She was an afternoon TV star for a generation of kids. Now she’s asking for their help

For an entire generation of Australian children in the 1980s, Fiona MacDonald was an undisputed star, appearing on an afternoon show called Wombat with an angry, wise-cracking hand puppet named Agro, along with her prime-time gig on the hilariously camp physical challenge game show It’s a Knockout.

Former TV star Fiona MacDonald lives with motor neurone disease in Coogee.Credit: Janie Barrett

And so was her sister Jacki, who had also become a household name as Daryl Somers’ sidekick on Hey Hey It’s Saturday, along with another smart-mouthed puppet, this time a pink ostrich named Ozzie.

Fiona MacDonald with her former co-star Agro.

While the MacDonalds left the spotlight years ago to raise families and pursue careers outside the media, Fiona is hoping enough of those kids – now aged in their 40s and beyond – will remember her to help raise money and awareness to combat a deadly disease to which she refuses to surrender.

In November 2021, MacDonald was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND), and over the past two years it has mercilessly attacked the muscles that control her ability to move, speak, breathe, swallow, and ultimately live.

“I noticed in July that I was having trouble speaking clearly, particularly if I was tired. I ignored this for a while but realised it could be something sinister, so I embarked on an extensive round of medical tests, ultrasounds of my neck, full spinal MRIs, nerve testing, blood testing – everything was looked at until finally, they came to the terrible conclusion that it could only be motor neurone disease,” MacDonald explained via email, given her difficulty speaking.

“This is not a disease for the faint-hearted. MND, also called ALS, is cruel, stealing the power of all muscles inch by inch, until you can’t walk, can’t hold hands, can’t talk, swallow and breathe. Then you die. There is no treatment, no cure. You get MND, you die.

“This has driven my sense of urgency to do something that matters, to try to help others who have, or will, get MND. The only answers will come from research and trials, so I’ve decided to attempt a last grand adventure in the spirit of It’s a Knockout – a 15,000-kilometre drive around Australia – with a target of $100,000 to support the work of neurologist Professor Dominic Rowe – a leader in his field.”

Grant Kenny, Billy J. Smith and Fiona MacDonald on the It’s a Knockout set in 1985.

Rowe is working to fund a $2 million world-first trial at Macquarie University to test a novel compound, developed in Australia, called Copper-ATSM, to see if it can redress the imbalance of metals that occurs in the brain of patients with familial MND or sporadic MND.

MacDonald had already raised $25,000 toward her goal before she even got out of the driveway on Thursday to start the epic journey. Joining her in the adventure, which has been green-lit by her medical team, and which she anticipates will take around six weeks, is sister Kylie Thynne, who will be her main support for driving, along with various friends. Son Harry has volunteered to drive the Broome to Katherine leg, and her other boy, Rafe, is also planning to assist.

Three sisters: Jacki and Fiona MacDonald with Kylie Thynne.

“At first I dealt with my diagnosis with black humour … While I could laugh I did, as much as possible. The fear set in for me when I suddenly started to have moments when I couldn’t talk at all. My throat would just close and I could barely squeak,” MacDonald explained.

“The hardest thing I have found about this gradual decline is the loss of power … but what’s the point of dwelling on the bad things when you have limited time to find the beauty?

“The best thing about this challenge is that suddenly I have my power back. I feel good, a touch weak, but so very good. So many people have already donated, with such love and kindness, I feel happy and amazed.”

FASHION STAR’S SPECTACULAR COMEBACK

Triumphant return: Sydney’s Tamara Ralph takes Paris by storm at her fashion show this week, pictured with daughter Haliya.

Under the ornate, gilded ceilings of the Grand Salon at Paris’ Shangri-La Hotel this week, Sydney-born and raised haute couture designer Tamara Ralph, who has dressed everyone from Angelina Jolie and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex to Kylie Minogue and even Gina Rinehart, made one of the fashion world’s most spectacular comebacks.

Tamara Ralph and former lover and business partner Michael Russo.Credit: John Davis

Two years after the one-time Sutherland Shire resident’s label Ralph & Russo, which she co-founded with her former fiancé and business partner Michael Russo, collapsed into administration amid a series of ugly claims and counter-claims between the former lovers played out in the British High Court, Ralph has clearly moved on.

The ambitious “off-schedule” show, timed to coincide with the official Paris Haute Couture collections in which she had previously been invited to participate by the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, saw models parade through the richly decorated room wearing high-voltage glamour with garments detailed in feathers, pearls and sparkling, bejewelled floral garnishes.

