Marieke Hardy

Radio

Hardy co-hosted Melbourne's 3RRR radio show Best of the Brat on Tuesday nights from April 1996 to December 2007, under the pseudonym Holly C. The show was known as "the most immature show on Australian radio".^[6] Almost immediately following her departure from RRR, in January 2008 she began co-hosting the breakfast show on Triple J, the ABC's youth radio station, with Robbie Buck and Lindsay "The Doctor" McDougall.^[7] In December 2009, Hardy announced she was leaving Triple J to concentrate on her writing career.^[8] On 23 September 2024, it was announced that Hardy had joined former breakfast radio host Jo Stanley alongside several others for the launch of the Broad Radio radio platform, as Broad Radio had been in podcast form since 2020, Hardy had been a co-host previously.^[9]

Television

Working in the entertainment industry from a young age as an actress, Hardy appeared in such television programs as The Henderson Kids II, All Together Now, Neighbours, A Country Practice and various television commercials before pursuing a career as a scriptwriter.

In 2005, Hardy co-wrote and produced a 22-episode drama series for the Seven Network called Last Man Standing, starring Rodger Corser, Travis McMahon and Matt Passmore. The series struggled to gain ratings for its prime-time slot^[10][11] and was cancelled after one series.

Hardy was a regular panellist (or book club member) on the ABC1 literary review show, First Tuesday Book Club.^[12]

From 2008, Hardy wrote 11 episodes of Packed to the Rafters, starting with the third episode of the first season. She wrote episodes for every season up to the fourth.

After leaving Triple J in 2010, Hardy returned to television writing, working on the Comedy Channel advertising industry sitcom 30 Seconds.

In 2011, with Kirsty Fisher, she co-created and co-wrote six-part TV series Laid for the ABC.^[13]

In 2021, it was announced that Hardy was part of the writing team for the new version of Heartbreak High. She also served as a writer on ABC series Barons.^[14][15]

In 2024, it was announced that Hardy was part of the writing team for Stan series Sunny Nights.^[16]

Newspaper columnist and blog

Hardy penned a blog called Reasons You Will Hate Me under the pseudonym "Ms Fits"^[17] which won a Bloggie award for Best Australia/New Zealand blog in 2008.^[18]

She wrote commentary columns for The Age newspaper's "Green Guide" TV section ("Back Chat") and "Life & Style" ("formally A2") section, as well as contributing to Frankie magazine. She resigned from the "Green Guide" in November 2009 due to other writing commitments.^[19]

Books

Hardy signed a two-book deal with publishers Allen & Unwin, and the first of those books, You'll Be Sorry When I'm Dead, was published in 2011. She began working on the second, a novel, in 2012.^[20]

Other work

Hardy started a left-wing political apparel brand with designer Sara-Jane Chase called Polichicks in 2003.^[21]

As of October 2008, Hardy became a committed vegan^{[22][23][24][25]} after completing a one-week challenge set by her Triple J co-presenter Lindsay McDougall.

Since 2010, Hardy and writer Michaela McGuire have co-hosted the popular international literary public event "Women of Letters", in which five or six women read letters they have written on a set theme.^[26]

In October 2010, an article on the Liberal Party politician Christopher Pyne written by Hardy on the ABC The Drum blog site was withdrawn on the grounds that it "failed to meet the standards for argument and well-thought opinion". A public apology was issued to Pyne by The Drum editor "for both the attack and for its deeply personal nature".^[27]

In August 2017, it was announced that Hardy would join the annual Melbourne Writers Festival as the event's Artistic Director. She resigned from her three-year contract, with effect December 2019.^[28]

Film appearances

Television appearances

Production credits

Children's fiction

• Short Cuts, Angus & Robertson, 2002

Humour

• You'll be Sorry When I'm Dead, Allen & Unwin, 2011

Play

• No Pay? No Way!, Sydney Theatre Company, 2020