WEBVTT - Sonia Kruger on her very public roles & her very private relationships 0:00:08.880 --> 0:00:12.000 Hello, and welcome to Something to Talk About the Stella Podcast. 0:00:12.119 --> 0:00:15.400 I'm Sarah Lamarquin, your host and Stella's editor in chief. 0:00:16.040 --> 0:00:17.439 Every week I sit down. 0:00:17.280 --> 0:00:19.400 With some of the biggest names in the country, because 0:00:19.480 --> 0:00:22.360 when Australia's celebrities are ready to talk, they come to 0:00:22.400 --> 0:00:26.520 Something to talk About. Since nineteen ninety two, Sonya Krueger 0:00:26.560 --> 0:00:29.480 has been a fixture on our screens, from her role 0:00:29.520 --> 0:00:32.959 as Tina Sparkle in bas Lehman's cult film Strictly Ballroom, 0:00:33.360 --> 0:00:36.760 to working as a television presenter on Morning TV and 0:00:36.840 --> 0:00:41.400 hosting some of Australia's most successful reality shows, including of course, 0:00:41.640 --> 0:00:45.320 Dancing with the Stars, the unexpected hit that forever changed 0:00:45.360 --> 0:00:47.720 the course of her career when it first went to 0:00:47.760 --> 0:00:52.080 air twenty years ago. But her private life, well, she 0:00:52.320 --> 0:00:55.760 likes to keep that, including her relationship with her partner Craig, 0:00:56.160 --> 0:00:58.680 the father of her nine year old daughter Maggie, just 0:00:58.800 --> 0:01:03.200 that private. But on today's episode, Sonia joins me in 0:01:03.240 --> 0:01:06.480 the studio to get a little more personal. We discussed 0:01:06.520 --> 0:01:09.240 how she was instrumental in bringing Dancing with the Stars 0:01:09.280 --> 0:01:11.720 to the screen. What life is the mother of a 0:01:11.800 --> 0:01:15.240 nine year old girl is really like? How that Gold 0:01:15.280 --> 0:01:17.800 Logi speech led her to therapy. 0:01:17.880 --> 0:01:20.400 And how she felt when her partner Craig. 0:01:20.280 --> 0:01:24.520 Was recently the one in the headlines instead of her. 0:01:25.480 --> 0:01:28.720 Sonya Krueger, welcome to Stella and something to talk about. 0:01:28.840 --> 0:01:30.840 Thank you for having me, Sarah La marquand. 0:01:31.080 --> 0:01:35.480 Dancing with the Stars new season starting next week. So, Sonya, 0:01:35.520 --> 0:01:39.440 it was twenty years ago this year, can you believe it? 0:01:39.440 --> 0:01:42.480 With the Stars launch two thousand and four. It was 0:01:42.680 --> 0:01:46.920 after the Olympics, an Olympic year again this year, and 0:01:46.959 --> 0:01:49.480 it was I believe October. 0:01:48.920 --> 0:01:50.200 Very short season. 0:01:50.960 --> 0:01:53.880 Let's be honest, no one really thought it was going 0:01:53.960 --> 0:01:57.600 to be a hit. When they talk about an unexpected hit. 0:01:58.240 --> 0:02:00.840 That first season of Dancing with the Stars was it 0:02:00.920 --> 0:02:05.080 and it was absolute water cooler. Everyone was watching it. 0:02:05.160 --> 0:02:08.840 We're talking figures of a couple of million people. Such 0:02:09.120 --> 0:02:11.760 a hit that then they quickly put together a new 0:02:11.840 --> 0:02:14.240 series and you were back on air again in February. 0:02:14.440 --> 0:02:17.320 Yes, we did two series a year for a couple 0:02:17.360 --> 0:02:20.160 of years there. I'd go backwards and forwards to Melbourne 0:02:20.160 --> 0:02:22.520 and we'd do this one live show. It was always 0:02:22.520 --> 0:02:27.240 at Tuesday night and the numbers were extraordinary and I 0:02:27.280 --> 0:02:30.680 don't think anybody could quite believe that people were tuning 0:02:30.720 --> 0:02:34.840 in to watch this show that was all about ballroom dancing. 