Chapter 1: How did Melanie Bracewell's early experiences shape her career in comedy?
Bye.
Melanie Bracewell, welcome to Inheritance.
Oh my God, it's great to be here in this room. I feel like it's like a room they'd have in a workplace to like get you to play with a clay model and talk about your feelings.
It really is kind of that room. Sometimes like looking in here and just doing work, even if we're not recording, it's quite relaxing. It's nice.
I feel like it's almost like a bunker. But like a really beautiful, lovely bunker that's designed by women. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah.
We are all amazing girlypops here at Shameless Media. And you are absolutely just, I don't know, killing it right now. You have been for a long time, obviously. You are a writer, television host, best known for your witty, sharp, and really superb storytelling, co-host of The Cheap Seats, and you've been on Have You Paying Attention, Taskmaster, and
And you're that woman who impersonated Jacinda Ardern with a wig on all the while ago in lockdown.
Yes, that was how I spent my lockdown was impersonating a world leader.
And you performed at a Labour Party event back when she was PM. Can you take me back to that gig?
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Chapter 2: What challenges did Melanie face in her relationship due to her fiancé's memory loss?
I want to start off with your recipe and go back to you growing up in New Zealand because you moved here when you landed your gig on the cheap seats.
Is that correct?
You'd come over for, like, shows and some work in Oz. Yes. Your recipe is a good spaghetti bolognese. And you told our producers that because your parents smoked, their taste buds were fried and they made like this spaghetti bolognese really spicy.
Yes. So my dad, whenever it was his turn to cook, he would just make spaghetti bolognese every time. And yeah, they used to smoke. They don't smoke anymore. But because they did, it's like... I don't know, there's something in your taste buds that just kind of gets fried from smoking a lot. And so they were like, well, this doesn't taste like anything. We can't taste it.
And so they would add chilies and like just ridiculous amounts of chili that I had to have like a liter of milk to get through a spaghetti bolognese. And I would tell, like, my friends would be like, oh, we're having spaghetti bolognese tonight. I'd be like, oh no, I don't like spicy food. And they're like, what are you talking about? And I had like a non-spicy bolognese.
I was like, what is going on? This is crazy. But it's something about like just eating that meal and me and my sister powering through it that made it so memorable. And now I don't mind spicy food because my parents made a very, very spicy spaghetti bolognese. You come from a blended family, don't you? Are you one of five siblings or six siblings? Six siblings.
I'm one of six, so I have five siblings. So it's very confusing. But yes, sometimes I will say I have five siblings and then it will say I'm one of five and my siblings will be like, which one did you forget?
Yeah.
And you're the youngest. I'm the youngest. Yes.
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Chapter 3: How did Melanie's ADHD diagnosis impact her understanding of herself?
Like I wanted to be – Like I didn't understand. It didn't make sense that she got to go to bed later. It didn't make sense that she went to the movies with her friends and I couldn't come along. And so like sometimes I would be like, well, Cherie gets to go to the movies. I should be able to go to the movies.
So I would go along with her friends and be the little sister that comes along to the movies and ruins her like friend hang. And so I think you do grow up faster because you kind of like learn from, you know, your siblings and what they go through. But you are as a result really annoying sometimes. So that's sort of, that is the devil's bargain, really.
Yeah. Do you feel like the older you've got, how has your relationship changed with your older siblings? Do you have a brother as well as sisters?
Yes. So I've got two brothers and three sisters. So it's, yeah, I think it's interesting because we are really different, I think. It's like, as well as the fact that like some of them are half siblings, you have aspects of your personality that are different there and aspects that are really similar. Yeah. I think it helps you have people skills. Maybe. I don't know.
I don't know if that's necessarily true, but you just, you grow up with a, with a family of people that are all very different. And like my, my brother was like so tidy and so like he had like his little like dragon statues he would have like aligned perfectly in his room. And me, my sister would sneak in and try and play a video game on his PS1.
