After years in such a high-pressure position, making time to relax has never been more critical for Sunday Night host Melissa Doyle.
There’s nothing Mel likes more than having some quality downtime at home.
“My favourite thing to do is to put on music and just potter around,” she says with a laugh.
Her husband of 22 years, John Dunlop, is also a huge support – both emotionally and practically – in daily life.
“John is fantastic,” she tells TV WEEK. “He works for himself, so he can be quite flexible.”
Managing priorities is standard for Mel and John. They have teens Nick and Talia in tow, plus two busy careers to navigate.
Mel admits that juggling responsibilities isn’t always easy, especially when dreaded mother’s guilt kicks in.
“When I’m away for work, I think, ‘I’ve got to get home to the family, they must be missing me’. Then I walk in the door and someone will be like, ‘Oh yeah – hi, Mum. Can you wash my runners?’” she says with a chuckle.
“I’ve been having anxious moments, thinking, ‘Oh, my God – are they surviving without me?’ And they haven’t even noticed I’ve been gone. So it’s fine.”
With the big five-0 milestone only three years away, Mel laughs when quizzed about how she feels about birthdays.
“I have to admit, when I was approaching 40, I had a little bit of a panic attack,” she recalls. “I thought, ‘Oh, my God – I’m a woman and I’m going to be 40. And I’m on television and is that all over?’”
But time has proven her career in front of the camera is far from over. Mel now regards her decades on TV as something to be proud of – at any age.
“Every now and then I glance in the mirror, or look at a two-shot on camera, and see a few extra wrinkles,” she says. “But I’m happy, because they’re laugh lines, not frown lines.
“I’m cool with it. That’s how old I am. That’s how I’m meant to look. I’m not meant to look like I did 20 years ago, and I’m not meant to feel like I felt 20 years ago.”
For more from our interview with Mel, pick up a copy of TV WEEK – on sale now.
