The ‘Australian Ninja
Warrior’ host and
mum spills on-set
secrets from Season 3
A
ustralian Ninja Warrior has kept
audiences on the edge of their seats
for two seasons, but the challenges
are now reaching new heights with
the show’s return. WHO caught up
with host Rebecca Maddern, 41, who spoke
about motherhood and her own challenges on
the set, and revealed the news we’ve all been
wanting to hear about the new season –
someone will finally be crowned the winner.What was it like filming in Melbourne for
Season 3?
My baby Ruby was 8 months old when we
were filming, so it made life a little bit easier
that we didn’t have to pack up the whole
family and move interstate for a month or so.
I was pregnant when I filmed Season 2, so
she was a lot easier to pack for! Season 3 wasa little bit more challenging as she was on
the outside! Ninja Warrior is a very short but
very intense filming period so there is a light
at the end of the tunnel.
How has motherhood been so far?
[Motherhood] is absolutely incredible, it has
changed my life in more ways than I could
have ever expected – I knew it would be
wonderful, but I don’t even have words to tell
you how wonderful each and every day is
with Ruby.
Would you want your little girl to get into
the TV industry?
My husband [Trent Miller] is in the same
industry, so she’s halfway there, if she wants
to. She’s got a few contacts! But I’m sure by
the time she forges her own career a lot of
things would have changed. So, who knows
what shape and form it’ll take?
Two seasons in and no-one has won Ninja
Warrior. Is it because the course is so
difficult?
We always knew that in Season 1 and 2, being
a brand-new course, being the toughest
obstacle course in the world, it is very
unlikely that we were going to get a winner.Maddern and
her daughter
Ruby.Maddern and her
husband Trent Miller.NINE NETWORK; INSTAGRAM (3)
In America, everyone needs to remember
that it took seven seasons for someone to
get up the mountain and they’ve got a much
bigger population than us. But yes, this
season we will be crowning a winner.
Who should we keep an eye out for?
There are a few twists and turns that you think
that this person, by doing it for the third year
straight, will ace the course and blitz the
course, and there’s been some real shocks and
surprises. And there are some new names you
will not be familiar with. You’ve never heard
them. You’ll have no idea who these people
are, and they will be the people you’ll be
talking about for a long time to come.
Have you tried the course?
We haven’t tried [the course] as the
producers don’t want us to film the show
with broken legs [Laughs]. Let me just say
this, there’s a lot of stairs that go up to the
commentary tower, so I have to keep very fit.
Does working on Ninja Warrior inspire you
to keep fit?
It does inspire me. I’m in awe of these
athletes, and they’re not all in their twenties.
Some are around Ben, myself and Freddie’s
age – in their forties – and it does inspire you.
What’s it like working alongside Ben
Fordham?
Ben and I truly like each other. We are great
friends and sometimes we think ‘I can’t
believe we’re getting paid to do this’ – as well
as Freddie, we just get along so well. And we
have so much fun and I think that really
translates to the screen and the audience
at home that we are legitimately having as
much fun as everybody is at home on their
couches watching this show.
■ By Abi Moustafa
Australian Ninja Warrior airs on Sun., 7pm,
Mon. and Tues., 7.30pm on Channel 9.