It's in the news today, but it was actually on TV Reload the podcast last week. I'mby Hey guys, welcome back to TV Reload. I want to thank you for clicking and downloading on today's episode with Julie Goodwin, who is one of the latest celebrities to sign up to Channel sevens Dancing with the Stars, which starts this Sunday night at seven point thirty. Julie Goodwin is an Australian cook, author,
radio and television presenter. She came to public attention when she won the inaugural season of Master Chef Australia back in two thousand and nine, defeating artist and now host of Master Chef Polling Yao in a nail binding finale that I myself has still not gotten over. I think, like most of Australia, we love to see Julie succeed and watching her time on Dancing with the Stars feels like another opportunity.
For us to see her do well.
I will talk about why Julie said yes to Dancing with the Stars and what her concerns were when contemplating doing all of those grueling rehearsals. We will unpack her journey in the media industry thus far, why radio wasn't for her, and why she is still saying yes to new challenges. There is an opportunity to talk to her about her last few days on Master Chef back in two thousand and nine, and why in her autobiography she
described it as looking up from underneath the water. We will talk about her feelings on the rest of the cast and if she was intimidated by some of those well known athletes. There's actually so much to talk about with Julie, so sit back and relax as we unpack the wonderful world of Dancing.
With the Stars. Hi Julie, Hi Dan, how are you. I'm good. I'm good.
I was like just going back through my chats with people over the years, and I'm like, Julie Goodwin, I've got to move up the ranks on how many times I've chatted to you on the podcast.
There, he goes, I'm a frequent chat Yeah.
You're a frequent flyer. I'll send you a show back or some merch.
I was so excited to have the chance to talk to today because you know, Julie is such a such a joy in everything that we get to see you do and I have been in your audience since the very first day you were on Mastership.
Oh, it's been a lovely thing to say thank you.
You know, I did Breakfast Radio after I did Big Brother, and I did that for three years, and I really connected with your story the other day where you said that you loved it but you would never go back.
Yeah, it's pretty brutal. To some people. It's their last, and if you make it your last, you can sort your schedule around it. But it was too brutal for me. I needed more sleep.
I need my sleep.
I remember it would get to Friday night and my partner would finish his working week and would want to go out and do something. And I remember just saying to him after a few weeks, I said, Friday night, I can't do it. It's like I'm underwater, like I felt. I'd have one drink sitting at a bar with him and I couldn't hear anything. It was like being underwater and looking up at him.
That's a really interesting description. I actually in my biography, my book that I just released, I described the last three days on Mastership as though I'm underwater. Everything sounds like it's underwater. It looks like it's underwater. I felt like I was swimming through those days. Yeah, it's an interesting one. It's a bit of association, that is, that's your brain kind of getting out of your body.
Absolutely.
I mean that's made me want to buy your book even more so I'll go down to Big Cap here and.
Took that up after this chat.
You know, fabulous to be talking to you a head of the launch of Dancing with the Stars this Sunday night. It's a fantastic lineup of stars and you must have been so excited to get that call.
Look, I was frightened. I'm not a dancer, and my head just went this is not possible, but also excited and intrigued, and you know, I kind of they kind of talked me into a little bit because I said, you know, I can't get you go the wrong number. Yeah, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, this is a mistake, and they're like, no, you'll be fine, and no, seriously, I don't think you can hear what I'm saying. I don't caan't have, never, could,
never dance, and they just saent. You know a lot of people say that give it a go, and well, you know what, I've had so much richness and joy come my way from trying things that are outside my comfort zone. Why not, I'm going to give it a go.
I don't know whether we're operating at different like living parallel lives at the same time, but look, when breakfast Radio came along, I was like, yep, I'll give this
a go. And many years ago I got like an early call for Dancing with the Stars and I was in Ireland actually, so I couldn't do it, but I remember seeing immediately I was in my head just toying with the idea, and I wondered if I had been there, would I have ever been able to get out of my head, because it just that to me was so daunting.
And look in the rock Astadford at school, Julie. They gave me a part in it, but they had to make me a role that was not one that danced, because I had very little dance or rhythm rhythm at all, and they only left me with one small thing that I had to do, and in the performance I leapt over the person I was supposed to leap over and fell off the stage.
