‘I don’t let my kids watch my show!’
Janet King’s Marta Dusseldorp
From taking on a paedophile ring to fighting gun crime, Marta Dusseldorp’s character, Crown Prosecutor Janet King, has tackled some huge cases. Now, the Australian actress is back for a third season of the hit drama series Janet King, which will see her face the topical issue of corruption in elite sport – and it looks set to be as engrossing and explosive as ever. Reflecting on the show’s previous season, in which Janet’s young twins were abducted, Marta, 44, says it was tough to film, especially as she’s a mum herself. “It was difficult and there was a lot of emotion involved,” she tells Woman’s Day. “But I loved how there was this build towards the climax right at the very end. I’d never done anything like that before.” With this year’s storyline set two years in the future, Janet’s kids Emma and Liam are played by slightly older child actors – six-year-olds Matilda Graham and Jude Hyland – and Marta got to bond with them on set. “Because they’re older, they didn’t need their mums with them and they were happy to hang out with me. They both wrote me beautiful cards when we wrapped and Matilda said, ‘When will I see you again?’ It was very sweet. I just told her we’ll cross paths again some day.” Marta shares daughters Grace, 10, and Maggie, seven, with fellow actor Ben Winspear and says they’re going to have to wait a few more years until they’re allowed to watch their mum in action on screen – that’s if they want to, of course! “Maybe one day when they’re older, but I’m not going to force them. Imagine – ‘It’s Mother’s Day and we’re going to watch all of my series!’” she says with a laugh. “They’ll probably just think it’s really weird.”