Antonia Prebble's first podcast guest is her Outrageous Fortune co-star Robyn Malcolm.
Antonia Prebble's first podcast guest is her Outrageous Fortune co-star Robyn Malcolm.
It's the Outrageous Fortune family reunion fans have been waiting for, but probably not quite what they were expecting.
The show's matriarch, Robyn Malcolm, aka the infamous Cheryl West, is reuniting with onscreen daughter Antonia Prebble, who played teenage rebel Loretta West for the six series of the award-winning drama.
They are teaming up for the first time since the series ended, but not in the way many may have thought.
Prebble also stars as Rita West in prequel series Westside, means she has also played Cheryl West's mother-in-law. The 36-year-old has launched a podcast series called The Most of It and has convinced her former co-star to join the ranks of well-known people who have come on for a chat.
"For as long as I can remember I've been on the hunt to find the answer to one big question: How do we make the most of this thing called life? But of course, there is no singular answer," Prebble says.
"There isn't a magic key out there that, when you find it, just unlocks everything and you can say, 'yep great, I know how to do life now.' Instead, it's a process. A process of listening and learning, of questioning and challenging. Gathering together threads of knowledge and wisdom that, over time, weave together to create a life of deeper awareness and understanding. So that's what I'm trying to do with this podcast."
Over the course of several episodes, Prebble speaks to people with a unique perspective on what a meaningful life looks like. Writers, scientists, philosophers, artists, thought-leaders, innovators and more, all front up and offer their advice on how to make "the most of it".
In the episode of The Most of It where Robyn and Antonia reunite, they cover topics such as body image, having an acting career and family commitments, how to navigate challenges and uncertainty, as well as the lessons Robyn has learned over the course of her career.
Robyn Malcolm is reuniting with onscreen daughter Antonia Prebble on Prebble's new podcast.
They also, of course, reflect back on the heady days of Outrageous Fortune and how life changed as the show became a juggernaut, watched by hundreds of thousands of Kiwis each week.
Prebble knew from the get-go that she wanted to have Malcolm as one of her guests.
"As soon as I decided to create The Most of It, I knew I wanted Robyn to be part of Season 1, because to me, she epitomises someone who makes the most of her life," she says. "She is really courageous and she doesn't skirt around the edges. She gets right in there and isn't afraid of life's messiness. She has taught me a lot over the years and I know that other people will get a lot out of what she has to say too."
For Malcolm, it was an easy decision to join her friend and former colleague to chat things through.
In the podcast, Malcolm talks to Prebble about loving being stroppy as hell as Cheryl, the magnitude of her role and also how she was typecast after Outrageous. She is currently based in Scotland and opens up about being a solo mum, in a long-distance relationship.
Along with Malcolm, Prebble has rounded up an impressive group for the series, including psychologist Nigel Latta, best-selling author and TED Talk host Emily Esfahani Smith and sustainable fashion designer Maggie Hewitt.
Prebble has enjoyed creating the podcast series and hopes to do more in the future. "I have found the process of making The Most of It to be so fulfilling. My intention with the series is that it will help people to understand themselves and the world around them a bit better, and the feedback I've been getting suggests that this is happening, so I am really thrilled."
You can listen to The Most of It podcast series on Spotify, Castbox and Apple Podcasts.