0:02:34.919 --> 0:02:36.919 You know, it was kind of not that cool. 0:02:37.520 --> 0:02:41.200 But the casting, I think is really what made those 0:02:41.240 --> 0:02:44.600 series work and make any series work, because if you 0:02:44.639 --> 0:02:46.640 get the right group of people and you get some 0:02:46.680 --> 0:02:53.359 really interesting characters in there, then they become so engaging 0:02:53.400 --> 0:02:56.280 for the audience. I think like last year, Isa Schultz, 0:02:57.360 --> 0:02:59.560 he was one of those characters that the audience just 0:02:59.600 --> 0:03:02.359 loved to see on the dance floor because we know 0:03:02.520 --> 0:03:06.800 him on the chase, we know him as this incredible mind. 0:03:07.800 --> 0:03:10.200 He was so out of his comfort zone. Even if 0:03:10.200 --> 0:03:12.720 you go back to those very early series. 0:03:12.320 --> 0:03:17.080 With Pauline Hanson, who you know, Pauline was not the 0:03:17.160 --> 0:03:21.560 greatest dancer by a long shot, but she made it 0:03:21.680 --> 0:03:24.160 all the way to the end because the audience kept 0:03:24.160 --> 0:03:28.400 her there. So it's one of those things people really 0:03:28.639 --> 0:03:31.880 love to get involved with the competitors on the show 0:03:31.960 --> 0:03:36.280 and the personalities. And you also have seen over the 0:03:36.360 --> 0:03:42.120 years people really come into their own and blossom, which 0:03:42.120 --> 0:03:45.080 all sounds very trite, but there were moments over the 0:03:45.160 --> 0:03:48.200 years when you were talking about Pauline Hanson, I was 0:03:48.240 --> 0:03:51.920 thinking Chris Bath was in one of those first few 0:03:52.120 --> 0:03:55.000 series as well. Oh she was the runner up. But 0:03:55.360 --> 0:04:01.080 you had this television anchor, news presenter, very you know, 0:04:01.160 --> 0:04:02.120 sort of buttoned up. 0:04:02.600 --> 0:04:05.200 We never see we never see their legs, right, we 0:04:05.240 --> 0:04:07.040 never see a news present it's legs because they were 0:04:07.040 --> 0:04:11.840 always pretty much under a desk. And Barthy, yes, just 0:04:12.440 --> 0:04:15.160 bloomed on the dance floor and it was such a 0:04:15.240 --> 0:04:19.240 joy to watch that happen. And we became very close 0:04:19.839 --> 0:04:21.440 because we were both together. 0:04:21.160 --> 0:04:22.960 Fly down to Melbourne for the show, and. 0:04:23.200 --> 0:04:26.520 As she progressed through it, she just loved it more 0:04:26.560 --> 0:04:28.120 and more and more until she got all the way 0:04:28.160 --> 0:04:30.000 to the final. And she was in that final with 0:04:30.040 --> 0:04:34.359 Aida Nicodemu and they were both extraordinary dancers, you know, 0:04:34.720 --> 0:04:38.320 and they look I just remember Barthy's grand finale and 0:04:38.360 --> 0:04:40.719 it was ac DC I think she chose and she 0:04:40.839 --> 0:04:43.000 was on top of the news desk, rocking out with 0:04:43.120 --> 0:04:43.520 a good time. 0:04:43.839 --> 0:04:45.760 Crazy stuff but so much fun. 0:04:45.880 --> 0:04:49.240 It was something that showed a whole other side of 0:04:49.279 --> 0:04:51.719 her and everyone could get behind that person. 0:04:52.360 --> 0:04:56.000 So is there something primal or unique? 0:04:56.080 --> 0:05:00.640 What is it about dancing that you think perhaps seemed 0:05:00.760 --> 0:05:02.240 to any of us? 0:05:02.279 --> 0:05:05.360 But the celebrities that are featured on the show and. 0:05:07.320 --> 0:05:10.320 Makes them reveal this side of themselves, not only to 0:05:10.520 --> 0:05:12.400 everyone watching, but to themselves. 0:05:12.480 --> 0:05:15.000 I think you've hit the nail on the head. It's primal. 