FORMER Wodonga schoolgirl Kim Hollingsworth expects old classmates to be shocked when her life as a prostitute, stripper and policewoman is depicted in the newest series of television drama Underbelly.
The 42-year-old’s seedy life in Sydney will be a key part of Underbelly: The Golden Mile which will focus on Kings Cross from 1989 to 1995 when the Wood royal commission into police corruption began taking evidence.
“I have no idea who will get the role but they are going to start filming in August,” Ms Hollingsworth said.
“It’s a complex role, one minute she’s a policewoman the next minute she’s a prostitute and stripper, so whoever does it is going to have to have some good acting skills.”
Ms Hollingsworth undertook year 12 studies at Wodonga West High School in 1984 before moving to Sydney where she became involved in prostitution and stripping before joining the police force.
She was forced out of the service after bosses claimed she had not disclosed her previous jobs in her application and then unsuccessfully sought reinstatement.
These days Ms Hollingsworth provides horse trail rides and lives at Campbelltown on Sydney’s south-
western fringe.
“I’m into my horses now and I just find horses are a lot more honest,” she said.
“If they’re going to kick you they’re going to kick you, they won’t kick you behind your back.
“It’s a lot less dangerous than working with dysfunctional police forces.
“The horses have become my life and then Underbelly has come up and I’m happy to be part of it.”
Ms Hollingsworth is advising scriptwriters on the television series which she believes will be an eye-opener for her former school buddies.
“My student mates will be very shocked because I was straight and very non-sexual while I went to school, all I cared about was doing my homework and getting good marks,” she said.
“They couldn’t understand what I became, compared to what I was at school.
“I didn’t have boyfriends, I was just very studious, although I did have males friends.”
Ms Hollingsworth’s mother still lives in Wodonga, while her father resides in Sydney.
“My family is used to it and nothing shocks them, but they might be shocked at some of the scenes,’’ she said.
“There are some things that I have only discussed with the writers of Underbelly, but not with anybody else and that’s the nature of the story and the way it’s told — they’re going to concentrate on the sensational bits.
“It’s going to be shocking but I can’t deny it, I did it.
“What I’m wanting is the truth to get out and that I’m not whitewashed.’’
Ms Hollingsworth said she was prepared for the publicity which would accompany the television show and was more comfortable with her past having become more mature and undergone treatment from a psychiatrist.
“Years ago if somebody said ‘she’s that one that was a prostitute’ I would have gone really into a rage and got upset,’’ she said.
“But now it’s not so raw and hurtful and I’m not so sensitive to it, plus developing a film script is a cathartic experience because you’re getting out the emotion.”
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