“You do hour after hour of interviews and then you transcribe them and then there comes a time where you write a paragraph and you think – that’s their voice,” he says. Learning to write in someone else’s voice would prove invaluable. He went on to “ghost” 15 autobiographies for figures as diverse as former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, actor Ricky Tomlinson, singer Lulu and disgraced entertainer Rolf Harris. He headed to Fleet Street in the mid ’80s and a job as a feature writer at the Mail on Sunday, only leaving eight years later when he was offered an initial contract as a ghostwriter.
“One time, my driver and photographer took me to a strip joint, and to this day it was the most eye-opening thing I have ever seen.”Īfter rising through the ranks in Sydney, Robotham had a hankering to try the big leagues. It became a game among the other journalists to see how much they could shock the wide-eyed boy from the Bush. Along with more than 10,000 other hopefuls, he applied for one of 16 cadetships at Fairfax Newspapers, former publishers of The Sydney Morning Herald. Tight finances meant he would first have to work for a couple of years, though. Over an entree of hummus and pita bread, Robotham tells me that he was all set to take a place studying law at Sydney when he left school just because that was what was expected of bright kids. We choose whole roasted “Arnabeet” cauliflower with pomegranate, tarator, mint and roasted almonds, honeycomb-sauteed carrots and 12-hour slow-cooked lamb shoulder, which arrives with a sprig of burning rosemary. It’s a particular favourite of the pre-theatre crowd who are going to the Sydney Theatre Company across the road – a crowd that sometimes includes Robotham and his wife, Vivien. Michael Robotham as a young journalist in 1982: “I was such a hayseed!” Credit: Fairfax Mediaįor lunch he has chosen Jounieh, a bright and relaxed spot that specialises in Lebanese cuisine and makes the most of its indoor/outdoor space, overlooking the water at Walsh Bay.
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