0:05:15.600 --> 0:05:19.920 When you look at children and babies and you put 0:05:20.040 --> 0:05:23.920 music on, what happens They start to dance. They've never 0:05:23.960 --> 0:05:27.120 been taught, they've never been shown. They just start to 0:05:27.160 --> 0:05:29.960 move to the music, don't they. And then as they 0:05:29.960 --> 0:05:35.200 get older, generally we become more self conscious, and so 0:05:35.520 --> 0:05:38.880 we tend to unless we're professional dances, unless we're people 0:05:38.920 --> 0:05:42.480 who go and do dance class, we tend to stop 0:05:42.600 --> 0:05:45.760 dancing unless we're at a nightclub with a bunch of 0:05:45.760 --> 0:05:48.240 friends and we've had, you know, a couple of Margarita's 0:05:48.279 --> 0:05:51.080 and we put our handbag down, and then we lose 0:05:51.120 --> 0:05:51.840 our inhibitions. 0:05:51.839 --> 0:05:53.840 So I think Dancing. 0:05:53.440 --> 0:05:56.919 With the Stars gives people the license to lose those 0:05:57.080 --> 0:05:58.640 inhibitions on the dance floor. 0:05:58.680 --> 0:05:59.640 In fact, it's. 0:05:59.520 --> 0:06:04.159 Required, you have to set all of that aside in 0:06:04.360 --> 0:06:07.599 order to get through a performance. And then once people 0:06:07.720 --> 0:06:10.840 do it and they have that breakthrough, I think they 0:06:10.920 --> 0:06:14.040 find they love it more than they expected to, you know. 0:06:14.240 --> 0:06:18.800 So it's it's giving people that license to have fun. 0:06:18.960 --> 0:06:21.960 And that's why I've always loved this show, because it 0:06:22.120 --> 0:06:25.599 really is like even the promo that's running at the moment, 0:06:25.880 --> 0:06:27.839 you know, I don't know if you've seen it, it 0:06:27.920 --> 0:06:30.080 almost looks like an episode of the Muppets. 0:06:30.200 --> 0:06:31.280 And I say that. 0:06:31.960 --> 0:06:35.520 I say that with love because I love the Muppets. 0:06:35.720 --> 0:06:39.680 But it's just there's feathers and sequins and color and 0:06:41.320 --> 0:06:44.440 happiness and joy, and you get to also see the 0:06:44.480 --> 0:06:47.839 other side where you know, people are moved and emotional, 0:06:47.920 --> 0:06:51.360 and so it has all of that. And now we've 0:06:51.360 --> 0:06:54.000 got doctor Chris Brown. So life doesn't get any better. 0:06:54.080 --> 0:06:57.799 Really, when you say that, the sequence and the feathers, 0:06:58.120 --> 0:07:00.640 it's the exact same reason. To go back to why 0:07:01.160 --> 0:07:03.960 even probably the people that green lit the show back 0:07:04.000 --> 0:07:07.120 in two thousand and four were not expecting it to 0:07:07.200 --> 0:07:11.480 be that successful. Sonya, you had worked in the industry 0:07:11.560 --> 0:07:15.040 for a while, been in on Strictly Ballroom and then 0:07:15.080 --> 0:07:18.320 had worked as a reporter, entertainment reporter, you had been 0:07:18.360 --> 0:07:24.000 a weather presenter. That felt like the moment that first 0:07:24.040 --> 0:07:27.000 season of Dancing with the Stars where you really broke 0:07:27.080 --> 0:07:31.920 out from television presenter with a good steady job to 0:07:32.800 --> 0:07:36.080 a star to a really, you know, in the most 0:07:36.440 --> 0:07:40.360 technical terms, a viable commodity and started the way for 0:07:40.440 --> 0:07:43.760 the career that we have seen in the twenty years since. 0:07:44.200 --> 0:07:47.600 Would you agree with that assessment and what were your 0:07:47.640 --> 0:07:51.360 memories of processing that at the time. So I had 0:07:51.440 --> 0:07:55.720 been doing some entertainment reporting for Today Tonight. That was 0:07:55.760 --> 0:07:57.600 my full time job, and I had been in London 0:07:57.680 --> 0:08:00.960 and I just turned the television on and this show 0:08:01.040 --> 0:08:04.040 came up and it was called Celebrity Come Dancing. And 0:08:04.120 --> 0:08:08.120 I was mesmerized by this show because it was ballroom dancing. 0:08:08.120 --> 0:08:10.560 But there were people on there who I didn't particularly know, 0:08:10.680 --> 0:08:13.520 but one was a sportsperson, one was a politician, one 0:08:13.560 --> 0:08:16.640 was an actor. And I was just looking at this 0:08:16.760 --> 0:08:20.880 show thinking this is amazing and so in my wheelhouse 0:08:20.920 --> 0:08:24.040 because it's about dancing. I got back to Sydney. 