From TV screens to TikTok, Nine presenter and Beaches local Belinda Russell is bringing a smile to viewers across the nation – and gaining a few celebrity followers along the way. Tamara Spray reports.
It may be a cold winter’s day when I meet Belinda Russell by the water at Clontarf Reserve for our September cover shoot, but you wouldn’t know it. Fitted out in a hot-pink sleeveless suit, Belinda radiates sunshine as our photographer snaps away, naming ballet positions as she moves her feet into different stances.
It’s clear that dancing is a passion of Belinda’s – a skill which has seen her and Nine colleague David Campbell go viral to the tune of eight-million views on TikTok. Together they have been posting dance routines to the platform since the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2021.
“It’s a good feeling that you can brighten someone’s day just by doing a silly little dance,” Belinda, 48, says, adding she posted a routine from a few years back the other day, and asked people how many dances they think they’ve done since. “And everyone said, ‘Not enough. We need more!’”
Belinda, a Seaforth local, has been part of the Nine Network for 19 years. She presents the weather a few nights a week on 9 News Sydney, a job which she has been doing for 13 years, and fills in for Sylvia Jeffreys as co-host with David Campbell on Today Extra. Belinda’s first job at the network was as a reporter for A Current Affair.
It’s a mix of roles that suits her lifestyle, she explains as her cavoodle Bailey, who has joined us for our shoot and interview, lies at her feet. With three daughters, Maddi, 20, Tallulah, 16, and Coco, 15, to husband Mark Calvert, who is head of programs at News24, Belinda explains that she has been lucky with her job. “The girls are teenagers now, but in those early years I was always around. I’ve been really fortunate that I could have that work/life balance. They didn’t miss out on anything. And now that they’re a bit older, I have that extra time to work more.
“I love the variety,” she says of her job. “I love being able to do the weather and work with Pete Overton and James Bracey who I admire and get along with. And then, obviously, DC (David Campbell), we’re like besties or brother and sister, we just have a laugh all the time.”
She describes Today Extra as a ‘mix of everything.’ “We do have news updates but it’s more of an entertainment show.” With interviews ranging across everything from books and entertainment to parenthood, perimenopause and relationships, Belinda says the show ‘tries to appeal to all of those different demographics,’ from mums at home with their children to older viewers.
“I get to work with DC and we have an absolute blast,” Belinda says. “It certainly doesn’t feel like work. You’re just trying to put a smile on people’s faces. The news can be quite heavy.”
“Sylvia was on maternity leave for a lot of COVID-19, so I was there with David for most of that time,” she says, explaining it was a moment where they ‘needed to provide a bit of relief for people.’
“That’s when the dancing started,” she says.
‘The dancing’ refers to the short performances Belinda and David film during the ad breaks on Today Extra – and upload to Instagram and TikTok. Filmed to hits such as Tori Kelly’s Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing, the routines have grown in popularity over the past six years. Their NSYNC Bye Bye Bye dance with colleague Lizzie Pearl received more than 8 million views on TikTok, while their most popular Instagram clip has had more than 11 million.
Their first dance post received a positive reaction, so they started to upload a new routine each Friday. “It wasn’t until after the fact that I actually understood the impact that it had,” she says. “The amount of people that said, ‘You got us through COVID.’”
“There was a time when I was getting 5,000 new followers a day,” she says. “It just makes people smile. It brings joy.”
The account has attracted international attention. Singer Debbie Gibson from 1980s pop band the Bangles was on Today Extra recently, Belinda explains. “And it was hilarious because at the end of the interview, she said, ‘Oh, I love your dances, I follow you guys on Instagram.’”
Actress Lucy Davis from The Office also admitted to following their account when they interviewed her. “David and I were shocked. We were like, ‘Hang on, what? What do you mean you follow us?’ This is the whole beauty of Instagram, it’s global. A lot of my followers are from the USA.”
For Belinda, it’s a converging of two worlds. Her love of dance alongside her passion for informing and entertaining people. But journalism wasn’t always the plan. “For most of my childhood, I thought that I would become a professional dancer,” she explains.
Growing up in Queensland, Belinda started dancing at age four and in her mid-teens was training six days a week. “(However), as I got older, I lost the passion for it and then decided I didn’t really want a career in it.”
Belinda’s parents were both primary school teachers, with her brother following their profession. Belinda chose a different path. “Public relations at the time was a new and growing industry, so I did a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Public Relations, but picked up journalism as a third major.”
She was hired as a segment producer for children’s show Totally Wild at Channel 10 in Brisbane after graduating from the University of Southern Queensland, before moving into the newsroom to work as a reporter. “I really loved it. Getting out and about every day, meeting different people, (having) the privilege of telling their story,” Belinda says.
As a young reporter she was offered opportunities, like presenting the weather, and at the age of 23, she was asked to fill in reading the Channel 10 Brisbane news. Did being thrown in the deep end scare her at all? “No,” she answers. “Because I had a boss, John Wiseman, who believed in me. I’ve always been like that. If someone thinks I can do it, then sure, I can do it!”
A one-year working holiday to the UK saw Belinda secure a job at Sky News, firstly as a producer and then as an entertainment reporter where she met celebrities like Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie and Christian Slater. “I never got starstruck,” she says. “Generally the more famous they are, the more down to earth or generous they are.”
One year in the UK turned into five, with Belinda meeting Mark while there and giving birth to their daughter, Maddi. They returned to Australia and settled on the North Shore in 2007, with Belinda starting her job at Nine.
The family of five moved to Seaforth over two years ago, where Belinda loves the Beaches lifestyle. She can often be seen walking Bailey, hitting the water with a stand-up paddleboard, or shopping at Warringah Mall with her daughters.
“We’re so close to these beautiful coastal walks,” she says. “I grew up in country Queensland, so going to the beach was a holiday. I pinch myself all the time and just think it’s crazy that we live in such a beautiful city.”
Belinda helps North Shore-based charity The Gidget Foundation, which supports the mental health of families from pre-conception to early infancy, and is set to MC their Gidget Gala 2026 Silver Celebration alongside actor Rodger Corser in September. It will be her fourth year as MC. “It’s nice to be able to highlight these foundations and help create awareness,” she says. She is also set to MC the Ronald McDonald House Charity NSW Ball this year for the fifth time.
For now, Belinda is ‘very happy’ with her roles at Nine. Though should Dancing with the Stars ever come to the Nine Network, she would love to be involved. “It would be great to be a contestant – but imagine hosting it!”
The presenter is determined to keep dancing regardless. “It’s funny because even for us, it brightens our spirits. After you’ve done it, you’re like, ‘That was so fun.’ I’m 48. I refuse to get old. I’m going to keep dancing. I’m hoping I’ll still be doing cartwheels when I’m 80!”
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