Project star Sarah Harris’ mortifying poo encounter

In a mortifying encounter, The Project star Sarah Harris found herself holding a human poo in public.

The Project co-host Sarah Harris has revealed a mortifying moment that saw her holding human poo in her hand.

She was at a local swimming pool with her boys Paul and Harry when Harry told his mum he needed to go to the toilet. Knowing that wrangling a kid out of wet swimmers while also juggling another kid is a nightmare, she told Harry to just go in the water.

“It’s a wee,” said Harris. “Come on, I’m not gonna get everyone out of the pool to go and do a wee. It’s fine, so much chlorine in there.”

A few minutes later, Harry let out a sigh of relief. Problem solved, or so she thought.

The next thing Harris knew, a “giant foot-long turd” floated to the surface.

“I raced over to the side, picked it up, thank God it was hard, ’cause I would’ve been mortified if the thing fell apart … I’ve got one kid in one arm, and Paul’s like, ‘Why have you got his poo in your hand?’ He’s screaming and crying and gagging, Harry also starts crying, and I’m going, ‘Yeah, I’m on TV. I’ve got a high-flying career and I’m just holding a sh*t in my hand.’”

Sarah Harris had to rescue her kid’s poo out of a swimming pool. Picture: Channel 10

The star is best known for co-hosting The Project. Picture: Channel 10

That sums up parenthood right there. Some days you’re the sh*t; other days, you’re left holding it.

Harris shared the story in a new book Parenting in Progress in which she details parenting boys.

For Harris, motherhood was very much “if it happens, it happens”. But she now credits her “two favourite humans with their stinky little hair and morning breath” with shaping who she is today.

“Having children, I think, has been the making of me, and probably my greatest feat to date,” said Harris “It’s one of the things I’m most proud of, something I find I’m so comfortable doing, even though I don’t get it right all the time.”

Working as a journalist can toughen you, but Sarah feels like her boys have given her life more meaning. “When I started [in TV], you had to chase hard. I was this pack-a-day smoker, out on the road, doorknocking people. I was like a proper chain-smoking journo. These kids saved my life in so many ways … There’s a saying that goes, ‘Before kids life was black and white, but after kids it becomes technicolour.’”

Sarah Harris says her two boys have given her life more meaning. Picture: Instagram

As the mother of two boys, Harris feels an added responsibility to raise good men. The current feminist wave to empower women and girls has raised questions for a lot of ‘boy mums’ as to how our boys fit in.

“I think it’s a really interesting time that we’re going into where – I don’t wanna turn this into a gender battle – a lot of blokes will go, ‘Where do I fit now? Women are killing it in their careers. They don’t need a provider. They don’t need someone to look after them. Where do I fit?’”

She recalls a time during lockdown in the middle of the pandemic in 2021 when the former New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian was on our TV screens every day. Paul, who was just five at the time, asked his mum who she was. Harris explained that Berejiklian was the boss of New South Wales (with an excellent range of suit jackets). His next question made her smile. “‘So who’s the boss between you and Daddy?’ I’m like, ‘Well, who do you think?’ He’s like, ‘I definitely think girls are all the bosses.’”

He sees his mum working, sees a leader who is a woman on TV during a crisis, and his teacher at school is a woman. He’s surrounded by strong women making a difference in the world, and surely that has to change how this next generation of boys relate to women as adults.

“There are signposts that they’re going in the right direction,” Harris says.

This is an edited extract from Parenting in Progress by Mel Wilson. Available here for presale and out May 1.