0:08:24.400 --> 0:08:26.480 I spoke to Peter Meakin, who was the head of 0:08:26.520 --> 0:08:28.120 news at the time, and I said, you know what, 0:08:28.200 --> 0:08:31.000 I saw this show in the UK. I really think 0:08:31.040 --> 0:08:33.120 we should do it at seven and he went, oh, no, 0:08:33.200 --> 0:08:35.160 I think we've got the rights to it and I went, 0:08:35.960 --> 0:08:38.440 you're joking. He said, no, you should talk to Brad 0:08:38.520 --> 0:08:41.040 Lyons about it. So I called Brad. 0:08:40.840 --> 0:08:43.719 Lions and he said, yes, all right, come and see me. 0:08:45.280 --> 0:08:48.120 The dearly missed and sadly departed Brad who you know 0:08:48.360 --> 0:08:52.280 who went I think far too young. But Brad really 0:08:52.280 --> 0:08:55.240 didn't fill me with a lot of confidence. He kind 0:08:55.240 --> 0:08:57.200 of you know, there were a few expletives, and he 0:08:57.240 --> 0:08:59.560 basically said, I don't not sure why we're doing this, 0:08:59.640 --> 0:09:01.840 but we ah and it better work. 0:09:01.920 --> 0:09:04.719 Krueger were his final words to me on that. 0:09:05.360 --> 0:09:08.640 And then we went to start shooting the show. Shooting it, 0:09:08.679 --> 0:09:11.000 we were doing it live, we started rehearsing it. We 0:09:11.040 --> 0:09:14.600 didn't even get through a rehearsal. It was a disaster. 0:09:14.760 --> 0:09:17.600 There was no auto Q. Daryl worked with Q cards. 0:09:18.040 --> 0:09:22.720 What was written on those was illegible hieroglyphics, and so 0:09:23.360 --> 0:09:27.240 the whole thing was very free wheeling, as live as. 0:09:27.160 --> 0:09:27.720 You could get. 0:09:28.160 --> 0:09:30.200 And then I think when the numbers came in the 0:09:30.240 --> 0:09:34.880 next day, everybody was just gobsmacked. So, yes, I was 0:09:35.000 --> 0:09:40.360 lucky in that I ended up on a show in 0:09:40.480 --> 0:09:44.880 primetime that had a huge amount of viewers. And yet 0:09:44.880 --> 0:09:47.680 there was some bizarre and I don't want to sound 0:09:47.720 --> 0:09:50.800 completely woo about this, but you know, when the universe 0:09:50.840 --> 0:09:52.640 takes you in a certain direction, and I sort of 0:09:52.640 --> 0:09:55.360 feel like that happened with Dancing with the Stars. 0:09:55.559 --> 0:09:58.880 You know, I had no idea that you had had 0:09:59.000 --> 0:10:03.760 that role and were responsible really for them green lighting it. 0:10:03.880 --> 0:10:06.160 Had those conversations with Peter and Brad. 0:10:06.240 --> 0:10:09.040 I don't think I was responsible for them green they had, 0:10:09.400 --> 0:10:12.920 they had green layout, but to actually then say, well, 0:10:12.960 --> 0:10:16.160 we have this property, let's actually put it together. Which 0:10:16.200 --> 0:10:18.520 was a similar thing that happened with Strictly Ballroom. Because 0:10:18.559 --> 0:10:20.720 I heard they were making that movie, I knew I 0:10:20.720 --> 0:10:23.160 would be involved because of my dancing background, so I 0:10:23.360 --> 0:10:24.880 asked for a role, and. 0:10:24.800 --> 0:10:25.720 I think it does. 0:10:26.400 --> 0:10:30.240 Sometimes you can sit back and wait for things to come, 0:10:30.679 --> 0:10:34.320 but if there's something that you're really passionate about, ask 0:10:34.440 --> 0:10:37.120 the question because you just never know where you might 0:10:37.280 --> 0:10:37.720 end up. 0:10:38.559 --> 0:10:41.080 Surely you've got a big bunch of flowers or two, 0:10:41.200 --> 0:10:43.720 not just for being the co host of this massive, 0:10:43.840 --> 0:10:47.800 unexpected breakout hit, but also somebody that did say to 0:10:48.040 --> 0:10:50.280 Peter and Brad, hey, I think we should do it. 0:10:50.679 --> 0:10:53.079 Well, I can't take the credit