Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: Why does Chrissie Swan rarely do interviews?
Hello and welcome to Something to Talk About, the Stella podcast. I'm Sarah Lamarquand, your host, and every week I sit down with some of the biggest names in the country because when Australia's celebrities are ready to talk, they come to Something to Talk About. Chrissy Swan doesn't do many interviews.
As she says, she's a bit like Hayley's Comet in that she only makes an appearance about every 75 years or so.
I keep a very low profile, you know, hence this is only the second podcast I've appeared on. I keep a very low profile mainly because I'm sick of talking about myself because I do it for two hours a day.
On today's episode of The Stella Podcast, the Much Loved Radio presenter reflects on what it's like to co-parent three teenagers, what giving up alcohol has taught her about herself and And how uncovering generations of rebellious women and family tragedy on an upcoming episode of Who Do You Think You Are has changed the way she sees herself.
Chrissie Swan, welcome to the Stellar Podcast. Thank you so much for having me. It's been a long time coming. I'm like Hayley's Comet, Sarah. I come around once every four or seven years or however many years that is. I mean, this is only the second podcast I've ever been a guest on. I did The Imperfects with Ryan Shelton and
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Chapter 2: How has co-parenting impacted Chrissie Swan's life?
his his mates and um and now you well i am honored and the bar has been set very high because they are amazing at the imperfect so we hear you of course every afternoon on nova on the chrissy swan show but we're about to see you back on tv and you're on the new season of the sbs show who do you think you are where you'll be delving into your family history
Chrissie, tell me a little bit about this. Are you one of those people that's interested in family trees? Is it something that you could have drawn yourself before this experience?
Well, my sister Elizabeth knows everything. Everything there is to know. And, you know, she's got, you know, she looks through ancient newspapers and finds sinister articles about our forebears and things like that. She's just amazing. But my interest is more about the stories. I was very annoying sometimes.
because I just wanted to know stories about these people that, you know, I had actually never met. And I was, during the filming of the series, I was like, why am I so interested in this? in my family because my family's not that interested in it. But I think it's because by the time I came into my family of origin, I'm a fair bit younger than my older sisters.
I'm 10 and seven or eight years younger than the other ones.
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Chapter 3: What insights did Chrissie gain from giving up alcohol?
I mean, look, some would say... I was a mistake. But by the time that I came to be, we'd moved to Melbourne. I'm the only one in the family that was born in Melbourne and I've lived here all my life. And everybody else is from Queensland. And so it was almost this... folkloric, these stories that I was told that happened long before I was around about this auntie and that cousin.
I just wanted to know how they smelt and what that person was like. I don't think my curiosity was matched. My gran would put up with it, but I don't think anyone was as interested as I was, but I had such a small family. There was just us in Melbourne, a satellite, and then I only had four cousins. My mum was an only child, but my gran was from one of those big,
Catholic families where all the girls' names started with M and all the boys' names started with J. And my dad's mum also came from a massive family. But again, by the time I came along, I only had one grandparent and it was Gran.
Chapter 4: How did family history shape Chrissie Swan's identity?
So I wanted to know what her husband, my mum's dad, was like and what his sister was like. And I would look at photos. So While my interest is not in the tree, it's in the people in the branches, if that makes sense.
As a natural-born storyteller and someone that had that interest in the human stories from the start, you sure found them in what was uncovered in this episode of Who Do You Think You Are? Because without giving too much away, it obviously explores the story of your three times great-grandmother, Mary, Irish-born woman who emigrated to Australia. Yes.
How was it for you discovering some of those moments in her history?
If you've ever looked at me and thought she comes from unusual stock, you would be absolutely correct. There seems to be a common thread through the women in my lineage that Specifically, the women and generation after generation after generation of women are a bit, some would say progressive, others would say rebellious. There appears to be a common thread of, let's see if I can.
There's entrepreneurship in there. Yeah, it was very interesting. Plus, I was in towns that I'd heard of, of course, but I had absolutely no idea that I had family connections there and significant ones, you know.
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Chapter 5: What challenges did Chrissie face while filming Who Do You Think You Are?
It's such a brilliant experience.