But if we did, we had to like coil the remote exactly the right way. Otherwise he would know we'd be in there and And so I think it was just like, it was a bit chaotic.
I guess I have a scarcity complex in the sense that like I will always, I can never save anything because when you live with that many people, like there's no way you could have half a chocolate bar and leave the rest in the fridge. Yeah. As a result, I like meet people who are like that.
They're like, okay, we'll have like five chips and we will roll it up and we put a little pig on it and that will sit in the cupboard till like a couple of days later. We might come back to the chips. And I'm like, well, we never, I'm going to eat the whole bag. Yeah. You just have this weird caveman instinct when you're with a big family that's like, okay, are you going to eat that?
You're just always constantly just fighting over things. And so maybe that is an aspect of my competitiveness that's sort of come through. It's just being with a big group of people.
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Chapter 4: What unique aspects of Melanie's family background influenced her comedic style?
And so you can't possibly, a lot of it is like so many things you can't control. Whereas I feel like in things like sport, I can like control how well I plan. I can sort of control the outcome of the game. by working really hard. But sometimes you can work really hard in your career and it could get nowhere.
And you do something like put a wig on and go a little bit like Jacinta and that can blow up and go crazy. So it's just like knowing that effort doesn't always correlate to success in most aspects of life. And so then I can kind of choose things where it does act that way and like get all of those urges out of my life.
It's a really good way to do it and like challenge your perfectionism as well. You play netball?
Yes.
How long have you been playing netball for?
Since I was like in school, like since I was pretty young. And I mean, I'm six foot two almost. I'm sort of between six foot one and six foot two. And so I think when you're that tall, it's like illegal to not play netballs.
I feel like if I was in New Zealand and there was a netball team scouting and I had a basic level of coordination, I think they would be like, well, we're going to deport you from your own country if you don't play a sport. How do you feel if you do lose a game? Yeah, I think I have a bit of white line fever, as they say, where, you know, like I can be quite a calm, chill person.
And then as soon as I'm on the court, I can really like get into the game and get really sort of swept up in the game. And sometimes I meet people and they're like, I played against you at netball once. And I'm like, I'm so sorry for who I was there. And it's nothing like I'm not like physical or like cruel or anything like that. But it's just sort of things where you're just like, oh.
the ref made that call and you're mad about it or whatever. And so I think a lot of the time after a game, I can have a bit of perspective and go like, it's fine. It's not the end of the world. It's fine. I'm not playing for the Silver Ferns. I'm playing for the South Yarra Netball Club. It's okay. It's fine.
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Chapter 5: How does Melanie balance her personal life and career as a comedian?
Yeah, Tumblr was so moody. It was so much. It was a lot of like a lower back tattoo. And then like it was very artsy. And I think it was because those were the blogs I sort of followed. And it's what sort of the it sort of recommends you when you start out on Tumblr. And then I started to see like a few funny posts. And I was like, oh, people are funny on here.
And I kind of got into this circuit. They're called text post bloggers, which is essentially just like people who wrote jokes. And I think that was the first moment where I was like, oh, this is wild. I think like the first post that I did was like a post where I said, my dad accidentally called me dad once. And that was all it was. That's all it said.
And it was just like, it just weirdly went up to like thousands and thousands of likes and stuff like that. I was like, oh, like this little snapshot of my life of a silly moment that happened is like being seen by so many people. And then from there, I was like, oh, I should just like share things that happened in my life. And
And then I got into more sort of like traditional sort of joke writing and things on there. And like those things blew up. And you just like make friends with other bloggers and you swap blogs and you go and you write jokes for their blog and then they write some for yours and stuff. Sometimes I have like jokes that have circulated now that people tag.
I think that was my friend Sharon that posted that. But it's got Melodoodle on it, so I'm like, well, I'll claim it. I'll claim it.
So back then, did your, like, yeah, did you tell your family? Were you like, hey, I just blew up overnight online on, like, Tumblr? Like, or was it something you didn't really talk to them about?
