Miranda Tapsell thought a dodgy dinosaur was going to stop her from getting hired as a Play School presenter back in 2016.

“They asked me to draw something in the audition,” she tells TV WEEK. “They wanted me to draw a dinosaur, and it did not look like a dinosaur at all. And I thought, ‘Well, I really didn’t get that.’ And then they called me back, and I was just like, ‘Oh, wow, okay!’

“So I think Play School warmed me up to Portrait Artist, and being a parent as well.”

Miranda loves appearing on Play School. (Credit: Instagram)

The multi-talented Miranda, 38, is back to co-host a second season of Portrait Artist of the Year alongside Luke McGregor. She says the two of them got along “like a house on fire” in season one, and she’s found herself learning from the way Luke does things on set.

“I thought I was quite a consummate professional, but then I look at him, writing down everyone’s names on his Notes app, not just the artists but the crew, everyone working behind the scenes,” she explains. “He’s like, ‘I have no way of remembering, so this is how I do it.’ And I’m like, ‘Okay, I’ve got to do this now.’” The first episode of this season features food show host Matt Preston, documentary maker John Safran and singer Dannii Minogue as celebrity sitters. On the day of filming, Miranda got up close to Dannii, and came to a realisation.

“Oh my God, Dannii Minogue was taller than me and she’s not that tall!” Miranda laughs. “That was a tough pill to swallow. So I’ll continue being the shortest person in the world.

Dannii Minogue is on this season of Portrait Artist. (Credit: ABC)

“I’ve accepted that my children are going to be taller than me before they finish primary school. But hey, someone needs to get me my wineglasses!”

Miranda is mum to Grace, four, and Vincent, turning one, with comedy writer husband James Colley. Since becoming a parent, Miranda has found herself doing a lot more art.

“I got roped into making my daughter a pirate ship out of cardboard,” she says. “I painted the ocean, I painted the portholes and the wood. I made it look like an authentic pirate ship.”

After that, her daughter expected her to draw “everything”.

“And it’s really hard to say no because I’m trying to encourage her to give things a crack,” she adds. “So I say to her, ‘Okay, well, I’ll give it a go.’ And it’s great because now she’s painting and drawing on her own with confidence because her mum was willing to. And now she’s at pre-school, she’s getting commended on that.”

Family Ties: Miranda, husband James Colley and their children Grace (left) and Vincent. (Credit: Instagram)

Along with hosting Portrait Artist of the Year, Miranda has been busy recently narrating a series of Bluey audiobooks. It’s not her first Bluey experience – she’s also voiced Dougie’s mum in the hit kids’ show.

“Best job in the world!” she says of narrating the audiobooks. “I just get to focus on doing funny voices and reading funny stories to kids. I’m almost tempted to turn up in my PJs!”

As always, Miranda has a lot of things on the boil. But she feels that’s the way it has to be.

Miranda with co-host Luke McGregor and celebrity ‘sitter’ Matt Preston. (Credit: ABC)

“I still audition for things,” she says, “and like most actors, you don’t always get the part.”

It’s important to her that she creates her own projects – like Top End Bub, the series she co-created and stars in, which premiered on Prime Video last year.

“I’m so proud that it was a show that ended up on mainstream television and it was about a black family in the Northern Territory. I’m stopped so regularly in the streets, being told how much they love Top End Bub, how much it means to them, how much they see their own families in it, because of all the dynamics that you have to juggle.. That’s what I do this for, and I’m not going to stop.”