The shock reason Kath & Kim star Gina Riley walked away from fame at the height of her career has been revealed.

The Australian comedian, 63, told Nine in a resurfaced interview that she made the conscious decision to walk away from the spotlight so she could live a normal life.

‘As I get older, I really don’t want to be a public person, which sounds ridiculous with what I do. I’m totally boring in everyday life ,’ Gina began.

Gina added she and her Kath & Kim co-star Jane Turner, 64, were never comfortable with fame as they felt they did not fit in with that lifestyle.

‘We are more observers. We are not people who super belong.’ 

The Melbourne-born performer worked consistently in film and television from 1983 – 2007, when the popular sitcom she created with Turner ended after four seasons.

Since then, Gina has only made occasional media appearances, including reprising her role as Kim Day in the 2012 movie Kath and Kimderella. 

Gina is now focused on her family life and spends her time with her TV producer husband Rick McKenna.

Kath & Kim, which ran on the ABC and Channel Seven from 2002 to 2007, also starred Jane Turner, Glenn Robbins, Magda Szubanski and Peter Rowsthorn. 

The sitcom produced two spin-off movies: Da Kath & Kim Code (2005) and Kath and Kimderella (2012).

The series was renowned for its hilarious cameos from world famous stars, including Shane Warne, Kylie Minogue and Michael Bublé. 

In September 2018, Magda and Jane spoke about the possibility of a reboot, but admitted it would need to be modernised to reflect the current trends and culture.

‘Never say never,’ Magda told TV Week. 

Jane, who co-created the series with Gina, added: ‘It would be very different now.’

‘There are always funny new trends and things Kath & Kim could put their spin on, which would be fun to do.’

Kath & Kim has recently seen a resurgence in popularity after it was made available on the streaming service Netflix. 

Magda Szubanski later changed her tune and in 2022 said a reboot was almost certainly never going to happen.

‘I think it should be off the table… It holds such a special place in people’s memories,’ the comedian told The Kyle and Jackie O Show.

‘If we did a live show, which was a “best of” or something like that, that’s different.

‘But to actually try and do a whole new series, I think you can never capture that magic again.’

Last year, the iconic Australian comedy found a new audience in the US thanks to the hosts of a popular web series, I Like To Watch.

Hosted by drag queens Trixie Mattel and Katya, each half-hour episode of the show is devoted entirely to discussing various shows streaming on Netflix.

Both Trixie and Katya have never seen Kath & Kim, but Trixie believed some of the show’s unique vernacular could be familiar to American LGBTQI+ people.

‘You might know as a gay American person, there might be pieces of this that you’re like: “I’ve heard people say that, and I never knew where it was from”.’

Within minutes of their deep dive, both hosts were instantly converted to Kath & Kim fans.