Yeah, I think they sort of got it in a way. Like, they didn't quite understand what it really meant as well because the numbers on there, like, they do sort of balloon in a really strange way that's, like, sometimes something, like, so simple could have, like, a million likes and, like, There's no way to sort of quantify that. You can't even like picture that amount of people in your head.
So it's like a really strange, surreal thing. One thing that was funny was like my granddad, he had like called me. Again, nothing that I say about like what I post on Tumblr is actually ha-ha funny. It's just one of those things that like people just like, I don't know, people just really like catch on to it, I think. Yeah.
Like he had just called me on the phone and said, and I just posted this. Oh, my granddad just called me. He said he's grown a cauliflower that's twice as big as the ones in the shops. This is so cute. And then like a week later, not even a week later, a few days later, he came to visit and he brought the cauliflower. And I took a photo with him and he just has this like beautiful cheeky grin and
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Chapter 6: What insights does Melanie share about the nature of relationships and love?
And then after that, it sort of had like 10,000 likes or whatever. And I told him, I was like, you've got 10,000 likes on Tumblr. And he was like, do I know any of them? I was like, I don't know how many of your friends from the rest home are on Tumblr. And so I added that detail and then that went up.
And so it's like now people are like, if you don't reblog Cauliflower Grandad, I don't know what's wrong with you. Cauliflower Grandad. Every time I see Cauliflower Grandad, I share this photo. And it's just like one of those weird things that like he had no concept of what that meant. But there would be people that are like, oh, he's Cauliflower Grandad and I'll share him. What an icon.
Yeah, I know. It's wild. But yeah, that was sort of like the closest I could get to kind of explaining it to my family. Yeah. So who did you inherit your comedic talent from in your family? My parents are both very funny. My dad is funny in the way that he is a very, he loves comedy and he introduced me to a lot of my favourite comedians and he sat me down and he would play Monty Python and
He's a real comedy nerd and so I got so into comedy in that way and is also just like a very naturally witty person in conversation. And my mum is like – she's that like spontaneous funny that's like she will just like – she'll say something and it will just like – Like demolish a room. Like they will all like – she'll just make you belly laugh because she just comes out with things.
And I love that about her. And she reminds me of my grandma who's her mom as well who was like that, who was just like this just like effortlessly funny person to be around. So it was like –
I do think it was like this nice little combination of my dad's kind of like structural view of like comedy and joke writing and my mum's kind of spontaneity that like – my dad is someone who would never, ever do stand-up comedy. He would like be way too afraid. He would be like – he does not like public speaking. But yeah, getting those genes somehow, I guess –
combined to make me who I am. And also just, you know, you've got a big family. You kind of feel like you're performing all the time anyway. You do actually.
I feel like having all the siblings. Yeah. Take me back to your first or one of your earlier comedy gigs that really stands out to you. Were you nervous?
Yes. When I got into comedy, it was definitely so nerve wracking. I guess I had the, like, I had the, like, a little bit of confidence knowing that I had written jokes that had had some success before in the sense that, like, what if I just got on stage and, like, said things that I'd posted that people liked? It's a little more complicated than that when you're performing.
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Chapter 7: How does Melanie view success and failure in her career?
Yeah. But I was so sick with nerves.
It's just so admirable to stand up. And I guess the more you do it, obviously, you've been doing it for such a long time now, you would feel that rush before you go on stage, I assume. But you'd just be like, yeah, let's go. Let's see what happens. And you're so incredibly talented.
Do you ever get scared that a joke that you might make in, like, you know, your stand-up show right now that might not land? Like, how does it feel making edgy jokes as a woman in 2026 on stage or online?
Yeah. I don't think I've ever really had the urge to like intentionally be an edgy comedian, I guess. I've always wanted like people to come to my shows. I guess I have ADHD, so I've got an intense rejection sensitivity. So I'm like scared of like anyone not liking me. And so I veer away and it's not, I don't even think it's necessarily because I'm afraid of like saying something wrong.