I am really fascinated to hear about the travel component of it and the cloak and dagger component of it, the fact that you're understandably reluctant to give too much away. It's a little bit reminiscent of, I imagine, what it was like when you were flown into the jungle to appear on I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here.
Has it taken you a little bit back to that experience in terms of the surprise element?
Yes, and actually, even before that, you know, 24 years ago when I was flown into dream world to the Big Brother house, it was very, very similar, to be honest. I didn't know where I was going, what I was doing, and it's unsettling in a way, but it needs to be because... The shock of the revealing of the stories, you know, that needs to be authentic. And I just couldn't get my head around it.
I knew that I was going to be gone for two weeks. So the details are absolutely minimal. So imagine that, Sarah. You know that you're going to be away for two weeks. You don't know where you're going, who you're going with, what you're going to find. It's sort of a little bit amazing race as well because you have to have your passport, you have to have everything in order.
And all they do is, I mean, are you the sort of person that likes surprises?
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Chapter 6: How does Chrissie navigate public perceptions and media scrutiny?
No.
No, I don't. Oh, you would hate this. My definition of hell. But you must, Chrissie, that you keep putting yourself in this position. Are you comfortable with surprises?
I am. I do. I love surprises and I love risks and I love learning things that I couldn't possibly learn any other way. And I love meeting new people and I love... television. I just loved the whole thing. About 10 days in, no, about a week in, it's a really tight group. There's only four of us. Me, five, sorry.
Chapter 7: What lessons did Chrissie learn about fame from Hamish Blake?
Really small-knit group. We're all in an econovan together. I was doing runs, getting sandwiches for stuff. It was like school camp, but But I was the star of it. The whole reason for us being on this amazing road trip was to show me my history and everybody knew what was about to happen apart from me. And it felt weirdly romantic, like I would get a text message at like 10pm the night before.
I would have no idea where I was going the next day. And Antonia, the Warner Brothers producer, would say, there'll be a car to collect you at 5.30am.
It's so The Bachelor. I know what you mean about romantic. It's very The Bachelorette, isn't it? It was truly thrilling.
It was just the most brilliant thing. Did you ever see, it's a great film, the Michael Douglas film The Game?
Chapter 8: What does the future hold for Chrissie Swan in her career?
No, never saw it, unfortunately. It feels like that except I think maybe somebody dies in The Game and I didn't die but somebody does in my episode of Who Do You Think You Are?
How are you feeling about it now and how has what you've learnt about your family tree and your background changed you in any way, if presumably it has at all?
I don't think it's changed. Well, there's two stories. I think every participant gets kind of, you know, two bites of the cherry. And there's the storyline that, you know, we've just discussed about Mary coming from Ireland, which is, you know, My favourite subject at school was Australian history. I just loved it so much.
And in Year 12, it was specifically, you know, the time that Mary was around. And so it was just like I was in heaven with all of it. There is that story which has all the incredible tragedy and strength and inspiration and joy hardship and, I mean, everything I could wish for as a history, Australian history buff. So then there's the other story, which is much closer. This is my dad's dad.
I mean, you know, most people still have their dad's dad around. And that one, they're just two, it was two very different experiences. And obviously the closer the family tree gets to me, the the more I feel about that story. And I suppose the more questions I have that have been raised throughout my life because, you know, obviously, you know, people had talked about Grandad.
I think I'd only met him for maybe the first three months of my life, so I never knew him. But my sisters certainly did, you know, had lots of memories of granddad. And I had lots of questions, not as a child so much, but... As an adult, you know, when you grow up and have kids of your own, it brings a lot of questions about the parents that have gone before you, parents and grandparents.
And I did have some concerns about him and his Yeah, they were answered. And it's not the sort of thing, because it is so close and it is my dad's dad and, you know, it seems like he didn't die that long ago, you know, because he was still so present in everybody's memory and life. It wasn't the sort of thing that I felt comfortable asking about.
I think particularly, you know, to a man of my dad's era and age, they just really don't have any interest in talking about that. I mean, if you ask dad what a boundary is, he's like, well, the line divides your property from the guy next door. You know, he doesn't want to talk about boundaries and vulnerability and, disappointment and, you know, all that sort of stuff.
So I didn't have any answers until this show and I got all the answers I wanted.
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