Kate Ritchie on the tough side of breakfast radio and what makes a good show

It’s a time of celebration for Kate Ritchie – her daughter Mae turned five over the weekend, she’s the face of Jockey’s latest bra campaign, and she’s just scored her own nomination for the Australian Commercial Radio Awards (ACRAs).

Speaking of that last one, the 41-year-old is thrilled with the industry nod for Best Entertainment Presenter, that puts her up against the likes of Sam Pang, Lawrence Mooney and her own Nova FM co-host Tim Blackwell.

The news comes off the back of an interesting week for the Aussie radio industry, with 2Day FM announcing it’s replacing Grant Denyer, Ed Kavalee and Ash London’s breakfast show with an all-music program.

“I think when you work in breakfast, it’s not only a job, it’s a lifestyle you’re committing to,” Kate tells Yahoo Lifestyle.

The former Home and Away actress worked on Nova 96.9 FM’s Merrick and Rosso breakfast show back in 2008 and 2009, before later joining Tim Blackwell and Marty Sheargold on the network’s drive show, which she says “is a much nicer slot” due to its less intense hours.

The Kate, Tim & Marty show has also scored some ACRA nominations for categories such as Best On-Air Team, Best Syndicated Australian Program and Best Networked Program, putting them right up against ratings winners Kyle and Jackie O from KIIS FM.

“I feel as though I’m still learning, but as far as any knowledge that I have about what makes a great radio show, it has to be the chemistry,” Kate tells Yahoo Lifestyle.

“I know the three of us have a great deal of that and we’ve probably had that from the first day we all worked together. What makes our show different is that we don’t really conform to the usual ideals of what makes a great radio show.”

Further adding to the sentiment around chemistry, she adds: “The boys Tim and Marty have always been incredibly protective of the show and I’m learning to be that way too.

“I think you have to hang onto a little bit of ownership and concentrate on the relationship between the three of you in the studio every day, really I think that’s what it comes down to. With a bit of luck thrown in too,” she then laughs.

“Not everything is always going to go your way but we are on a good roll.”

For the mother-of-one, working in the afternoon and early evening has given her work/life balance that perhaps breakfast radio doesn’t permit.

“I think the drive time radio slot is a much nicer slot,” she explains. “I’ve been able to hang onto a bit more of my life by working at the other end of the day.

“I’m really happy because it means I can work from home in the morning, take on roles like my ambassador role with Jockey, write children’s books or if the right acting gig was to come along, I could do that too.”

Speaking of other projects, the aforementioned Jockey ambassador role is the latest one she’s busy promoting.

The actress is the face of the label’s new Spring/Summer 2019 bra campaign, modelling the latest range of laced bras and briefs from the collection.

“I’ve been working with Jockey for a while now so I suppose I could say I’m warmed up,” she says of posing in front of the camera wearing just her underwear.

“I’m far less nervous about it than I was a few years ago and I think that’s purely based on the fact that my relationship with Jockey has always been a favourable one.”

The star knows many young female fans look up to her for inspiration, and admits she herself has had moments where her confidence hasn’t been at its peak.

“I’m not sure where I get my body confidence. I think there are days when I have more of it than others, like we all do,” she explains.

“That kind of confidence, it ebbs and flows I suppose, but I think there’s something to be said for faking it until you make it. Quite often it’s a mind game so if you talk to yourself positively and kindly, then surely that’s going to go a long way to feeling confident in the way you feel about yourself.”

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