I guess I just want everyone to have a good time at a comedy show. And, like, there is a place for it. And I do think there's, like, I think comedians that do it well can, like, really do it where they, like, they're really good at their sort of target selection that they, like, they're not punching down. They're just, like, being political or, you know, really kind of dismantling a subject.
Or maybe they're, like, towing the line and then, like, making you really think about what you think about a certain topic. Exactly. It's such a skill. Yeah, it can be masterfully done. And I think on The Cheap Seats, we sort of try to a little bit toe that line as well. Our show is more of a view on the media than it is of any actual news.
It's a lot of how is this topic covered more than, ha-ha, this is a crazy thing. Let's laugh at the thing. It's like, no, let's laugh at the camera falling over while they're trying to report on this very serious thing. And so it's never really been like an urge of mine to like try and stoke the flames of things or try to be edgy.
But sometimes you will just like say something and people will interpret it in a different way than you intended. And you just kind of have to cop that. I think when people say like, you can't say anything anymore. It's like, you can and you just, some people might get mad about it. And that's kind of, you have to live with that. Everyone has a different experience and a worldview. Yeah, totally.
And so like if you have the claim of like, oh, you can't say anything anymore. Everyone's just going to get mad at you. It's like you're kind of implying that they're not allowed to say what they're saying to you. That's also them exercising their freedom of speech to say I didn't like that and that's okay.
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Chapter 8: What life lessons does Melanie wish to pass on to future generations?
On your ADHD diagnosis, you got diagnosed at 30 and I know a lot of women are getting diagnosed later in life in their 30s and their 40s. What was the catalyst for having an ADHD diagnosis and looking into it and what did that process look like for you?
Yeah, it kind of reached a point where I thought that a lot of my behaviors were just stress induced. And I thought that when I made mistakes or when I missed things or when I was just like disorganized in my life, it was like it was just because I have a lot going on. And that's true. That is true to an extent.
But what I realize is that stress is one of those things that just exacerbates ADHD symptoms. So I had worked out all these coping mechanisms to, like, deal with structures in my life that were difficult when things weren't hard. But when they got hard, I felt like I really copped it. And so it just kind of – my partner has ADHD as well.
And, I mean, the real story is, which is probably not the fun – well, not even the fun story, but, like, I basically just tried his five ants and went – oh, I feel like I can do things. And it was just like an eye-opening moment and being medicated for it. Like it just felt like a lot of things that shouldn't have been hard just felt like they were manageable.
And that just, yeah, it just made a lot of things easier in my life. Was there a moment where like it, screwed something up for you? I think there was a lot of times where I've acted pretty impulsively in my life. I think there was sometimes I would just like, I would have an idea for something. And before I had even thought about like how that idea would play out, I would just do it.
And then I would not really realize the sort of repercussions. And it would be as simple as like sending the wrong email or reacting to something or just posting something online. And it was just like I realized that I just wasn't having those things that sort of regulated the way I was acting.
And then there were some things that I really, really wanted to do and I just physically couldn't bring myself to being able to do them. And I think the biggest difference I've thought about with being medicated is not even necessarily that like it's changed my life like massively in terms of like my life doesn't look completely different now. I was very good at doing something different.
doing something to 80%, you know, like it's like I could do something and get it to a point where it was like 80% finished or it's like I think about a paint by numbers I tried to do. Like I was so into it and I was so, so into it and then I got it like almost done and I thought, well, it's almost done. I'll get to it eventually.
And that's sort of what I sort of had with most aspects of my life is that even when I was writing shows, I was like, oh, that's sort of like a placeholder joke. I'll swap that out eventually. It'll come out eventually. And then when I was sort of three weeks into doing a show and it was still there, I was like, okay. And now I feel like it's a lot easier for me to write and finish things.
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