From Set To Sofa with Lulu

Settle in for a nostalgic, behind-the-scenes ride with legendary Australian actor Roger Ward, the instantly recognisable face whose career spans from the swinging sixties right through to today. From his unforgettable turn on Number 96, where he famously sprouted Shakespeare and even launched into rock and roll, to playing the menacing Fifi in Mad Max, Roger’s story goes far beyond what viewers saw on screen.With more than one hundred film and television credits, he also reveals a lesser-known side of his career that is genuinely surprising: his significant work as a writer and script editor, shaping stories from the inside out. Film fans will love the tales from Australia’s classic Ozploitation era, including the fearless commitment that saw him performing his own stunts. It is no wonder his reputation travelled well beyond Australia, earning him high-profile praise, including being called “a legend” by Quentin Tarantino.A warm, entertaining conversation packed with industry stories, early-career twists (including meeting Marlon Brando at just eighteen on Mutiny on the Bounty), and the craft and grit behind a lifetime in Australian entertainment.

Best known as Edie “Mummy” McDonald from Number 96, Wendy became a mid-70s household name with a comic performance audiences still remember, yet that iconic role is only the most visible chapter of a career that helped shape Australian theatre and television from the ground up.Trained at Sydney’s Conservatorium and the Rathbone Academy, Wendy left for the UK when Australian theatre opportunities were scarce, cutting her teeth in repertory before returning in the early 1960s. She toured eight shows a week with J.C. Williamson across Australia and New Zealand, then built a formidable screen resume in staples like Homicide, Skippy and Boney, and even stepped into the light entertainment world as a panellist on Blankety Blanks.Off-screen, Wendy’s influence runs deeper. Awarded a Member of the Order of Australia and the JC Williamson Award for lifetime achievement, she also became a producer and founded Performing Lines, and she was a pioneer of Aboriginal theatre on Australian stages. From The Cake Man to Jack Davis’s trilogy (The Dreamers, No Sugar, Barungin) and beyond, her productions helped carry First Nations stories to major Australian venues and international audiences. This episode goes behind the laughter and the legacy, including the unexpected leap into producing, the sheer workload of balancing theatre with television fame, the nights that changed careers, and the advice she would give to actors trying to break through today.

Hello and welcome to From Set to Sofa with Lulu — I’m Lulu.If you ever watched 70s Australian TV and thought, “How did they get away with that?” this is your backstage pass. Before PR teams, social media apologies, and careful messaging, Australian television went straight for the jugular — taboo topics, fearless performances, and storylines that had families arguing at the dinner table. The “golden era” wasn’t polite. It was provocative, chaotic, and completely unfiltered.In this pilot episode, Lulu (Louise Howitt) outlines what you can expect  in “From Set To Sofa” podcast.  Join Lulu for a relaxed, funny, thoughtful Aussie chat that feels like catching up over a cuppa, except your “old friends” are the legends who actually made the magic. You’ll hear what it was really like for actors, writers, directors and crew working flat out in very ordinary conditions to create extraordinary television.And for a naughty preview, we’re kicking off with a teaser montage of moments from guests like Wendy Blacklock, Roger Ward and Belinda Giblin, stories so outrageous you’ll wonder how they ever survived the shoot, let alone the broadcast.If you loved Sons and Daughters, The Box, Number 96, The Young Doctors and the classics that shaped Australian TV and Film, press play and come back with us to the sets where everything was bigger, bolder, and far less supervised.Subscribe, follow, and send in your questions about the actors, the shows, and the scenes you still remember. We’ll put your questions to future guests and give the audience a real voice on the sofa.