The wide-ranging interview touched on everything from Szubanski's relationship with her body to how queer actors have trouble realising their full potential.

"When you've internalised society's homophobia, it's like it corrupts your operating system," she said. "For me, it was like a virus in my system, that shame I felt. Totally misplaced [but] it kind of meant I didn't feel like I was standing on solid ground. I was terrified of myself, I think."

The most difficult part of the interview came when Denton showed the comedian an Instagram video of her mum waving. It resulted in Szubanksi having to reach for the tissues.

"I think that's probably why I'm so tired," she said. "I had the armour on through the marriage equality vote. I really didn't get to process it. It took seven days for mum to die. It was brutal. It's actually fucking traumatic, watching someone die. You're not normal after.

"I wish she'd been here to see the vote. She often would say to me, when families were turning on their gay kids, 'I don't understand how people turn on their own like that.' She had a real sense of injustice. The depth of her compassion was extraordinary."