My children get so much pleasure in having stories read to them. The magic of storytelling is very relatable, and I thought: “‘I want to be part of that”. We’ve always had CBeebies in our house as part of our Foxtel package, and the thought that my kids would get to see me on CBeebies Story Time is very exciting for them. When you’re looking for options for children, that you don’t want to be too patronizing, or too sophisticated, we have actually just ended up on CBeebies and the kids have loved it.

I think it’s the power that exists in every adult, but in children, the desire for transformation and magic, and the power of a story is without compromise. I think children really enjoy the aspect of being transported, and because they have such vivid imaginations, if it’s a story that captures them, you know there’s something about the story that’s really truthful, no matter how fantastical it might be. As an adult, when you’re reading to a child and you turn yourself over to that process you find yourself being transported as well. I also think it’s a great opportunity for children to kick back and have someone else do the work for them. Their imaginations are so vivid and their sense of play is so strong that’s its nice for them to kick back and go along for the ride.

I spent my formative reading years living in New Guinea, and we lived in various places, but predominantly I was in a one teacher school living in really small townships. We were quite isolated, and books really became my friends. It was the 70’s, and the books in the library, I realize in retrospect, were already old because they’d been donated over the years. I started on Enid Blyton books, I churned my way through those. There were also old school girl annuals, and when I got through those I even read the school boy annuals! I then moved on to some sort of teen fiction – it was a bit sophisticated but it was really brilliant and makes you very self-sufficient. I basically read my way through that library!

It was then that I realized that if you’ve got a book, you’ve always got company, you’ve always got something to do, and you’ve always got a world you can belong to.

Enid Blyton really got me. The ‘Famous Five’ in particular. All the books were just so magical, and it was so far outside of my world, but at the same time relatable, or it was a fantasy world that you would want for yourself, to have these friends. Also, because she was English, the language was not like how anyone I knew spoke, it was quite quaint, and I think that opened up for me a world of character that, as a writer, when I grew up to write for television, or even to be a broadcaster as I am now, that sense of word play, I loved it even then.

Yes, always. I have four children ranged from 2 to 8 and they’re at various stages of what they like to read so it does take a bit of work. There’s one girl and three boys so their tastes are quite diverse, but the unanimous thing is they love to be read to. There’s always something quite refreshing when you take the time to read to children and you find yourself getting transported as well.

My husband reads to the children very often while I’ cooking, and we have a ritual in our house where he will gather all the kids together, and all the kids hop on the bed and everyone grabs an extra pillow, and he’ll read to them. I sometimes stand outside the room and listen while my husband is reading and it makes me fall in love with him all over again. He’s always been a slow and thorough reader, but he puts so much time into it and it’s so loving, it’s just such a gift of love to read someone a story.