a couple of photos from her first days back on 7de Laan and captioned it: “AND she’s back in Hillside, baby!” She celebrated Amorey Welman’s return home with a few moments she cherishes and said: “I’ve missed this.”