JULIA ZEMIRO'S HOME DELIVERY: Premieres Sunday, June 19, 7.40pm, ABC TV and ABC iview
Travelling around Australia and the globe to discover the hometown roots of celebrities may seem like the ideal job.
Host Julia Zemiro certainly agrees as she prepares for the ninth and final season of ABC TV's Julia Zemiro's Home Delivery to go to air.
"I'm just so lucky to have experienced so many places with people who lived their early lives there," she says.
"It's like chatting with a girlfriend. I've loved it.
"I feel very lucky to have spent time with Shane [Gould] in Western Australia with the surf crashing onto the shore in the background."
It's hard for Zemiro to pick favourites after a decade of discovery with 77 people from different walks of life.
"Kasey Chambers took us back to the Nullabor Plain, where her dad shoots foxes out there alone. She is not a fake, they lived that life. The songs she sings are true from her life.
"They (her family) were living in a three-walled house. She took us to her school, which they had to take her out of to become the breadwinner of the family.
"We made a fire and sang a song, it was amazing."
Zemiro says they would put out a call to people they wanted for the show, but sometimes they just didn't want to do it.
"I've made some wonderful friendships. Some people I knew already Judith Lucy is a great mate; Billy Bragg, who I adore and I knew a lot of the stand-up comedians.
International trips have included the United Kingdom and Asia.
"I loved going to Singapore with Ronny Chieng and Lee Lin Chin."
Journalist Louis Theroux took Zemiro to the site of his formative years in South London, Westminster and Brixton.
"You see a different side of them. I mean to have the opportunity to talk with Cathy Freeman, Raelene Boyle, Germaine Greer, these women are incredible.
"When we took Cathy back to her house it was full of medals - not Cathy's, but those of a little girl who had been inspired by Cathy."
Zemiro says researchers do the initial interview with guests to find out their schools, teachers, what car they loved and so on.
"They write me a brief, then I go online, listen to podcasts, and other interviews, to see if they tell the story in the same way. If they do, I try to delve a bit deeper for facts they don't usually reveal.
"When you take someone back to their home and school, it's a real and emotional experience they react viscerally to."
It hasn't always been possible to find the exact car models Zemiro says, but they came as close as possible.
"When we get in, the feeling of the car inside, the smell - it takes them back."
The final four episodes are 45-minute specials featuring Ray Martin, Marcia Hines and celebrated choreographer and director Stephen Page.
"When COVID hit they had to cancel the final two episodes of season 8. We went back to the ABC and asked 'was that it?', and they decided to give us four 45-minute episodes as a lap of victory."
The twist in the tale is that Zemiro is final guest.
"It felt weird, and vulnerable, knowing that's what you've asked of people. It was good to have that experience, and I'm really grateful.
Two of those who interview her are previous guests Judith Lucy and Costa Georgiadis.
"Costa and I both grew up in the same suburb around the same time."
Comedian Mark Humphries and actress Justine Clarke also take the final journey.
"I went to a French primary school and Mark speaks French, so it was fun having him interview me and Justine and I have known each other for years."
Zemiro admits she never envisaged being able to see so much of the world and get paid to do it. Her involvement with the Eurovision Song Contest took her to exotic places like Azerbaijan, but she has loved seeing so much more of Australia via Home Delivery.
"When you go to a place with the person who knows about it, it's like having a personal guide. It's been a privilege."