Dating & Relationship status

During the 13 March 2018 edition of Sunrise, MacSween appeared on the program’s Hot Topics segment – a panel discussion with the show’s presenter Samantha Armytage, and Brisbane radio presenter Ben Davis. The trio discussed a newspaper article which had appeared in The Courier-Mail quoting Federal Children’s Minister David Gillespie as saying he wanted to relax rules which required at-risk Indigenous children to be placed with other Aboriginal families.

In 2017, during an appearance on 2GB’s Deplorables program hosted by Chris Smith, MacSween said she would be tempted to run over television presenter Yassmin Abdel-Magied. This prompted Macquarie Media to issue a statement saying the station didn’t condone MacSween’s comments, while MacSween defended her comments as being satirical and said she believed it was ‘tragic’ that many Australians had lost their sense of humour, and lamented about no longer being able to ‘take the mickey out of people’.

During an appearance on Channel 7’s Sunrise in 2013, MacSween described Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as a “psychopath”, prompting complaints from viewers.

MacSween competed against fellow celebrities Josh Thomas, Chloe Maxwell and Kris Smith on the first episode of Celebrity Come Dine With Me Australia on Lifestyle in December 2012. In 2013, MacSween competed with thirteen other celebrities on the third series of The Celebrity Apprentice Australia on the Nine Network. MacSween was the sixth-last person to be “fired” after having raised $50,000 for the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute.

MacSween caused offence during an appearance on Channel 7’s Weekend Sunrise in 2010 for using the word “retard”. A fortnight later, MacSween and the program apologised for their use of the word.

When Zemanek left his 2UE radio program in December 2006, MacSween was appointed as the show’s replacement, but later decided to leave the program and was later replaced by Stuart Bocking. MacSween continued to work for 2UE in an occasional capacity and in 2012 was reportedly in negotiations with the station to become the co-host of 2UE’s morning program with Tracey Spicer. Both MacSween and Spicer reportedly rejected the pay deal offered by 2UE to do the show.

In 2003, MacSween wrote a life story for fellow Beauty and the Beast panellist, Carlotta entitled I’m Not That Kind of Girl. MacSween’s book was used for reference by the producers of the ABC’s 2014 telemovie about Carlotta’s life.

MacSween is arguably best known for being one of the “beauties” on a Foxtel revival of daytime panel discussion program Beauty and the Beast, which aired from 1996 until 2002, hosted by Stan Zemanek and then Doug Mulray.

In 1982, MacSween was a briefly judge on Network Ten’s short-lived talent show You’re a Star, hosted by Tim Webster before being ‘unceremoniously dumped’. In 1986, MacSween founded her own public relations business, Prue MacSween & Associates (PMA).

Her first foray into television was after she successfully applied for a job at TNQ-7 in the North Queensland city of Townsville initially working as a reporter before also hosting a children’s program. Also while at TNQ-7, MacSween created a weekly talk show which she also presented. While working in Townsville, MacSween was offered a job with the Nine Network in their Sydney newsroom, before she became a reporter in 1976 on the network’s daytime current affairs program No Man’s Land in Melbourne.

MacSween’s extensive career in the Australian media began with a journalism cadetship at Eastern Suburbs Newspapers, during which time she also studied at the Sydney Technical College where she completed an Advertising Certificate in 1972.

Her parents were Watson MacSween and Laurette (née Isaacs). Her father died in 1970 when she was 18. During childhood, MacSween underwent hip operations and needed to use a wheelchair. MacSween was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2014 and subsequently underwent a lumpectomy and chemotherapy treatment.

Prudence Gai MacSween (born 1952) is an Australian television and radio personality, journalist, social commentator and public relations director. She is the public relations director of Verve Communications, and as a media commentator, MacSween has made a number of controversial comments.