The Phone Call That Changed Our Lives

He’s reported from war zones and covered national tragedies, but nothing could prepare Mike McRoberts for news closer to home: his mother’s shock health diagnosis. The TV3 newsreader and his mum Lynda talk to Emma Clifton about their close-knit relationship, the road ahead, and the real reason he’s joined Dancing with the Stars.

- Emma Clifton

As a country, we’ve heard Mike-McRoberts say a lot of things. He’s been presenting the 6pm news on TV3 for 15 years – and it’s been a big 15 years, we can agree. That time has included live crosses from Afghanistan, Iraq and Haiti; not to mention reporting on our national tragedies in round-the-clock coverage. But here’s a sentence that you might not expect from Mike, 53: “At most functions or nights out, I’d always be on the D-floor.”

That’s right. D-floor. Aka young person talk for “dance floor”. Mike is starring on the new season of Dancing with the Stars and although we know he looks very nice in a suit, it was still surprising to see him glittered and shirtless in the first promotional video that came out in April. In fact, when The Australian Women’s Weekly interviewed his co-presenter Samantha Hayes last year about her own spin around the dance floor – sorry, D-floor – we had a bit of a giggle at the thought of Mike joining the show. Well, who’s laughing now?

The answer to that is Lynda, Mike’s mother. This is the first time she’s done an interview with her eldest son. “Am I the favourite?” Mike asks. “I will say yes but I would also say that to whichever of my children was asking,” Lynda, 70, responds diplomatically, referring to her other three children, Kerry, 51, Jayson, 48, and Kelly, 44.

My first question in the interview is “So… why Dancing with the Stars?” and Lynda, sitting next to her son, turns to him and says, “Yes, I’d like to know that too.” Then everybody gets the giggles. He may be fourth-equal for favourite status amongst his three siblings but it’s very clear that Mike and his mother are very close.