because I think they 0:10:53.160 --> 0:10:55.000 had already planned to do it. I just don't know 0:10:55.040 --> 0:10:58.079 how much confidence they had. I think it was one 0:10:58.080 --> 0:11:01.600 of those this is it was not it's a certainty, 0:11:01.679 --> 0:11:03.360 if you know what I mean. It was very much 0:11:03.400 --> 0:11:06.200 going to be we'll roll the dice and we'll see 0:11:06.200 --> 0:11:11.440 what happens. Every year, networks need to constantly refresh and 0:11:11.559 --> 0:11:16.120 evolve and bring in new product, and you know that's 0:11:16.160 --> 0:11:20.000 the job of our programmers, the people who go overseas 0:11:20.000 --> 0:11:22.640 every year and look at what's out there. And sometimes 0:11:22.920 --> 0:11:26.520 things don't work here, and sometimes they do, and they 0:11:26.600 --> 0:11:29.000 work for a very long time, like Dancing is it 0:11:29.120 --> 0:11:32.840 twenty year proposition, or shows like Idle, you know, have 0:11:32.960 --> 0:11:38.720 this incredible heritage the voice. These big global franchise shows 0:11:38.800 --> 0:11:42.079 I think live for a long time, and that's why 0:11:42.120 --> 0:11:46.439 they're very they're coveted by the networks and they're protected. 0:11:46.480 --> 0:11:48.720 And they grow and they evolve over the years. They 0:11:49.040 --> 0:11:50.640 can go off air for a couple of years and 0:11:50.720 --> 0:11:52.920 then they'll come back on a different network or a 0:11:52.960 --> 0:11:55.679 different host. Which all the things that have happened in 0:11:55.679 --> 0:11:59.360 this twenty year period of Dancing with the Stars. You 0:11:59.480 --> 0:12:03.640 mentioned Darryl Sonya, So that's obviously Darryl Sommers, who was 0:12:03.720 --> 0:12:06.640 your co host there for the first few seasons, and 0:12:06.679 --> 0:12:10.079 as you say it was filmed live in Melbourne. Darryl 0:12:10.240 --> 0:12:15.280 very iconic, especially Melbourne personality. Over the years, you have 0:12:15.400 --> 0:12:18.960 had a few different co hosts, and doctor Chris Brown 0:12:20.160 --> 0:12:23.040 is your co host this year. Now, I did want 0:12:23.080 --> 0:12:26.000 to ask you about Chris because he is part of 0:12:26.040 --> 0:12:29.160 the extended Stellar family, like self is a Stellar columnist, 0:12:29.240 --> 0:12:32.200 being a previous guest here on something to talk about. 0:12:32.760 --> 0:12:36.880 He is going to be upstairs in the skybox when 0:12:36.880 --> 0:12:41.720 the contestants received their scores. And for the first time ever, Sonya, 0:12:41.760 --> 0:12:45.200 you are actually taking on the main hosting role. 0:12:45.800 --> 0:12:47.160 Now a lot of people. 0:12:47.120 --> 0:12:48.800 You're making me nervous. 0:12:49.120 --> 0:12:52.079 Look, you had the whole show riding on your shoulders 0:12:52.080 --> 0:12:55.040 when it launch. If it hadn't worked in two thousand 0:12:55.040 --> 0:12:58.360 and four, Krueger, we told you, yes, right, you can. 0:12:58.240 --> 0:13:00.360 Have doesn't work, you blame someone else there, and if 0:13:00.360 --> 0:13:01.520 it does work, it's all you. 0:13:02.440 --> 0:13:02.640 Now. 0:13:02.720 --> 0:13:06.520 Some people, myself included, would hear that and think, oh, 0:13:06.559 --> 0:13:09.800 thank goodness about time. I've actually written columns over the 0:13:09.880 --> 0:13:12.720 years saying if co hosts were moving on, how about 0:13:12.720 --> 0:13:16.520 Sonya Krueger just host the show full time. I've asked 0:13:16.559 --> 0:13:19.120 you about that over the years, and you've said no, no, 0:13:19.160 --> 0:13:20.079 I don't want to do that. 0:13:20.160 --> 0:13:23.080 Like I like having my part of it. 0:13:23.120 --> 0:13:25.800 So some people would say, great, this has been a 0:13:25.920 --> 0:13:29.840 gender role reversal twenty long years in the making. 