2012-11-04

Kerri-Anne’s Most Emotional Interview Just when Kerri-Anne Kennerley had battled through the toughest year of her life, things got a whole lot worse. Already in the midst of her own battle with cancer, her world was turned upside down again; with the news her brother was to undergo radical brain surgery. Kerri-Anne’s brother Malcolm is a gentle giant, a tradie struck down with the incurable disease Essential Tremor. He struggles to hold a glass or use a knife and fork, trapped in a body he can’t control. Kerri-Anne is with her big brother every step of the way as he undergoes Deep Brain Stimulation therapy. It’s an emotional rollercoaster for the normally smiling TV queen. This week the pacemaker device connected to Malcolm’s brain was switched on. Sunday Night is there for the results in the most emotional interview that Kerri-Anne has ever done. Australia’s Adoption Shame 18-year-old George Dennehy was abandoned at birth. Born without arms, he was dumped at an orphanage in Romania. He was starving to death and not expected to live. That is until his name was added to a long list of children available for adoption. His desperate picture was on the very last page, but that didn’t stop an American couple with three children of their own from taking him home. Today, George is an all-American teenager who plays the guitar and can even drive a car – amazingly with his toes. His mum and dad have now adopted nine children from around the world. Their home is full of love, joy and laughter. However, this is where the story takes a dark turn. Here in Australia, though there are 32,000 children in state care, and tens of thousands of childless couples desperate for a family, less than 400 children from here and overseas were adopted last year. Alex Cullen meets one of a growing number of Australian couples forced to move overseas to achieve their dream of starting a family. Deborah Lee-Furness, who with husband Hugh Jackman was forced to adopt in America, tells how laws must be changed to give more disadvantaged kids a loving home. Sunday Night then travels to Canberra to ask Federal Minister Nicola Roxon why Australia, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, has such a poor rate of adoption. Susan Boyle Goes Gangnam She lives alone with her cat in a small council house in Scotland, but this middle-aged spinster in sensible shoes is credited with saving the world’s music industry. Susan Boyle may not look like your usual pop star, but since being discovered on Britain’s Got Talent in 2009, SuBo has sold over 18 million albums and stormed to the top of the charts in over 30 countries. In this remarkable interview we discover the dark side to Susan Boyle and how she has fought to live with her sudden stardom. Ahead of the release of her fourth album, Standing Ovation, Rahni Sadler joins Susan as she hits the bright lights of Las Vegas. Growing up, the songstress never believed she’d meet her teenage idol Donny Osmond, let alone sing alongside him. And don’t miss Susan letting loose and getting down – Gangnam Style.