Since her exit back in 2018, NCIS star Pauley Perrette, who played fan favourite Abby Sciuto in the long-running CBS drama, has kept a relatively low profile.
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However, over the weekend, the 52-year-old actress made a rare return to television for a cause close to her heart. She and a number of other famous faces joined forces for a fundraising telethon for a Los Angeles-based LGBT charity.
Following her return to screens, the LA LGBT Center took to Twitter to thank the star for her kind words and appearance, prompting Pauley to pen a heartfelt response in which she thanked fans for their support.
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"Always. Love you all," she tweeted in response. "Thanks to everyone who supported tonight. God Bless the @LALGBTCenter."
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Grace and Frankie stars Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, Glee actress Jane Lync and Russian Doll's Natasha Lyonne also took part in the fundraising event, titled Love in Action.
Pauley's exit at the end of season 15 of NCIS came as something of a shock to fans. On the show, her character resigned after an assassination attempt, but according to multiple reports, the real reason she left was because she had falling out with the series lead Mark Harmon. The two stars reportedly had a number of clashes behind the scenes after the Gibbs actor brought his dog to set, where it bit a crewmember leaving him needing 15 stitches.
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Following her departure, Pauley chose not to look for television work elsewhere and has since acted in one other show, a sitcom titled Broke, where she played the lead role. However, the show was cancelled after just one season and in 2020, the actress announced that she had officially retired from acting.
Taking to Twitter in June last year, she wrote: "I retired after NCIS but Broke was important, beautiful. I did my last dance & am proud of it! Everyone that knows me knew I was retiring right after. I'm proud of my work. I love you guys! I AM FREE!!! (To be the tiny little simple human I am!)."
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