0:13:29.880 --> 0:13:31.080 Like a really progressive move. 0:13:31.559 --> 0:13:34.600 Yeah, and that's not really the case. Is it something 0:13:34.679 --> 0:13:35.000 for you? 0:13:34.840 --> 0:13:39.200 You've just thought, Okay, I've decided, I'm ready. What's happened, 0:13:39.200 --> 0:13:39.760 what's changed? 0:13:39.960 --> 0:13:43.840 Well, I think for me, like I've hosted shows, big 0:13:43.880 --> 0:13:47.360 shows on my own, I've hosted The Voice and Big Brother. 0:13:48.960 --> 0:13:52.800 I think with Dancing with the Stars, I did have that. 0:13:52.800 --> 0:13:54.400 All care, no responsibility. 0:13:54.520 --> 0:13:56.040 I could be in the green room and kind of 0:13:56.040 --> 0:13:57.640 get away with murder in there. 0:13:58.200 --> 0:14:02.480 But when Chris came on board, it was obvious that even. 0:14:02.280 --> 0:14:06.079 From a practical perspective, being across the mechanics of a show, 0:14:06.520 --> 0:14:08.600 that I had a lot more experience in that regard. 0:14:09.120 --> 0:14:11.199 And also Chris really. 0:14:10.960 --> 0:14:13.480 Wanted to be able to come and have fun, you know, 0:14:13.679 --> 0:14:17.400 and just really have some fun. So the obvious place 0:14:17.480 --> 0:14:20.520 to do that is in the green room. So we thought, 0:14:20.560 --> 0:14:25.840 well why not. It doesn't it's you know, it's something 0:14:25.960 --> 0:14:28.480 people have said in the past that that should happen. 0:14:28.880 --> 0:14:31.600 And then we thought, okay, let's just do it this 0:14:31.640 --> 0:14:32.880 way and see how it goes. 0:14:33.120 --> 0:14:34.400 I still get to have. 0:14:34.840 --> 0:14:38.520 As much, if not more fun, because now I'm very 0:14:38.560 --> 0:14:44.160 close to those judges, and so it's almost more fun, 0:14:44.200 --> 0:14:47.200 I think, teasing them than some of. 0:14:47.160 --> 0:14:48.360 The celebrities, you know. 0:14:48.680 --> 0:14:51.920 So I've really enjoyed being able to be down on 0:14:51.960 --> 0:14:54.560 the floor and in amongst the action and talking to 0:14:54.600 --> 0:14:57.520 the dancers and performers and celebrities once they've finished, too, 0:14:57.680 --> 0:14:58.840 like cut off the press. 0:14:58.880 --> 0:15:00.920 They've literally just on. 0:15:01.000 --> 0:15:04.200 A routine, and I get to find out what the 0:15:04.280 --> 0:15:07.080 experience was like for them, talk to the judges, and 0:15:07.120 --> 0:15:09.760 then watch Chris and he makes me laugh with what 0:15:09.840 --> 0:15:12.920 he's doing upstairs in the green room. So we don't 0:15:12.920 --> 0:15:15.680 actually call it the green room anymore. It's the sky Lounge, 0:15:15.800 --> 0:15:17.960 or you know, it's had a few different names. We'll 0:15:18.000 --> 0:15:21.400 have to come up with a specific name for Chris. 0:15:21.920 --> 0:15:24.520 Up next the gold Logi speech that stopped the Nation 0:15:24.840 --> 0:15:27.920 and the Therapist's advice that stops Sonya in her tracks. 0:15:28.560 --> 0:15:31.440 You mentioned hosting other shows on your own, that's right. 0:15:31.600 --> 0:15:34.600 You also, of course, are the host of The Voice, 0:15:34.640 --> 0:15:37.200 which will also be back with the new season a 0:15:37.240 --> 0:15:41.680 little bit later this winter. I understand that's been filmed. 0:15:41.800 --> 0:15:45.400 There's a few new coaches joining the show this year, 0:15:45.440 --> 0:15:48.600 Adam Lambert, Leanne Rhymes, Cape Miller Haike. 0:15:49.440 --> 0:15:51.600 Can you spill a little bit of tea. 0:15:51.160 --> 0:15:55.040 About working with some of those biggest names in music 0:15:55.120 --> 0:15:58.560 that you have worked with in your years hosting The Voice. 