Nicky Buckley on THAT dress scandal

As co-host of Sale of the Century, Nicky Buckley made headlines in 1997 when she wore a dress that showed off her baby bump. Twenty-five years on, she reflects on what it meant then - and now.

Showing off a pregnancy belly will get you more clicks than clucks these days

on social media. But 25 years ago, things were a lot different – just ask Nicky Buckley, the one-time Sale Of The Century co-host who created a whirlwind of controversy in 1997 when she made the simple choice to work through her pregnancy, on-air, in the same form-fitting dresses that made her a sensation. Looking back on that time in an exclusive interview and a new photo shoot with Stellar, Buckley smiles, then shrugs: “My headspace was, ‘I’m just working like anyone else’”

Nicky Buckley wishes that birthdays were abolished, and not because she doesn’t enjoy a party or want everyone to become immortal.

Rather, the television presenter and podcaster insists those dates on a calendar make people too preoccupied by their age and what that number supposedly says about them.

“Even in our modelling years, a lot of my girlfriends would lie about their age and would, you know, take three years off,” Buckley tells Stellar with a laugh.

“I never have. I’ve always preferred that someone, hopefully, thought I looked good for my age than [have to lie] to say I’m 50 and have them go, ‘Oh, she looks a bit older’.”

In her dream scenario, Buckley says, “How great would it be if no-one knew their birthday and no-one knew their age? Then, you could have the most amazing dinner-party fun with a 15-year-old, a 23-year-old, a 40-year-old, a 60-year-old and an 80-year-old because that number is just irrelevant.”

Although she famously lost her gig on the long-running game show Sale Of The Century in 1999 when network bosses deemed her too old to continue co-hosting with Glenn Ridge (she was, in fact, just 33 – and Ridge a decade older), Buckley, 57, has never been too anxious about ageing.

“Now,” she marvels, “I’m just in shock that 60 is around the corner.”

Nicky Buckely: “We’ve got to offer at our age, and we know that in another 10 years we’re going to have heaps to offer, and in another 10 years, we are still going to have a heap to offer.” Picture: Sam Bisso for Stellar

Earlier this year, Buckley and co-host Matt Ferguson deployed humour and honesty to explore the joys and challenges of getting older on their six-episode podcast Oldie Goodie.

“Speaking to guests about ageing who were feeling unseen when they’re older,” Buckley reflects, “I just find that so sad because we know what we’ve got to offer at our age, and we know that in another 10 years we’re going to have heaps to offer, and in another 10 years, we are still going to have a heap to offer. It’s so wrong.”

By way of an example, Buckley points out her sons – Cooper, 25; Jasper, 24; and Baxter, 20 – encouraged her to try out some new moves during Covid lockdowns. “They taught me how to skateboard just in our street,” she says.

“And we’d go down the next streets along, too. It was a good way to get out and get some exercise.”

The close-knit family also spent time playing board games and cooking for each other, while Jasper started making jewellery – some of which Buckley wore with pride for her Stellar photo shoot.

“I don’t really want to be an empty-nester too soon,” she concedes.

“I’m kind of hoping by the time the younger ones leave, maybe the older one might have got married and be bringing in some grandkids.”

While Buckley admits she’s too happy enjoying her laidback life on Victoria’s Surf Coast with her husband of 30 years, Murray Bingham, to take on another television commitment as time-consuming as Sale Of The Century, she has fond memories of the show, has kept in touch with co-host Ridge and announcer Pete Smith, and hints that a reunion special is in the wings.

“We have that coming up soon,” she says, “[and it] will be great to see everyone we worked with.”

Even though Cooper, her oldest son, has grown up and is working as a carpenter, Buckley admits it doesn’t feel like all that long ago when he was “that love-heart baby bump that everyone was talking about,” referring to the figure-hugging dress with a heart-shaped cut-out that she modelled for designer Lisa Barron in 1997.

Unwittingly, the Sale Of The Century star became an Australian television pioneer by continuing to work through the pregnancy – often in form-fitting outfits.

Nicky Buckley: “My headspace was, ‘I’m just working like anyone else.’ It was a glamorous role, and you were expected to look glamorous each night” Picture: Sam Bisso for Stellar

Although her bosses at the Nine Network were supportive of her, she says, newspaper articles questioned whether she should be allowed to remain on the show, A Current Affair ran a segment on the issue, and talkback radio was awash with calls from people either passionately supporting her right to work or outraged by the sight of a proudly pregnant woman on their screens.

Buckley recalls that even some of her staunchest allies weren’t sure what to make of it, with one girlfriend asking, “Will they build you a podium or something so people can’t see your tummy?” She adds with a shrug, “My headspace was, ‘I’m just working like anyone else.’ It was a glamorous role, and you were expected to look glamorous each night with someone spending hours making it look that way with hair and make-up.”

To adapt to her growing belly, Sale Of The Century’s wardrobe department would dress Buckley in stretchy gowns larger than her usual size.

“Fashion-wise, it was always a fun role because I loved fashion and I’d come from a modelling background,” she explains.

“But [once I was pregnant] there was literally nothing to wear unless you wanted to cover it up in a neck-to-knee kaftan-type thing.”

First pregnancies can be extremely challenging and vulnerable at the best of times, but Buckley insists she never let any of the scrutiny get her down.

“I just kind of went, ‘Oh well, that’s their opinion and I am still working’,” she says with a chuckle.

“I didn’t actually realise at the time the change that I was making for other women and, funnily enough, even for myself because Jasper was born 18 months later.”

In the next year of filming, I was pregnant yet again and I did the same thing, and then no-one cared.”

Nicky Buckley features in this Sunday’s Stellar. Picture: Steven Chee for Stellar