Speaking from Austereo's Sydney skyscraper, Fifi has snatched a precious half hour from a crazy schedule that currently sees her flying to Melbourne twice a week to appear on her good mate Glenn Robbins' new show 'Out of the Question'.

"Just recently I've committed to exercise because it makes me feel so much better. I really believe in the psychological benefits of exercise as well as the physical effects, particularly when you've got to be bright and perky first thing in the morning. If I'm feeling sluggish physically, it's a lot harder. I love Body Pump classes. It's a form of exercise I genuinely enjoy - mind you I've only got 1.5kg on each end - I'm not even cracking 2kg yet," she laughs.

"But it can be too easy to lose the motivation. If I bring my gym bag to work, I'll head to the gym after the show, but if I have to go home to get it, I'll just go straight to bed."

Unfortunately, Fifi finds her anti-social hours a hindrance to a healthy diet, and when she took in2life's Health Risk Assessment (HRA), the results concurred.

"My ideal day would be a bowl of cereal or some wholemeal toast while I'm at work, at around 6 or 7am. But I'm usually not organised enough to do that. If someone has a packet of Fantales, I'll end up eating those for breakfast, or someone will get a toasted cheese sandwich and I'll have one of those."

Though the HRA let Fifi know her eating habits weren't "ideal", she didn't do too badly with her overall score, which suggested she's "in better shape than most". Now Fifi wants to know what she has to do to get a four - the "best case" score.

Fifi's frantic pace is the result of years of hard work, a few setbacks and many stepping-stones. Her willingness to have her bloopers both on and off the air laid bare for the world has played a part in her success.

Pre-Tony (Wood, ex-Hawthorn AFL player), her disastrous fling with a shifty landscape gardener, who borrowed $1000 from her and then went to ground, had Sydney women enthralled. It garnered her a loyal following of female fans identifying with her as a single girl cast adrift on the heartless dating scene. As the mini drive-time soap opera played out across the airwaves, a distressed Fifi threatened to name and shame the absconder on air if he didn't return her calls. He called, but didn't pay her back.

The experience taught her exactly what she didn't want from a relationship and with a little help from her female fans, she was able to move on to a more positive one.

"Before Tony, I was single for so long and all my experiences with men were bad. But hearing from all those women was actually a great form of therapy for me because it's hard, as a woman, when you get to the age when all your friends are settling down. So when I would talk about these things on air and other women would ring and email me, it made me feel so much better. Even though you don't know that person, you have a connection."

In spite of a sometimes topsy-turvy love life, there is an elite clique of men Fifi loves, and it includes some of the country's most hilarious chaps. As a semi-regular on 'Out of the Question' and 'Thank God You're Here', Fifi counts Glenn Robbins and Tom Gleisner among her closest friends, but is hard-pressed to name who makes her laugh the most.

"That's a really hard question. I work with Marty and genuinely laugh with him throughout the show, but then on TV with Glenn, he to me is just everything. I've loved him since I was 10 and he was on the Comedy Company. He is the most beautiful man. Tony Martin and Mick Molloy are great too. I cut my teeth in the industry listening to them."

 

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