0:15:58.640 --> 0:16:02.960 Oh, look, it's really quite surreal at times, because you'll 0:16:03.000 --> 0:16:04.720 be sitting there and I remember what I started, and 0:16:04.800 --> 0:16:09.640 I walked past Ricky Martin's chair, and Ricky smells amazing, 0:16:10.360 --> 0:16:11.520 to the point where I was like. 0:16:11.920 --> 0:16:15.440 What's that colone you're wearing? Ricky? It's comte de. 0:16:17.520 --> 0:16:20.880 And he is just one of the nicest, sweetest people, 0:16:20.880 --> 0:16:24.200 but just incredible to look at and to smell. I 0:16:24.240 --> 0:16:29.160 know that sounds very baby Reindeer of me, but he's divine. 0:16:29.280 --> 0:16:32.000 And then you've got people like CeAl, the Madden Brothers, 0:16:32.080 --> 0:16:37.040 Jesse j Kelly, Rowland, Boy George. You know, to have 0:16:37.080 --> 0:16:39.320 worked with all of those people is incredible. And then 0:16:39.360 --> 0:16:43.960 along comes Adam Lambert, who is just the epitome of 0:16:44.080 --> 0:16:47.600 glam rock. You know, he brings it. 0:16:47.760 --> 0:16:50.160 He makes me feel like such a wallflower. 0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:53.320 I've just spent four hours in hair and makeup and 0:16:53.360 --> 0:16:59.040 I look plain next to you Leanne Rhymes, who is 0:16:59.200 --> 0:17:01.360 just a door And I'll tell you why because we 0:17:01.400 --> 0:17:05.680 share a birthday, so where Soul Virgo sisters. I think 0:17:05.720 --> 0:17:08.359 that's what that's you know, as soon as I said 0:17:08.359 --> 0:17:10.960 we have the same birthday, she went, ah, I see 0:17:11.000 --> 0:17:12.320 you so yeah. 0:17:12.840 --> 0:17:14.359 And Kate Miller hide Key to me. 0:17:14.600 --> 0:17:21.600 Was just a complete surprise package because she's classically trained, 0:17:21.760 --> 0:17:28.480 she's had so much experience represented Australia at Eurovision. Is 0:17:28.720 --> 0:17:35.120 incredibly articulate, but also comes out of left field at 0:17:35.160 --> 0:17:37.679 times and you know you're you sort of raise your 0:17:37.680 --> 0:17:39.439 eyebrows and go, wow, did I just hear that? 0:17:39.520 --> 0:17:39.720 Right? 0:17:39.800 --> 0:17:42.560 So I think I think the audience will be really 0:17:42.960 --> 0:17:47.719 really surprised by the new lineup and getting to know 0:17:47.760 --> 0:17:48.480 those coaches. 0:17:48.800 --> 0:17:51.240 All of this television that you've done over the last 0:17:51.680 --> 0:17:55.760 two decades, a lot of live TV. Not that many 0:17:55.800 --> 0:17:59.399 people in Australia have that many hours of live TV 0:17:59.480 --> 0:18:01.920 under their belt. That's something we talk about a lot 0:18:01.960 --> 0:18:05.120 with the hosts of the breakfast TV shows. Yes, because 0:18:06.160 --> 0:18:08.320 you really have to navigate anything could happen. 0:18:08.400 --> 0:18:09.280 Yeah, they're the best. 0:18:09.440 --> 0:18:12.440 And when you're in the country anchoring a show like 0:18:12.520 --> 0:18:15.440 a Dancing with the Stars, finale when it was being 0:18:15.480 --> 0:18:19.280 filmed live. If something is going to go wrong, you've 0:18:19.320 --> 0:18:23.400 really got to be thinking quickly on your feet. I'm curious, 0:18:23.480 --> 0:18:27.119 first of all, how your confidence has grown. Anyone that 0:18:27.280 --> 0:18:30.520 is working in any field, whatever it is, you feel 0:18:30.560 --> 0:18:36.040 like you start to really find yourself and realize that 0:18:36.080 --> 0:18:39.439 there's skills you've developed and honed that you're probably taking 0:18:39.480 --> 0:18:41.480 for granted, except when you look back and think, oh, 0:18:41.480 --> 0:18:44.919 I probably didn't know that five, ten, fifteen years ago. Absolutely, 0:18:44.960 --> 0:18:46.960 And the second part of my question, I suppose I 0:18:47.000 --> 0:18:50.760 mentioned that sort of fearlessness that I think that energy 0:18:50.800 --> 0:18:54.679 that you have always brought to your television work and 0:18:54.720 --> 0:18:58.760 your presenting work. Does knowing that you are prepared for 0:18:58.840 --> 0:19:02.280 anything to potend go wrong when you're anchoring live TV 0:19:02.760 --> 0:19:06.600 give you a certain agility And I don't know if 0:19:06.640 --> 0:19:09.560 fearlessness is the word, but just know I've probably really 0:19:09.600 --> 0:19:13.879 got this and in your real life, in your offscreen life. 0:19:14.119 --> 0:19:17.360 Yeah, okay, which part of the question do I answer? 