Like many Aussie kids, Miah Madden used to look forward to watching Play School every day. Her favourite segments were the craft ones. “My mum used to pre-record the episodes and go and get the bottle caps, the egg cartons and other things, and would set them all up for me. I would be doing the craft in time with the presenters. It was so much effort, and really nice of her to do that – it’s such a standout memory for me.”

It’s not surprising then that, at 20, Miah, a Gadigal and Bundjalung woman, has become the youngest presenter in the show’s 56-year history: “I’ve literally been in training for this job my whole life!” For her audition tape, she turned her living room into the Play School set. “I had all my childhood toys in a row on a chair, the colouring pencils out, things stuck on the wall, trying to sell the vibe.” She didn’t have quite enough toys, though, so stuck in a few of her dog’s ones to fill the gaps. “I didn’t know what they’d think when they saw the tape – they could have thought I was a nut.”

Even though she’s still so young, Miah has almost a decade of professional acting work behind her – her first job, in the film The Sapphires, happened when she was 10. “That came through one of my mum’s friends, who had an agency and thought I should audition for it,” she says. “I had the best time, and it all kind of went from there.”

Miah, who was “super-athletic in school” and loves the beach, has been in heaps of films and TV shows, including Redfern Now and Australia Day, does voiceover work and was a presenter for Nickelodeon. “It’s been the most amazing experience, being able to grow up and have a passion and a hobby at the same time,” says Miah. “I don’t think I knew I was getting paid until I was about 16!”

One of six kids in a really close family, she’s also had “quite a career” in babysitting, which she reckons comes in handy for Play School. “I’m kind of used to working with children and elevating my emotions and voice to engage with them.” Although all her “childhood dreams were fulfilled” when she walked onto the set of the show – “It’s exactly how I imagined it would be” – one of the biggest surprises was that presenters are expected to learn their lines. “I’ve only ever done film and television, never theatre – Play School is the middle ground between the two,” she says. “I thought there might have been a teleprompter, but no, it’s ‘We’re going for 12 pages and we’re doing it now!’ Learning so much at once was a little bit tricky, but all the co-presenters were so supportive so there was no stress.”

What has been tricky, though, is fitting in her other major commitment: studying law, which she’s been doing for the past two years. “I’ve grown up juggling a million jobs at once, but with Play School and another series coming out later this year, I’ve deferred this semester. I needed a bit of a break for myself and my sanity.”

Miah’s long-term goal is to be an Indigenous criminal defence lawyer. “There needs to be more Indigenous people representing Indigenous people,” she says. “A lot of people in my family are passionate about the same thing and have raised me to be aware of what’s going on in the world. I’ve had a lot of family and distant family not in great circumstances because of the colour of their skin, not because of their actions. Justice has been on my mind for a long time.”

Meanwhile, she says, “hopefully I can do Play School forever.” Or even combine it with being a criminal-defence lawyer. “I’ll just have to remember not to rock up to the courtroom with Little Ted.”

This chat comes straight from the pages of issue 110. To get your mitts on a copy, swing past the frankie shop, subscribe or visit one of our lovely stockists.