WHO: Do you worry about body image when you’re raising a little girl?
KATE: Yes. And I think we have to set an example. I think one of the great things that Mae has taught me is that I’ve had so much negative self-talk in the past. I appreciate there’s another set of ears listening now! I have to silence some of that negative chat and then turn it into a positive voice and stay calm [around her].
WHO: Do you feel a difference between your 20s and your 40s?
KATE: You figure out the stuff you have to sweat about and the stuff you don’t need to sweat. It doesn’t mean we’re all always 100 per cent, but [being in my 40s] is a much nicer place to be. I’m happy where I am … I mean one day I’ll be trying to tell myself to take risks and be brave and do things in life, so I don’t have regrets. And maybe that’s because I’m traditionally quite conservative.
You’ve mentioned you want to take more risks. Do you think that you will step back into acting at all?
KATE: I miss it desperately. I guess I did things after I left Home and Away – which was 2007 that’s insane! – I did other bits and pieces, but now it’s really just waiting for the right project to come along. And I don’t even really know what that is. I just think I’ll know it when it’s presented.
WHO: Would you leave radio?
KATE: The tough thing for me is even though my heart is in acting, I’ve really enjoyed working on the radio and learning a new set of skills. But also, the lifestyle that it allows me to have! This [afternoon show] schedule means I can actually support my daughter – I can take Mae to school, I can do Pilates if I feel like it – my life is too good sometimes. Some people have young children on their own, and I think, ‘Oh my goodness, if I was getting up every day at 5am and had to be at Palm Beach it would be hard!’ Anyway, the juggle for me is a good one. So, I made a big decision – radio has been such a gift and I’d be crazy not to turn up.
WHO: Do you think of having more kids?
KATE: All the time. I have siblings – I know how awful it is, but it also has positives – it makes you who you are, it’s probably made me as competent as I am in the studio with Tim and Marty because I’ve had two sisters from a very young age. Yes of course I’ve thought about that, but once again I’ve always just trusted in what has unfolded for me.