I feel that on a cellular level, this is my this is my my level of dance exactly. You know, I did Joe ballet as a little tacker, and it was kind of recommended that I stopped, not.
To your skill set. And then now you're feels it.
Yeah, you're now in front of Australia, you know dancing. Are you nervous because I mean, you have such a strong fan base. I feel as though you could do the Chicken dance and everyone will applaud.
But are you're nervous for your fans to watch you're singing dancing?
It me?
I floated that idea. Look very nervous. But at the same time. The funny thing is then, is that this is not what I do for a living. So it's different to going back onto mastership, where if I rarely screwed this up, that's my career. But if I can't dance, then it's just as you were. Nobody saw I could anyway. You know, I just thought, the worst thing that can happen is that I make a bit of a vindictiveness.
But in all honesty, it was so much fun. It's so much fun, and I just had such an instant connection and friendship with my dance partner, and I dared all the other celebrities, and the production itself is such a joyful, joyful production. But I look, I loved it, really very regrets about making that decision. I'm so glad I did.
Had you been asked to do the show before, I mean that they'd ever called you up.
I got the call a very long time ago, not long after the master Chef, and my response was, I have spent quite enough time working on television for a while. That's pretty hard, no, that grandship.
I always think that you're full of hidden talents. Like I remember chatting with you after your last mastership experience, and I loved the fact that it was a surprise to me that you had an electric I think it's an electric guitar. If I remember incorrectly, you had a guitar, basic guitar, Julie like not something I saw on my bingo card for Julie Goodwin.
And I loved it. I love it. I love it. Do you're just full of all of these hidden secrets?
Well, I can tell you that the dance secret is so well hidden that I don't know I'll find it.
Okay, Well, that's right. You leave that one in the bottom of the drawer, but great stories to be telling the grandkids. Hey.
Absolutely, And I actually with my grandchild now. So I'm down at the beach, I'm having a family holiday. My whole family's around me, my little baby granddaughter's here, and this is living.
Right absolutely, Oh my god, that is so. I'm so glad that I'm on a holiday with Julie Goodwin. That's amazing. Technically, how hard are those training sessions though? That's what I want to know. I want to know how long were you there for? Was it as grueling as you thought it was going to be?
Well? Absolutely it was. So when I first found out that I was going to be doing it, I started training just on my own, not dance training, just physical training because I thought I don't want to be or puffed out and embarrassed about being unfit. So I got as sit as I possibly could, as strong as I
possibly could. And then my dance partner came from Singapore and he came and lived on the Central Coast for months and we for Cony and so he came and we were scheduled to dance eight hours a day, five days a week, and so, I mean that's hardcore, right, It's pretty physical and then he would say to me, what have you got on for the weekend and a not much. You go good, I will book the studio.
So it turned out we only had like two days off in that first home month, and then you go to Sydney and it's when we're not filming, we're dancing, we're training. So it is it's an absolute one hundred percent commitment of every sea minute of your time and then get home and utterly collapse from exhaustion because it's really really physically hard core.
Yeah, that's wild. That's kind of what I thought it was going to be like, and that that might be a little bit too much time for me.
Well, you know, you can elect to not commit to it like that, but I don't see the point. I don't want to do it in a half sort of a half way and then think well I could have done better.
If I've tried harder. So I tried the hardest I could, and then you know, you walk away with no regrets.
When you saw the cast, when you saw everyone you were going to be dancing alongside, what was your original thoughts, like, what were those initial thoughts. Did you have an idea on who could and couldn't dance.
Oh, I had my hysteria when I saw the rest of the cast. I mean, you've seen them. We've got Olympic athletes, we've got football players, we've got four time Gold Lodi winners who performed for a living with all thesebulous, dobulous people, and I just thought, my poor dance partner like drawing us all out of the hat. And so you know, somebody's getting the athlete, and somebody's getting the actress, and somebody's getting the tabby, middle aged gramother.
Julie.
