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Speaker 1: And our next guest is one of Australia's best known

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Speaker 1: and loved comedians.

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Speaker 2: She was seen on our television.

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Speaker 1: Screens in the middle of the Jungle winning I'm a Celebrity,

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Speaker 1: Get me out of here.

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Speaker 2: And some of you may not be.

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Speaker 1: Aware, but she's also a former Territorian, living in Alice Springs.

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Speaker 2: For many years.

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Speaker 1: FI owner of Lachlan joins me on the line. Good

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Speaker 1: morning FI owner.

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Speaker 3: Hello, Yes, I was twenty seven years in Alice.

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Speaker 2: Oh that is a local? It does? It certainly makes

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Speaker 2: you a local? I reckon FI owner and the mania

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Speaker 2: using what's so sorry?

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Speaker 3: He's been there twenty five years. There used to be

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Speaker 3: a ball in our springs, but you could only go

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Speaker 3: if you'd lived in the town twenty five years. So

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Speaker 3: I I love it.

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Speaker 1: Well, many of us like to claim you as a territori,

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Speaker 1: and I mean you basically are.

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Speaker 2: Do you miss the territory?

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Speaker 3: I do. I miss that. I missed the Winker, I

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Speaker 3: missed the Centralian winter so badly. I love it.

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Speaker 2: Such a wonderful place. No, I bet you don't.

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Speaker 1: And well, Fiona, where are you living at the moment

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Speaker 1: and how's Lockdown been for you?

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Speaker 3: I'm living in Adelaide. I moved last November. This February

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Speaker 3: I moved and just before I didn't hurt anything of coronavirus.

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Speaker 3: But I happened to think I'm really living in Melbourne.

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Speaker 3: I must be. I've got to move to Oil, closer

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Speaker 3: to my family. Thank God. So I've spent Lockdown. I

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Speaker 3: loved it. I've taken it on as a lifestyle choice.

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Speaker 3: Now at Lockdown, I loved it.

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Speaker 1: You're one of the few who's enjoyed it. But look,

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Speaker 1: we've been pretty safe here in the territory. I think

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Speaker 1: we've got people moving here because you don't have to

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Speaker 1: live in Lockdown in the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 3: Isn't it wonderful? Everyone should move there for at least

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Speaker 3: five years in their life.

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Speaker 2: Seriously, well for you on.

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Speaker 1: Lots of people will obviously know you and love your comedy.

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Speaker 1: They'll also know you obviously from I'm a celebrity, Get

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Speaker 1: me out of here.

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Speaker 2: But many people might not be aware that you've.

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Speaker 1: Been battling alcoholism for many years and you've laid it

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Speaker 1: all there for your upcoming autobiography. Was it a difficult

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Speaker 1: process reliving some of those darker moments? No?

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Speaker 3: Really, I mean I don't think I'd say difficult. It

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Speaker 3: was every emotion you could have. But it was a

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Speaker 3: very joyous project. Your first time that I've worked with

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Speaker 3: another writer, because the title of the book is yeah,

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Speaker 3: true from an unreliable witness, and she just about We

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Speaker 3: had to because there's so much I didn't remember or

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Speaker 3: you know, a lot of reck, you know, to collect

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Speaker 3: and checking on dates and time. That was the trickiest.

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Speaker 3: But heaven to write it because I had a bigger purpose,

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Speaker 3: you know. I wrote it for my family, but I

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Speaker 3: also was always thinking of the constant relapser like me.

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Speaker 3: It's a huge part of the problem of alcoholism. It's

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Speaker 3: one of the nastier symptoms and it compounds you grief

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Speaker 3: in your Oh. It's just a terrible disease, and that

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Speaker 3: we're so lucky there is a way out. It's just

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Speaker 3: really tricky finding your way out. I got it. It's

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Speaker 3: like I got lost for fifteen years and I finally

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Speaker 3: found my way out, and I'm just I'm desperate to

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Speaker 3: go find out people and they come over here. It's

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Speaker 3: great this side.

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Speaker 1: Well and Fiona, a couple of years ago, you were

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Speaker 1: hearing Darwin and you and I spoke at a lunch

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Speaker 1: that I help organize for.

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Speaker 2: The It's a Bloods Things Foundation.

