Melanie Tait

Melanie Tait (born ) is an Australian playwright, radio presenter, screenwriter, and journalist. a freelance journalist, she often writes for ABC Online, Guardian Australia, and news.com.au. She is the author of several plays, including The Appleton Ladies' Potato Race, which was made into a film of the same name, released in 2023.

Early life Melanie Tait was born in 1981

Career At around 20 or 21 years of age Tait wrote the play The Vegemite Tales, which played in London over seven years from 2001 to 2007, including two years on the West End. The play focused on a group of young adults living in a London flat.

In 2001 Tait founded the Itchy Feet Company in London, and in 2002 was appointed artistic director of the Old Red Lion Theatre at The Angel, Islington, where she stayed until 2004.

Returning to Australia in 2005, career in broadcasting at the, where she worked as a journalist for 12 years. During her time at the ABC, Tait curated a live storytelling series, Now Hear This, for five years, and later presented Evenings on ABC Radio Hobart.

In 2010, Tait published the autobiographical work Fat Chance: My Big Fat Gastric Band Adventure. At first the network was not keen on Tait writing the screenplay, but the producer Andrea Keir fought for her, and she was mentored by veteran screenwriter and novelist Kylie Needham.

Her third play, A Broadcast Coup, described as a "#MeToo comedy", premiered at Ensemble Theatre as part of Sydney Festival in January 2023.

She was the co-host and co-creator, with Kim Lester, of A Country Podcast, which was billed as "an affectionate look at one of Australia's all-time favourite TV shows – A Country Practice. It ran from September 2020 until 8 April 2022, and featured members of the cast and crew of the show.

Tait is a freelance writer, who frequently contributes to ABC Online, Guardian Australia, and news.com.au. She has also written for Guardian UK, The Daily Telegraph, Tasmanian literary magazine Island Magazine, and Mamamia.

Tait and Ginger Gorman became friends after many years of a professional rivalry at the ABC that verged on outright hostility, after Gorman had been made redundant in 2015 and reached out to Tait and asked for forgiveness for her previous behaviour.

Tait lives in Sydney, after moving there with her two dogs from Hobart some time previously.

Works Plays Tait's plays include: The Vegemite Tales (2001-2007) The Appleton Ladies' Potato Race (2019) A Broadcast Coup (2023) The Queen's Nanny (2024) How to Plot A Hit in Two Days (2025) The Royal Experiment (2025)

Books Fat Chance: My Big Fat Gastric Banding Adventure, 2010, New Holland Publishers Australia .