What I think is amazing about you is is that age you have defied, Like you are going out there and doing whatever you want when you want it. There's so many people out there, Like when I talk to my mom, Mom says no to things, and I'm just like, no, you need to say yes. And that's what I think is really inspiring about you, is that you do say yes, and you do put yourself into uncomfortable situations.
Yeah, well that's sometimes I think it's we've got to learn to say no to the things that we should say no to, which is too much work, you know, too many commitments, too much stuff that brings you down. And sometimes I've got to say yes to the things that we ought to say yes to. And that can be as simple as how that sits up the laptop and come for a walk if you And if your response to that is no, no, I've got too much
work to do, maybe just rethink that. Go you know what, Yeah, I'm going to do that if you can't, and then come back to whatever you have to do.
Yeah.
I always think if you can't complain, if you can't commit to something, then don't do it. Like I think, you've got to be able to say okay, I'm putting that site that space aside.
I wanted to ask you.
About your reality TV experiences because now you've clocked up a few things on your daycard. You've done ie a celebrity, You've been on multiple master Chefs, now done Dancing with the Stars. I just want to know what's the hardest, like in terms of reality TV in Australia, with your experience, can you rank them for me?
Look, for me, the hardest will always be Season one of Masterships, just because I had no idea what I was getting into. No I, however, and I had no idea what I'll get out of it, you know, so that's were always set up there in one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life. I honest already had its physical discomforts, but I found that a really joyful experience, and dancing in terms of physical really
that dancing was the hardest. But you know, I mean there's a fear I haven't done yet then, so let's see how I go on Buddy Survivor and about it.
You know, Julie, you and po have really been one like a huge television success story between the two of you, both have achieved so much. I feel like at this point, what is on the vision board? Like, what is it that you want to do next?
You know what? Then, I actually I've arrived a point where I was planning to get it. I don't know what's around the corner. This is such a it's a sickle industry, It's a sickle and unpredictable life. And so I am just making sure in each day that I building enough stuff that brings me go and keeps me grounded. But as those next opportunities, I'll just flit and see what MUCKs on my door and deside whether or not I'm going to open it.
I love it.
It's a good man try to have Well. I'm just going to ask you two last questions before you go. I feel like the best thing to ask you is who's the most competitive person this season?
Like who should we watch out for in.
Terms of who is there to win and is like there to kill anyone to do it?
Look, I reckon if you're talking about competitiveness, you can't go past neither Peris.
She's an Olympian.
She's an Olympian and a politician. So as far as competition goes, I reckon her her eyes on the prize.
I'm looking forward to watching her dance. That's going to be very exciting. And then, Julie, every time you've joined the podcast, I've asked you this question and you can now talk about it in relation to Dancing with the Stars. What is something from behind the scenes, something that we as an audience may not know from what it's like to be on the show. Is there a secret from Dancing with the Stars you can share?
Oh gosh, I would have to say, blew my mind. How much time is spent and efforts sent by wardrobe and hair and makeup. It is wild, Like the wardrobe people came to my place to see me to get me all fitted. And you know, these costumes are made, I'm stitched into them. They're I'm all cuped in and held up and gussied and all that, and there's just
so much commitment to excellence in those costumes. And then you know the hair takes ours and his hair pieces and eyelassers, and it is seriously blame orate.
Well.
I did enjoy it when I did the Google search on you this morning that people were like Julie Goodman Sick's and makeover on Dancing with the Stars, And I was like, to be honest, I'm like, I think you look the same in this photo as you do in your press photo for the last Mastership.
And I was like, I think you're looking good hair makeup.
Thanks for that, Ben. I don't think benefit was a bit of professional help. Can tell you what I have said yesterday, I glinched myself on the way out of the house to go to the shop and I'm a plug. Beetlejuice, Oh my god, Hopefully nobody so agressed me today.
Did your husband manage to say beetlejuice three times? Maybe that's what happened. And maybe that's what it happened.
Maybe that's what needs to happen.
You have the best time with your family on your holiday today. I will be thinking of you on Sunday night as Australia watches you take on the dance floor.
We are all rooting for you.
I can tell you that much right now, and I just look forward to chatting to you again when it happens.
Oh, I'm here anytime. I love it so much, Ben, I really appreciate it.
Take care, lovely, see you, Julie.