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Speaker 1: And you've been so open about your battle and you

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Speaker 1: continue to be. It does sound as though it's all

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Speaker 1: that you've been fighting on and off for a long time,

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Speaker 1: and it is important to you to talk about it

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Speaker 1: and to really try and and stay on track and

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Speaker 1: help others to do the same.

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Speaker 3: Exactly because we all feel so when you're in the

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Speaker 3: midst of it, when you're inside of it, like the

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Speaker 3: active alcoholism, it's so uniquely lonely and so uniquely shameful

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Speaker 3: that that's why so many people, you know, a lot

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Speaker 3: of alcoholics die of shame. It's so tricky, this shame

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Speaker 3: and stigma. I mean, I know we're really annoying people,

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Speaker 3: our just real full flight. But once an alcoholic has said, okay,

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Speaker 3: I know I'm trying. I want to you know, I

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Speaker 3: want sobriety as well. You know, we've got to treat

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Speaker 3: people with addiction as we would anybody else with any

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Speaker 3: other disease, you know, because it can take your life

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Speaker 3: and then to have the guilt and shame on that awful, awful,

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Speaker 3: awful way to live.

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Speaker 2: Now, you made headlines this week and have been.

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Speaker 1: Basically, you made a lot of headlines this week beIN

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Speaker 1: her and it was all about the hand sanitizer, and

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Speaker 1: you'd admitted that you had drunk some of that hand

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Speaker 1: sanitizer in the jungle.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it was a relapse in the jungle. And I

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Speaker 3: remember lying there freaking out one night, and you mind,

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Speaker 3: the mind of an alcoholic is that worst enemy, you know,

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Speaker 3: And my mind had said I knew that there was

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Speaker 3: that option because I heard about it in a rehab

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Speaker 3: how you can drink hands sanotime, but like going to jail,

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Speaker 3: and you might not all thought the tricks you don't need. Yeah,

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Speaker 3: and once you made the decision to do it, you

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Speaker 3: might as well already have done it, you know, because

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Speaker 3: you send off these endorphins out of your mind and

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Speaker 3: you know it. Yeah, you're already relauted before you even

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Speaker 3: keep the drink, if you know what I mean.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, Well, you know, see, I know what I love

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Speaker 1: about you, and and obviously you know I know from

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Speaker 1: when you were here a couple of years ago for

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Speaker 1: our lunch that.

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Speaker 2: You're so open and honest.

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Speaker 1: And I think that it's such an important thing for

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Speaker 1: people to hear because we know that in Australia. There

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Speaker 1: are a lot of people that are going through alcoholism,

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Speaker 1: and I just think it's really brave the way that

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Speaker 1: you speak about it and the way that you lay

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Speaker 1: it all out on the table.

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Speaker 3: Oh, thank you so much. Well, I'm very lucky because

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Speaker 3: you know what is what? Why would I be quiet?

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Speaker 3: You know what's to be quiet about. I'm not ashamed

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Speaker 3: of the disease, horrified at my behavior. That's not ashamed

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Speaker 3: of the disease. And unfortunately these behaviors are another symptom.

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Speaker 3: Of course, drunkenness is a symptom of alcoholism, and it's

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Speaker 3: very tiring, particularly for your loved ones. But yeah, I'm

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Speaker 3: not going to stop talking about it until I wish

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Speaker 3: it was something sexier. I had.

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Speaker 2: No happy with that.

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Speaker 1: Well, there's going to be people listening this morning who

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Speaker 1: are so glad that you know that you are speaking out.

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Speaker 1: And obviously your autobiography I love the title, Truths from

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Speaker 1: an Unreliable Witness Finding Laughter in the Darkest of Places

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Speaker 1: released on October twenty seven, so it can.

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Speaker 2: Be found online or at any good bookstore. I'm imagining,

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Speaker 2: yes right now.

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Speaker 3: They hit bookstores on Tuesday. Tuesday's just gone.

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Speaker 2: Yep, wonderful stuff. For Fiona ro Lachlin.

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Speaker 1: It's always a pleasure talking to you. Thank you so

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Speaker 1: much for taking the time to chat with us this morning.

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Speaker 3: Well, thank you very much. I really appreciate it. See

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Speaker 3: you darnly and.

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Speaker 2: Thank you fion O Lachlan there.

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Speaker 1: Well, I think you'd have to say territorian, former territorian,

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Speaker 1: but we will can continue to claim Fioda razel Moone