first reprised the role in late 1997 for Steven and Selina's wedding. Hodgson joined other original cast members, including Alex Papps, Peter Vroom and Craig Thompson, for Sally's wedding in 2000. Carly's return in 2002 was part of Home and Away producers' attempt to counter a ratings slump, said to have resulted from the "unexpected success" of a rival network's reality TV show Big Brother, which was aired opposite the soap at 7pm weekdays. Hodgson was one of numerous returning cast members, brought back especially for the storyline to mark the 150th anniversary of settlement in Summer Bay. The majority of the cast was boarded onto a ferry boat for a night cruise; however, a "freak storm" ruined the celebrations, leading the boat to sink. The storyline was heavily promoted with the tag "Who Will Survive?". According to Mercado, "Big Brother 2 crumbled against the competition [...]". When she returns in 2003, Carly confirms that she is still married to Ben, who remains off-screen. The pair also have children together. Carly's last appearance, in 2008, was part of the leaving storyline of her foster sister Sally Fletcher, played by actor Kate Ritchie, an original character who departed the serial after 20 years. Storylines Carly came from an abusive home. Her father George (Helmut Bakaitis) used to beat her, and she had a tempestuous relationship with her twin sister Samantha (also played by Hodgson). Following the death of her mother from a problem with her appendix, she was placed in foster care with the Fletcher family and moves with them to Summer Bay in 1988, aged 16. A problematic, selfish teenager, Carly is frequently in trouble at school, and she feuds with her foster sister Bobby Simpson (Nicolle Dickson), though they later patch up their differences and become close friends. Carly attracts the attention of local boy Martin Dibble (Craig Thomson), but she rebuffs his advances preferring surfer Matt Wilson (Greg Benson), though her attempts to attract his attention go unnoticed, and she nearly drowns when she set up a ploy for him to rescue her from the sea. Martin, luckily, is on hand to save Carly. Whilst hitch-hiking home from visiting Nico Pappas (Nicholas Papademetriou) at the hospital in 1988, Carly is raped. Unable to cope with what had happened to her, Carly begins drinking alcohol heavily and using drugs, but curtailed the problem via counseling. Carly then returns to