0:19:17.400 --> 0:19:17.840 First? 0:19:18.960 --> 0:19:23.720 I think the experience of doing it day in day out, 0:19:23.880 --> 0:19:28.199 and I came through a morning news program when I 0:19:28.240 --> 0:19:34.560 first started to and then onto primetime television. Making mistakes 0:19:35.080 --> 0:19:38.640 is really what is where you learn how you learn. 0:19:38.920 --> 0:19:42.040 And I try to instill this in Maggie, for example, 0:19:42.160 --> 0:19:44.639 my daughter, because I want her to understand it's okay 0:19:44.720 --> 0:19:48.919 to make mistakes. None of us are perfect. None of 0:19:49.000 --> 0:19:51.520 us can get it right one hundred percent of the time, 0:19:51.760 --> 0:19:54.879 and if you don't make mistakes, you don't learn from it. 0:19:55.000 --> 0:19:59.600 So and I think that's the thing. Oftentimes it seemed 0:19:59.640 --> 0:20:01.320 to me that the audience. 0:20:01.119 --> 0:20:02.680 Enjoyed the mistakes too. 0:20:02.880 --> 0:20:06.520 They didn't love you know, if the show was so 0:20:06.640 --> 0:20:09.000 slick it looked like it could have been pre recorded 0:20:09.040 --> 0:20:12.560 and edited and everything was just perfect, it kind of 0:20:12.560 --> 0:20:15.440 became a little boring, you know. They like that danger 0:20:15.520 --> 0:20:21.240 mouse aspect of live or as live television. So there 0:20:21.320 --> 0:20:24.520 is something to be said for experience. Definitely doing it, 0:20:24.720 --> 0:20:28.320 you know, year in, year out, does bring you a 0:20:28.320 --> 0:20:31.080 certain amount of confidence. And I think I learned too 0:20:31.520 --> 0:20:33.720 that when you look at a show and you come 0:20:33.760 --> 0:20:35.960 to a grand finale and you think, what's the worst 0:20:36.000 --> 0:20:38.359 thing that could happen here? And it happened to me 0:20:38.440 --> 0:20:41.080 on the voice one night. We had this full proof 0:20:41.119 --> 0:20:45.199 method of when it came to announcing the winner, the 0:20:45.320 --> 0:20:47.200 voice would be given to me in my ear from 0:20:47.200 --> 0:20:50.760 the producer and I would have it on a card 0:20:51.760 --> 0:20:55.320 to make sure that we had crosschecked. 0:20:54.840 --> 0:20:57.520 It was all in hand. 0:20:58.160 --> 0:21:00.439 And I never really liked to look at who the 0:21:00.440 --> 0:21:03.080 winner was on the card until just before, because I'm 0:21:03.200 --> 0:21:05.439 not a great actor and I didn't want to, you know, 0:21:05.800 --> 0:21:08.720 accidentally sort of look at somebody or they're quite paranoid 0:21:08.760 --> 0:21:10.159 if you were looking at them, and you don't want 0:21:10.200 --> 0:21:12.080 to give it away. So got to that moment, I 0:21:12.119 --> 0:21:16.040 said the winner the voice is. I looked at my card. 0:21:16.320 --> 0:21:18.760 The name was given to me in my ear and 0:21:18.800 --> 0:21:23.000 they were different. And in that moment, I really didn't 0:21:23.119 --> 0:21:25.399 know what to do, and there was nothing I could 0:21:25.440 --> 0:21:31.679 say because I couldn't say it well, I couldn't say. 0:21:31.520 --> 0:21:35.239 Exactly, Hey, guys, you're being watched, you're being listened to, 0:21:35.520 --> 0:21:38.920 that's right, And so I signed, I paused. I think 0:21:38.920 --> 0:21:41.720 I may have touched my ear piece and sometimes that's 0:21:41.720 --> 0:21:43.920 a little bit of a sign. And so they repeated 0:21:43.920 --> 0:21:46.200