72 The Australian Women’s Weekly | MAY 2019
if I ever will. But you have to get
up and put one foot in front of the
other and keep going. And, of course,
I’ve got the best reason to do that.”
Mother and daughter are clearly
close, with Amelia excitedly sharing
stories of their many road
trips and adventures, and
dropping spontaneous kisses
on Angela’s cheek while
declaring her “the best mum
ever”.
“We kind of instinctively
know when the other needs
cheering up,” says Angela of
the dynamic the pair shares.
“I know Peter would be very
proud of Amelia and what
she has been achieving. She’s
been working so hard on her
school work this
year and she’s a big
help. We are
a good team.”
Teamwork has
been key from the
very start of Amelia’s
entry into the lives
of Angela and
Peter, who swiftly
became inseparable
after meeting at a
late night bar in
2002, marrying
three years later.
At just two days
old, Amelia had
emergency life-
saving heart surgery
- a risky operation
that the family
wasn’t sure would
be successful.
“We banded together and became
‘Team Baikie’ – together we could
tackle anything,” Angela recalls of the
terrifying time. “She came out of that
surgery so strongly and fed straight
away. She got out of hospital two days
before doctors thought she would. She’s
such a tough little girl and we thought,
‘Right, we are a team, we are invincible.’
And that’s how we attacked Peter’s
cancer. We thought, ‘We can beat this,
but it has to be the three of us.’ That’s
always how we were. And we feel like
we are still the three of us.”
teeth, do her homework. So when I’m
good cop I try to be really good cop.
We’ll do spur-of-the-moment things
and just have fun.”
Helping her to do that has been
Angela’s mother, Bronwyn (former
and formidable Liberal Senator, now
the grandmother Amelia affectionately
refers to as BB) and an incredible
support network of family and
friends. Fellow Network Ten star
Carrie Bickmore has been a huge
pillar of strength in Angela’s darkest
days. Carrie lost her husband Greg
Lange, father of her son Oliver, to
cancer in 2010.
“She has been a really good friend,”
Angela reveals. “She’s passed on bits
of advice to me for Amelia, which hasDespite Peter no longer physically
being with his girls, he’s very much
still a huge presence in their day-to-
day lives. When a decision is due to
be made, they consult Peter. “Amelia
will say, ‘Well, Dad would do ...’ and
I say, ‘You’re absolutely right, so that’s
what we’ll do,’” says Angela.
“I’m a single mum, not by any
choice or planning, but unexpectedly.
I’m in a difficult situation where I
have to be both good cop and bad
cop now. I have to get her to bed at a
reasonable hour, get her to brush herTop, left: Angela
and Peter on their
wedding day in- Left:
Angela, Amelia
and Peter hit the
red carpet in 2015.