hot seat

Ultra-marathon runner Kay Bretz was running marathons from 19 until his 30s, when suddenly he was over the thrill of it. One day he came out of his garden gate and turned right, instead of his usual left, and realised he'd been on autopilot; his ... More

Rabia Siddique - international humanitarian lawyer, retired British Army officer, former war crimes and terrorism prosecutor and hostage survivor - has lived an extraordinary life. Already this year she is newly married and her blended family now has ... More

Comedian Michael Shafar likes to poke fun at his Jewish heritage. With Passover ending on April 4, he says his show promises to be more fun than another family dinner. He has only just returned to comedy after finishing chemotherapy for the second time ... More

Lizzy Hoo started doing stand-up comedy as a way to build confidence and help her win pitches at her office job. Her current show Lizzy Hoo - Hoo Dis? incorporates much of her Chinese Malaysian/Irish Australian heritage, particularly her one-of-a-kind ... More

Samantha Gash is a Melbourne-based endurance athlete, social impact entrepreneur, corporate speaker and host of the Sam Gash Podcast. She has run ultra-marathons and completed expeditions across some of the most extreme and harsh locations on the planet ... More

After decades in the US, Aussie-born clutter organiser Peter Walsh is back on home soil. One of the stars of Space Invaders , which launches on Channel 9 on February 26, Walsh will join house flipping queen Cherie Barber and trash and treasure expert ... More

James Stevens, AKA Mr Roses, has been selling flowers since he was five. His parents ran florists in Sydney railway stations, where learned about buying, arranging, and marketing. After graduating with a commerce degree, he remained in the flower business ... More

Birth is a throw of the dice. The consequences last a lifetime. Glyn Davis, CEO of the Paul Ramsay Foundation, former vice-chancellor of the University of Melbourne, Distinguished Professor of political science at the Australian National University ... More

David Williamson, Australia's best-loved and most prolific playwright is retiring after 50 years. Typically writing a play every 12 months, this year he has been busy with his memoir. His most famous plays are The Club , The Removalists , Don's ... More

Jacqueline Feilich is an Elvis tribute artist who has been singing his music for 14 years. Her love of Elvis'music, and the fact that women rarely perform his songs, steeled her determination to succeed. Armed backing tracks and custom-made costumes ... More