Lucy Lawless, grabbing a quick bite midway through another 12-hour-plus Xena: Warrior Princess shoot, confesses she hasn't had much sleep.  "This morning I woke up at 2.12am and could not get back to sleep," she says.  "I tried to read for an hour, then I got up and got on the treadmill, then I did a bit of washing."  Any ordinary mortal would sport the requisite baggage under the eyes after a night like that.  But not Lucy. 

She's much more striking and less conventional looking, than her TV persona.  And she's just as nice.  Just ask the crew on her popular show, which is seen in 82 countries.  Fame, Lucy says, is all in other people's minds.  "Famous? Not in my household! At home, there's only me, my daughter and my husband, and I'm not famous here," the 30-year-old says. 

The downside to that ready recognition is obsessive fans.  Lucy was shocked when a gossip columnist all but told the address of the Auckland home she shares with her husband, Xena producer, Rob Tapert, and daughter Daisy.  "Anyone who's in a successful show gets spooky fans and there are dangerous ones, so when a newspaper points out where to find you, you and your family are in some danger," she says.  Lucy and Rob, who were married in March, prefer to keep a low profile, with their careers dictating the amount of time they spend together. 

"Unfortunatley we live in different countries," she says of the 2.5 months they spend apart, so it's Daisy who is Lucy's anchor.  And is Daisy inspired to re-create mum's famous "AAAIII-EEE" call?  "Not really," Lucy says, laughing.  "But she does have a Gabrielle (Xena's sidekick) costume that a friend's mother made for her." 

Lawless' three best girl-friends from kindergarten are touchstones too.  "They have pulled me back in the past, because they knew how to say, 'Hey, we deserve to be treated better'," she says. 

Lucy sees her Xena days as numbered.  She wants to make films, but doesn't want to be "The Star".  And she also wants to have "three or four more" children.  "I'd like to set up my career post-Xena, but I'm not an at-any-cost girl."

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I design Xena's costumes:

In the world of costume designing, Ngila Dickson is in heaven.  The designer on Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules, Ngila creates some of the most fabulous gear on the planet and she's the envy of costume designers worldwide.

"I'd say that in costume-designer terms this is one of the best jobs going," she says.  "Mainly because the producers pretty much give me free rein.  There's a lot of trust there, which is fantastic."

Of course there's a downside - if there are mistakes there's no one else to blame.  "I'm a person who is never satisfied, so sometimes it's hard to watch, but there are certain shows I just love, shows I look at and think, 'Wow, I really got that right'." 

Ngila is particularly proud of several outfits she designed for Xena, but the gown she wore when she entered a beauty quest (below) is one of her favourites.  Other special outfits were worn in episodes set in China and Siberia and will screen later this year.

The Facts:

• There are 46 people working in the wardrobe department.
  
• They split into groups such as those who dress extras, those who handle pops, etc.
• All the costumes are originally sketched and slowly put together from there.
• Once the outfits are used they are stored in a huge building to be recycled.
• According to Ngila, both Kevin Sorbo (Hercules) and Lucy are nice people.

Lisa McCune (Blue Heelers star):
We're getting a bit tired of seeing Maggie in blue - break free with some leather, girl!  Surely the sword is mightier that the law when it comes to settling the score with bad guys. 

Sigid Thornton (SeaChange star):
She seems to be able to control he rage as Leura in SeaChange, but we'd just love to see her run amok through Peal Bay with sword aloft and pull those whinging townsfolk into line. 

Kathy Kinney (Star of The Drew Carey Show):
The only thing missing from Lucy's Xena is a damn good make-up job.  Mimi on horseback.  Hmm, hope they can find a horse strong enough. 

Pauline Hanson (Politician):
She flexed her muscles during the Queensland State election and proved she was a warrior among worriers, but does she suffer from "Xena-phobia"?  Please explain!

Thanks to Network TEN, TV WEEK has five framed Xena: Warrior Princess posters to give away.  For your chance to win, simply call the 1900 number below, or write your name and address on the back of an envelope and send it to: TV WEEK Xena Competition, PO Box 4608SS, Melbourne VIC 8050.  Entries close Friday, July 17 [1998].