Polly, PJ, Harding is back in the radio studio after three years off air. Polly wears a Maggie Marilyn top, an Anna Quan skirt from Superette. Jasmin Sparrow earrings and Kathryn Wilson shoes. Photo / Michael Craig
Polly, PJ, Harding is back in the radio studio after three years off air. Polly wears a Maggie Marilyn top, an Anna Quan skirt from Superette. Jasmin Sparrow earrings and Kathryn Wilson shoes. Photo / Michael Craig
Three years after quitting her morning radio show in Melbourne, Polly “P.J.” Harding is refreshed, confident and excited to be back on the airwaves. She sits down with Reset to discuss how being a mother of one has changed her on-air approach, how your co-host can make or break a show and the emotional tribute included in her wedding plans.
At the time, the world was in the thick of the pandemic, her fiance lived in another country and she was grieving the devastating loss of her father in 2019. So, that fateful Wednesday morning when the “On Air” button shone red, she put on her headphones, turned on her mic and told the listeners of Melbourne’s KIIS FM Jase and PJ Breakfast Show she was finishing up in June to move back to New Zealand.
“It’s been a very hard decision to make, probably one of the hardest to make in my life, but at the same time I know it couldn’t be the more right decision for where I’m at,” Harding said through tears with her then co-host Jason “Jase” Hawkins supporting her wholeheartedly.
Polly, PJ, Harding hosts The Hits Drive with Matty McLean. Polly wears a Marle jacket and trousers, Jasmin Sparrow earrings and Mi Piaci shoes. Photo / Michael Craig
It’s been three years since the broadcaster’s heartbreaking confession and her life has a very different look now. She’s living in Wairarapa, a mum to 18-month-old son Charlie and weeks out from her wedding to Beej Campbell, but there is one similarity: she is back in the radio studio.
As of January 22, she’s co-hosting The Hits Drive with Matty McLean, and sits down with Reset to share how it feels being back on air, confessing it was something she feared at first, but has now relaxed into it and found her groove again.
“It’s quite interesting coming back,” Harding says, mere hours before she is due to host the last show of her first week, “Obviously coming from Jase and P.J., which was quite a successful show, I’ve changed quite a bit over the last couple of years and it’s like, ‘Oh my God, are people still going to receive me the same now that maybe I am slightly more wholesome?’ I have this other side to me, so there are definitely fears of like, ‘oh my gosh, am I young enough to do this anymore?’”
The question is one that sounds completely reasonable in your head, but as soon as it’s spoken out loud, something clicks. It’s all too human and Harding immediately laughs answering herself, “I’m in my early 30s, and I’m pretty sure stats state that you start peaking in your 50s, right? So, I’m a baby.”
It leads perfectly into Harding’s next confession, that having a baby of her own changed the way she approaches her role as a radio host. “You see the world through such a different lens when you become a mum,” she thoughtfully admits before chuckling. “I look back to all the things I said on the radio prior to being a mum that must have sounded so ignorant and naive.”
Polly, PJ, Harding is in an exciting chapter of life - returning to radio after three years off air and getting married. Polly wears a Marle jacket and trousers, Jasmin Sparrow earrings and Mi Piaci shoes. Photo / Michael Craig
Now that she knows the other side, she has more empathy for her listeners. “I think it does make you feel for people a bit more,” she says, launching into a story. “Matty - because I’ve been away from Charlie this week - he was scrolling videos and he was like, ‘oh my god, look at this baby’ on TikTok and I couldn’t deal, I just started tearing up, the baby was stretching and I was like, ‘I miss Charlie!’ So I’m probably more emotional, more empathetic, your whole worldview changes and I think [I’m] probably more confident as well.”
With her self-assurance back in full force, Harding looks forward to reconnecting with her audience and bringing a new show to life with long-time friend, McLean. As a radio alumnus, she knows what formula makes a good show and explains that while relatability is key, a main element is being able to trust your co-host, admitting there is “no point” doing a show if you don’t.
“If you’re like, ‘What’s going to happen here, are they going to completely throw me under the bus?’ Which is fine, you can throw each other under the bus as long as it’s within your safe kind of boundaries, you know what I mean? We’re both pretty open, we’re both quite like”, she pauses, considers what she’s trying to say, and adds, “I think we show a lot of vulnerability but there will be those things that are out of bounds.”
With 10 years of friendship under their belts, Harding and McLean have a fair idea of what is and isn’t off limits, but admit the conversation about boundaries will “organically” evolve the longer they work together.
There does seem to be one thing that isn’t out of bounds though and that’s Harding’s upcoming wedding.
Scheduled for mid-March, she is relaxed about the big day - perhaps more than she should be. “I’ve got the dress, kind of got the bridesmaid’s dresses, most of the details are kind of planned and I’m just hoping the rest falls into place,” the notoriously laid-back host laughs. “I’ve got a wedding planner, so that’s good.”
As for any traditions, her soon-to-be husband has Irish and Scottish heritage and has ideas for special moments for their big day. Harding has yet to learn the exact ins and outs of one specific one but explains the general gist. “I think there’s this thing where you have the tartan on your hands when you’re actually doing the vows,” she says. “It’s quite intimidating. It’s sort of like you’re tied together forever.”
Polly, PJ, Harding is an exciting season of life - returning to radio and getting married. Polly wears a Maggie Marilyn top, an Anna Quan skirt from Superette. Jasmin Sparrow earrings and Kathryn Wilson shoes. Photo / Michael Craig
Harding’s tone quickly becomes more sentimental as she discusses other moments she wants to include, particularly concerning her late father. “We’ll definitely make a lot of mentions [of him],” she says emotionally. “Closer to the time, we might work out how that will look, but there’ll definitely be lots of mentions throughout the evening to honour [him].”
Her father’s absence means one moment will be particularly full of feelings: walking down the aisle.
“My brother is going to walk me down the aisle, my oldest brother,” she says, her smile returning. “He’s coming back from London to do that so that’ll be really special.”
Her brother has spent more than a decade overseas, so the return is welcomed by the family, as is her wedding, because while it isn’t the first one the Hardings have seen - the radio host’s brothers both married a few years earlier - it’s the family’s first traditional wedding.
She explains that her mum and dad were married at a registry office. Her mum wore a friend’s dress and the photos were “loose”. Her brothers meanwhile, had low-key weddings - one even in a garden. But Harding has other plans and confesses she’s justified in having a big - but not too big - wedding. “I’m a Leo star sign, so I think I can go all out,” she chuckles.
As well as being the star of the show, another Leo trait means having everything figured out and if not, you sit back and let it all happen as it should - something Harding embodies well. So with her wedding, her radio return and a glowing new look as a mother of one, is it safe to say 2024 is Harding’s year?
“I have a joke with a friend and I think we went into 2020 going, ‘Hey, this is our year’ and you know what happened in 2020,” she laughs. “So I’m never going to jump ahead of the gun. I’m never going to get ahead of myself I think it’s an exciting season let’s just go with that.”
Listen to The Hits Drive with Matty and PJ every Mon-Fri from 3pm-7pm.
Photo / Michael Craig. Stylist / Annabel Dickson. Hair and makeup / Claudia Rodrigues.
Lillie Rohan is an Auckland-based reporter covering lifestyle and entertainment stories who joined the Herald in 2020. She specialises in all things relationships and dating, Kiwi celebs we can’t help but love and TV shows you simply cannot miss out on.
