Sarah Harris is the first to admit that she’s not great in the kitchen.
“I can’t cook,” the co-host of The Project insists. “I am, quite literally, as I’m talking to you, eating tuna out of a can with a bag of salad from Woolies.”
But this year, once again, Sarah finds herself getting a close-up look at how the experts do Christmas dinner when she hosts Christmas With The Australian Women’s Weekly. Kirsten Tibballs whips up a tiramisu trifle, Julie Goodwin gets creative with mangoes and Khanh Ong puts his own spin on a turkey.
“Turkeys are pretty tricky to cook at Christmas,” Sarah says. “It’s something that freaks me out. It’s a lot of bird to cook.”
The special also features three members of the Daddo clan: Cameron, his wife Alison Brahe-Daddo and their daughter Lotus, with Ali and Lotus modelling summer fashions.
“I grew up seeing beautiful Alison Brahe on the front cover of Dolly magazine,” Sarah says. “I still remember having a copy of her [issue] in my bedroom and just thinking she was the most beautiful woman in the world – and she still is.”
As well, 10 News First’s Narelda Jacobs visits gold medal winner Noemie Fox, and former Real Housewives Of Melbourne star Chyka Keebaugh offers ideas for styling a Christmas table.
Inspired by the special, Sarah has already started making her own decorations at home. She says she and her sons Paul, turning nine this month, and Harry, turning seven, really get into Christmas.
“We love getting the fresh tree, throwing up the Christmas decorations as early as possible,” she adds. “I think as well, particularly that I’m flying in and out so much because of work, and my life is so hectic, it’s just really nice to stop and be thankful for all the good people and good things in your life.”
It’s been a huge year on The Project for Sarah. She’s interviewed celebrities from singer Katy Perry, who was “a dream come true”, to actor Austin Butler, who got her a bit flustered.
“He’s a genetically perfect human being – far too young for me, but he was divine.”
One interview that’s really stuck in Sarah’s mind was not with a celebrity but with an Aussie dad, Wayne Holdsworth, whose teenage son Mac took his own life after being targeted online.
“We cried together and we’ve kept in contact,” Sarah says. “It certainly stayed with me for a number of months, that story. I couldn’t stop thinking about the things that he’d said and seen and the regrets that he’d had as a parent. You can’t really forget that when you’re parenting your own children.”
Sarah, 43, has now been co-hosting The Project for two years, which means two years of flying from her home in Sydney to Melbourne, where The Project is filmed on weeknights, every week. Paul and Harry, whose father is Sarah’s ex-husband Tom Ward, stay in Sydney.
She says although it was “pretty overwhelming” at the start, she’s now in a good rhythm.
“I get to fly down, do my job and then when I’m back, be 100 per cent focused and present as mum,” she explains. “I like to volunteer at the school with the boys and do playdates and things like that. I love being a mum. It really is only work and kids for me.”
Sarah says her life is “so full” that she doesn’t have time for dating. .
“I barely have time for me, let alone for someone else!” she laughs. “But that’s okay. It’s not going to be forever. There’s seasons and reasons. I’ll let you know if anything does come up, though!”
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