Tracy Grimshaw has "absolutely let go". For those who've been wondering, she hasn't a hint of regret about stepping away from A Current Affair, the iconic evening news and events program which she anchored for 17 nail-biting, engrossing, award-winning years. And she thinks Allison Langdon has deftly picked up the baton.
Does she ever feel like chiming in? "I definitely don't," she laughs.
"Ally's nailing it, and I'm not screaming questions at the television.
I'm very, very relaxed about all that." She looks relaxed in spite of the fact she's not long back from London and orders a double-shot latte to counteract the jet lag - all part of exploring her new-found freedom.
Tracy stepped away from Nine's flagship current affairs show in November 2022. She was 62 years old and when she started out in television 40 years earlier, she says, it was inconceivable that a woman could work in TV journalism into her sixties.
"When I started, at 21, I remember being told, 'Don't think you're going to be here for a long time," she tells The Weekly in her first interview back in the media after what we're dubbing her 'gap year". "There weren't many women on air at the age of 40, really.
Now we're babies at 40 in television.
So I think we've made some big gains over the years." Much has changed, but there's still so far to go, Tracy admits. We're meeting today, just a fortnight after thousands of Australians marched to demand urgent action to prevent violence against women. The last time there was a women's protest of this magnitude, in March 2021, Tracy made headlines when she gave then Prime Minister Scott Morrison a grilling.
It felt like an era-defining interview, coming in the wake of Brittany Higgins' allegations, rumours swirling around the then Attorney-General Christian Porter and the widely held view that the federal parliament was not a safe working environment for women.
Denne historien er fra July 2024-utgaven av The Australian Women's Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra July 2024-utgaven av The Australian Women's Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Hitting a nerve
Regulating the vagus nerve with its links to depression, anxiety, arthritis and diabetes - could aid physical and mental wellbeing.
Take me to the river
With a slew of new schedules and excursions to explore, the latest river cruises promise to give you experiences and sights you won’t see on the ocean.
The last act
When family patriarch Tom Edwards passes away, his children must come together to build his coffin in four days, otherwise they will lose their inheritance. Can they put their sibling rivalry aside?
MEET RUSSIA'S BRAVEST WOMEN
When Alexei Navalny died in a brutal Arctic prison, Vladimir Putin thought he had triumphed over his most formidable opponent. Until three courageous women - Alexei's mother, wife and daughter - took up his fight for freedom.
The wines and lines mums
Once only associated with glamorous A-listers, cocaine is now prevalent with the soccer-mum set - as likely to be imbibed at a school fundraiser as a nightclub. The Weekly looks inside this illegal, addictive, rising trend.
Jenny Liddle-Bob.Lucy McDonald.Sasha Green - Why don't you know their names?
Indigenous women are being murdered at frightening rates, their deaths often left uninvestigated and widely unreported. Here The Weekly meets families who are battling grief and desperate for solutions.
Growing happiness
Through drought flood and heartbreak, Jenny Jennr's sunflowers bloom with hope, sunshine and joy
"Thank God we make each other laugh"
A shared sense of humour has seen Aussie comedy couple Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall conquer the world. But what does life look like when the cameras go down:
Winter baking with apples and pears
Celebrate the season of Australian apples and pears with these sweet bakes that will keep the midwinter blues away.
Budget dinner winners
Looking for some thrifty inspiration for weeknight dinners? Try our tasty line-up of low-cost recipes that are bound to please everyone at the table.
