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Aftertaste’s Natalie Abbott’s sweet return alongside a surprisingly prickly Erik Thomson

Pierra WillixThe West Australian
Natalie Abbott.
Camera IconNatalie Abbott. Credit: Supplied by ABC

You would think that playing a talented baker would result in plenty of sweet treats being shared around on set, but Natalie Abbott hasn’t quite been able to enjoy the fruits of her labour.

For two seasons now, the actor has starred as aspiring pastry chef Diana West in the comedy series Aftertaste.

Although she did go on a “baking frenzy” when originally cast, the treats on the series are prepared by experts. Surely it’s only fair she gets to sample what’s on offer?

“So many people think it, but Diana never gets to eat her own desserts. Instead she’s always watching other people eat her food and wondering what they feel about what she has created,” Abbott says.

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“One of the worst times ever was watching everyone chow down on a cake I wanted to try, but in the first season there was leftovers at times, so I did get to try those.”

Easton (Erik Thomson) and Diana (Natalie Abbott).
Camera IconEaston (Erik Thomson) and Diana (Natalie Abbott). Credit: Supplied by ABC

For those yet to have tuned in, Aftertaste centres on celebrity chef Easton West (Erik Thomson), who has a very public fall from grace and returns home to South Australia, where he reconnects with his family, including his niece Diana.

While she grew up idolising her successful uncle, getting to know him revealed he was actually a bit of an ass and her dreams of working with him might not actually be that inspiring.

So, after a memorable exit last season, in which she left her family a cake flipping the bird that also read ‘Adios c..k wombles’ before jetting off to London, Diana is now back in town for her mum’s wedding.

“She had a lot to prove to her family and herself, to the point where she is getting ready to open up her own restaurant,” Abbott explains.

“She has been busy trying to prove to her family she has done something with her life, and when she comes back it is temporary — she feels will be gone in a few days.”

But after an explosive argument with Easton, the two are forced into community service together, and soon after a family secret comes to light that forces her to stay a little longer that intended.

While she was raised to think her grandmother June had died years earlier, it came out last season she had actually abandoned the family. This season she turns up out of the blue.

“It’s a shock to everyone,” Abbott says.

“Diana is a bit heartbroken that her family didn’t tell her everything, but she is one of those people who dreams of having a close family so she gets excited at the thought of having another family member, but I’m not sure if she idolises June as much as she used to now she is alive.”

Sticking around also allows her to understand her family a bit more, which leads to her discovering how being abandoned affected her mum and uncle.

“It’s really interesting because I feel this season Diana has a lot of opportunities to observe her family,” she says.

“There is definitely an inter-generational trauma that has spawned from grandparents, with her grandma leaving her mum and uncle when little and grandfather not being the best dad.

“I think she now starts to relate to them in a way she hasn’t been able to before.”

Diana (Natalie Abbott).
Camera IconDiana (Natalie Abbott). Credit: Supplied by ABC

After telling her last season she wouldn’t be “handed anything” if she wasn’t “young, fat and female”, Easton’s scathing one liners have slowed down this season as he attempts to be a better person.

“Easton has actually been working on himself, which we love to see,” Abbott laughs.

“He reads self-help books and listens to meditations and is on the path to bettering himself which is amazing.

“How many white men characters do you see trying to better themselves?”

But there’s no way he’s willing to admit the error of his ways, and that she has exceeded his expectations.

“Everyone in that family is so stubborn and would ever admit they are wrong, so I don’t think he would ever have a slice of humble pie,” she laughs.

With Aftertaste as her first ever on-screen role, the excitement of working alongside Thomson, as well as Rachel Griffiths, Susan Prior and Wayne Blair was escalated when the show was nominated for a Logie for most popular comedy program earlier this year.

It might have missed out, but Abbott says being recognised still meant so much.

“It’s been amazing. It was so cool going from the audition, being cast and filming to then hearing people did like it,” she says.

“I was already so proud to be part of such an amazing show, but to hear how much people love it is a whole another thing entirely.”

Aftertaste starts today at 9.10pm on ABC.

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