Terasa Livingstone's days of playing second fiddle to a hairy bathmat are over.

The 21-year-old hostess of Agro's Cartoon Connection once was little more than Agro's fall guy, a good sport who kept smiling as the puppet with the biggest mouth in the business mercilessly teased her on camera.

But these days Terasa gives as good as she gets and has blossomed into one of Seven's most-loved personalities - and pin-ups.

Just like Sophie Lee before her, Terasa is becoming the va-voom girl of children's television.

At a recent shopping centre opening in Taree, several hundred school children, not to mention their fathers and brothers, turned up to meet her.

A spokesman for the event said he was amazed at the reaction to Terasa. "Everyone just loved her, and no, not just the kids," he said.

But Terasa laughs off the sex symbol tag.

"Oh I don't think so," she said. "I mean I have noticed that even though the show demographically is for the five to 12-year-olds we are starting to get a few letters from 45-year-old businessmen and I have had to ward off a couple, but you can't take all that seriously.

"I don't think I'm looked at as a sex symbol, but I'm quite comfortable with the idea of the show appealing to a wider range of ages. If I'm starting to get a wider appeal then, of course, that's okay by me."

And the fresh-faced girl who started as a reporter on Agro's Cartoon Connection at 18, has also got herself a boyfriend - Jamie Durie, dance captain of the sizzling all-man dance troupe Manpower.

Recently snapped together at the 1997 Cleo Bachelor of the Year Awards, the high-profile sweethearts are keeping a low profile of their romance.

"I'm really happy to do appearances and talk to anybody about the show or whatever, but it's nice to have a little part of your life that's yours alone as well," said Terasa.

[From the Brisbane Sunday Mail, March 16th 1997]