‘It’s a very powerful thing’: Denise Scott returns to acting after cancer treatment

Denise Scott is standing outside a (pretend) bank in Sydney’s inner west, filming an episode of ABC comedy Mother and Son with Matt Okine. Her character, Maggie, has been scammed and needs to withdraw money. It’s a small scene that represents something bigger for Scott: the beloved comedian’s return to work after undergoing nearly 18 months of treatment for an aggressive form of breast cancer.

“It’s really exciting to be back, and that’s coming from a really cynical, shall we say, tend-towards-the-negative person,” she says during a break between scenes. “I’m really grateful because it wasn’t a given that I’d experience feeling well again.

Denise Scott has returned to the set of Mother and Son, which is filmed in Sydney. Credit: Joel Pratley

“Because two weeks before we started shooting [the first series], I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to start the chemo straight away. And, of course, I lived in Melbourne and the shoot was in Sydney. So I was doing intensive chemo – well, it’s all intensive, but this was a pretty fiery batch – during the shoot, and it was tough.”

The 69-year-old was diagnosed with HER2-positive breast cancer and used a body double to get through some scenes – joking that the double was so effective that her partner, John, accidentally hugged them instead of her – while saving her energy for other scenes.

Okine, who plays Maggie’s son Arthur in the reboot of the classic comedy, says the fact that season one was finished at all was due to Scott’s determination.

“The fact we could even make a show at all was just incredible and a huge testament to Denise,” he says. “Because any time I think back to that period and what she was going through, and what she was pushing through to get things done, it’s just amazing.

Denise Scott, who plays Maggie in Mother and Son, with her onscreen children Arthur (Matt Okine) and Robbie (Angela Nica Sullen). Credit: ABC

“And this time round, you can just feel this excitement and energy from everyone, including Denise because she feels so much better. She’s there every single day, and when you ask her what she did on the weekend – she went out, she went to a show, she’s actually able to live outside of the show, whereas last year it was just work or go and do chemo. Every time I think about it, I couldn’t be more proud of what she created.”

Scott says she still isn’t sure how to talk about her experiences and treatment, which included chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. She lost 14 kilograms and became obsessed with colouring-in to pass the hours during treatment.

“I’m really aware now, having been there, of how many different sorts of breast cancer there are and how many different stories there are,” she says. “So I’m reluctant to say that I had terrible burns during radiation because you think, ‘Oh, some woman reading this is about to go in and have radiation’, and it’s quite rare to have the degree of burns I had, but they were [severe] and I’m still recovering.”

Scott says she was too physically sick to miss performing – she’s been a stand-up and TV favourite on everything from Spicks and Specks to Have You Been Paying Attention? for decades – and she can’t imagine, at this stage, returning to stand-up.

Denise Scott and Matt Okine at this year’s Logie Awards in August.Credit: Getty Images for TV WEEK Logie Awards

“It’s a very powerful thing that’s happened in that it feels like anything I’ve talked about on stage, before cancer, is now pretty irrelevant,” Scott says. “I’d like to talk about it because – but I’m not sure how – there is a lot of funny from it, but there’s also a lot of nothing, a lot of treacle time.

“And John, my partner, I never thought I’d need a carer. That blew my mind and upset me. And when the radiation, when the burns and stuff happened, I’d be in a wheelchair being wheeled from the waiting room to the radiation room – because I just couldn’t even walk – and I’m there thinking, ‘What the f---? I’m bald and slumped, what is this?’ But people kept saying, ‘No, you’ll feel better’.”

Scott’s first appearance after completing treatment was at this year’s Logie awards, where she was nominated for best lead actress in a comedy. The show was nominated for best scripted comedy. She received a standing ovation.

“That was my first night out in about literally a year,” she says.

Now that she is feeling better, Scott has revelled in filming series two, in which there are more active scenes for Maggie, including one where she was offered an intimacy coach.

“Humbled is the word because I do not take for granted that this cancer is not going to come back,” Scott says. “It has a high risk of return. I still take medication and I feel well now. And I have managed to live more in the moment. That’s another sort of cliche, but it means I’m really whacking on the weight again!”

Mother and Son is on ABC iview. Season two will premiere next year.

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