What I’ve Been Watching: Natalie Barr

Sunrise news presenter Natalie Barr is a fan of dark dramas and renovation.

1. What shows are on your must-see TV list lately
For someone who’s on TV every day, I don’t actually watch a lot because of my shift. I recently just binged on both seasons of The Handmaid’s Tale without knowing ANYTHING about it before I started. Oh. Ma. Gawd. Amazing.

2. What’s your preferred genre to watch and which shows are current highlights?
I find myself gravitating to graphic drug cartel, murder-filled TV shows. I seem to like TV on streaming services because I like them in bite-sized pieces – an hour at a time, rather than committing to a whole movie. Then strangely I get addicted and keep watching episode after episode. I loved Queen of the South and Ozark.

3. Which guilty pleasure show are you reluctant to admit to watching?
I love any renovation show on the Lifestyle Channel. All those British ones where they renovate the tiny terraces and dig out the basements or go up into the loft. Or Grand Designs where it’s the middle of winter and they’re living in a caravan on site and unexpectedly get pregnant and then the money runs out but miraculously everything works out and they end up with an amazing house by the final 10 minutes of the show! Love that.

4. What show you would secretly love to appear on?
None. Seriously. One’s enough. I like to stay in my patch.

5. Which hit shows have you proudly never watched in your life?
Most really. For nearly 16 years I’ve been in bed before 7:30pm and I rarely turn on the TV during the day, so if I do watch something, it’s a streaming service on a weekend. So all the pop culture shows like the Bachelor type stuff, I’ve only ever heard of those people from the newspaper (which I read every day, all day) and if I ever see them out I have to pretend I know who they are. Yep, I’m a complete dork.

6. What’s the key to Sunrise’s success and is it harder to keep a crown that to pursue it ?
I think many years ago we struck a combination that worked and now we continue to work on that. We have to be relaxed enough on air to be ourselves but we also have to keep up to date with everything that’s happening around us. It’s hard to stay on top but doctors, nurses, paramedics, firefighters, police officers.. they have difficult jobs, not us.

Sunrise from 5.30am weekdays on Seven.