One of Tamara Ralph’s latest creations in Paris this week.

Now based in Monte Carlo, Ralph described her new collection to Women’s Wear Daily as “more confident. There is a fearlessness within it. Each piece stands on its own and is like a work of art. It is a celebration of the incredible talent and craftsmanship [in the studio].”

Court documents revealed one of her biggest fans, Gina Rinehart, wanted to buy the former Ralph & Russo label, offering nearly $50 million. Rinehart wore a jaunty red and white floral Ralph & Russo number at the 2019 Melbourne Cup, and a more restrained evening gown to a White House state dinner in September 2019, where former US president Donald Trump hosted former prime minister Scott Morrison.

Gina Rinehart (left) reportedly tried to buy troubled fashion brand Ralph & Russo, which made Meghan, Duchess of Sussex’s engagement dress.Credit: Eddie Jim/AP

Ralph & Russo was eventually bought by global conglomerate Retail Ecommerce Ventures, which also owns the discount online retailer Dressbarn, which sells sun dresses for $60. That’s a far cry from Ralph’s latest six-figure garments, which have again won the hearts of Hollywood stars and royalty, with Queen Rania of Jordan sporting a lemon frock for the coronation of King Charles III and Halley Berry’s knockout white “peekaboo” gown at this year’s Oscars.

Now married to British-Indian billionaire businessman Bhanu Choudhrie, and a mother, Ralph certainly succeeded in showing the world she had well and truly left any scandalous headlines behind.

WHEELCHAIR FENCING DREAM

En garde! Wheelchair fencing was not originally on double foot amputee Stephenie Rodriguez’s “to do” list, but since taking up the sport a year ago, the former Sydney publishing identity and socialite has discovered she has a natural gift for the sport, and has set her sights on representing Australia at the Paris Paralympics next year.

Stephenie Rodriguez has her sights set on wheelchair fencing at the Paris Paralympics.Credit: Analisa Corr

Rodriguez, who shared her extraordinary story with Good Weekend about how a mosquito bite on a business trip to Africa resulted in her almost dying, only to then have both her feet amputated in order to walk again, is currently training with elite para fencers at the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation meeting in Warsaw.

“Fencing found me. I saw a note from the NDIS that they were seeking to create a para fencing team and I took it up. After a few sessions, it was suggested I should try out for the Paralympics, but really I see myself as someone who will pave the way for future competitors to come through,” Rodriguez told PS, who explained she competes without her osseointegrated prosthetic feet in a specially designed wheelchair.

“I have discovered a community around this sport which has been so welcoming and generous with me, that has been a very satisfying and gratifying part of the whole experience. I’ve also discovered muscles I never knew I had. ”

Stephenie Rodriguez was told she would never walk again unless she gave up her dead feet.Credit: Tim Bauer

Rodriguez, who is also seeking sponsorship, has her sights set on three upcoming international competitions between now and January to qualify for Paris.

“I really feel I am in with a good chance, so why not?”

FAMOUS FACES JOIN DANCE NOIR

There’s some fascinating familial pedigree among the new Sydney Dance Noir organising committee members pulling together this year’s big fundraiser for the Sydney Dance Company.

Among them is Paris Neilson, daughter of billionaires Judith and Kerr Neilson and a key player in Sydney’s arts scene. Last year she, along with her father and sister Beau, donated $5 million to enable Sydney’s Griffin Theatre to buy its Darlinghurst home, paving the way for a $10 million transformation. The gift represented the single largest donation in the history of the pioneering theatre company, formed by actress Penny Cook and others in 1979.

Another newbie is Sarah Myer, wife of Myer department store heir William Myer.

And rounding them out is a relatively recent addition to Sydney’s red carpets, the former “King Of Fiji Fashion”, Faraz “Fuzz” Ali, who turns out to be the son of high-profile Fiji business and political figure Dr Nur Bano Ali, who is also currently living in Sydney and is the aunt of Fiji’s former attorney-general Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.

Last month Sayed-Khaiyum, currently on bail, pleaded not guilty to a charge of abuse of office. He made international headlines after he was arrested and taken into custody back in May. Sayed-Khaiyum is also general secretary of the politically volatile Pacific island nation’s main opposition party Fiji First.

Faraz “Fuzz” Ali and his mother Dr Nur Bano Ali in Sydney.Credit: Belinda Roland

This year’s Dance Noir is due to take place on September 9, and the theme is FAMOUS, all in upper case letters. Clearly, it’s a concept some on the committee will be all too familiar with.

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