Sunrise host Natalie Barr has pulled back the curtain on exactly how she prepares for — and survives — the TV WEEK Logie Awards, revealing a carefully managed routine that begins well before the red carpet and ends firmly before any after-party kicks off.
With the annual television industry night set for this Sunday, Barr spoke candidly about everything from red carpet nerves and designer gowns to the strategic snack she relies on to make it past midnight.
RuPaul's red carpet wisdom and a handmade gown
The Sunrise host got some unexpected coaching this week when international drag icon RuPaul appeared on the program and shared his hard-won red carpet experience. For Barr, whose professional instincts are firmly rooted in journalism rather than posing for cameras, the advice was genuinely welcome.
"I still feel very uncomfortable about posing on any red carpet — even after all these years," she admitted. "We're journos, so this is part of the job that is not natural. It's fun and it's glamorous, but there's a big part of me that feels like, 'What am I doing again?'"
She noted that while a professional hair and makeup team can make any presenter look the part, the mechanics of actually working a red carpet remain a foreign skill for many in the news industry. RuPaul's tips, she says, will come in very handy.
For the ceremony itself, Barr will again be dressed by Sydney-based designer Mariam Seddiq. "It is the biggest treat having a beautiful gown handmade — so I feel very lucky," she said.
Natalie Barr's Logies day routine: weights, protein shakes and avoiding the sugar trap
Barr, who was speaking by phone while driving to the gym, has spent the past two years committed to a strength-training program, now lifting heavy weights three times a week on the advice that building muscle becomes increasingly important from age 35 onwards.
"I'm loving it and I do feel stronger," she said, though she confirmed she hasn't increased her workout frequency in the lead-up to the big night.
Her eating strategy on Logies day is equally considered. Sunday morning will begin, as usual, with a protein shake — a habit she adopted after finding it far easier than trying to balance a full cooked breakfast of eggs, halloumi and tomato during ad breaks on set. Ahead of the makeup session, she'll follow that up with a more substantial meal.
"That room is full of sugar and lollies," she said, explaining why she makes sure to eat a proper meal before sitting in the makeup chair. A sugar crash partway through an already lengthy evening is a risk not worth taking.
That said, Barr does allow herself a deliberate sweet hit around 9pm. "I look for a sugar hit of dessert at about 9pm to get me through to midnight," she said. On alcohol, she takes a different view entirely: "I don't think drinking alcohol works for me because it's such an early start."
A midnight curfew — and her Logies votes
One of the less glamorous realities of hosting a breakfast program is what it does to your social life, even on the biggest night in Australian television. Barr has never attended a Logies after-party — a fact she accepts with characteristic pragmatism given her 2.30am alarm.
"If you get out of that room at midnight and then even one hour at the party, that's 1.30am — that's not enough sleep time," she said.
Barr takes her voting duties at the Logies just as seriously as her civic ones — she lodges her TV WEEK votes and her Census on the same day. Among her top picks this year is Michael Usher for Best News or Public Affairs Presenter. "He's the best news broadcaster in the country," she said. "He brings so much authority — if something's happening, and Michael Usher is at the news desk, you know you're in good hands."
For fans of breakfast television, the behind-the-scenes glimpse is a reminder that the glamour of awards night comes with its own set of very early morning trade-offs — and that the pressures of hosting a top-rating breakfast show run well beyond what viewers see on screen.
