When celebrated portrait artist Vincent Fantauzzo first appeared on Australian Story in 2019 to talk about his dyslexia, he received a phenomenal public response.  

But at that time, Vincent wasn't able to be entirely honest about his life story. After his father died, Vincent was able to confront his traumatic childhood in a way he had previously kept hidden – even from his wife, actor Asher Keddie.  

"He's been able to break that cycle of dysfunction because he's started to tell the truth," Asher tells Australian Story.  

"I've dealt with a lot of things I was hiding for a long time," says Vincent.

Now, Vincent is unveiling the painful reality of his relationship with his father and the dark truths of his childhood. And doing so has helped him become the type of father he wished he'd had. 

It was this longing that pushed Vincent into seeking out his own father figures throughout his life – most notably, Heath Ledger's father, Kim. 

Their connection was formed amid a chaotic time, after the portrait Vincent had painted of the Hollywood star won the Archibald People's Choice award just a month after Heath's shock accidental overdose in 2008. 

The painting catapulted Vincent into the spotlight, and his career as one of the country's most renowned portrait artists has continued to flourish since.   

Seventeen years on, the close bond between Vincent and Kim has been instrumental in easing the painful void both men have experienced, and inspired Vincent in his commitment to be the best father he can be. 

"I often refer to him as my surrogate son in Melbourne," says Kim. "Just being part of that journey with him has provided me a great deal of comfort, and I feel very proud to have been a witness to the growth in him personally."

Australian Story reflects back on marathon runner and 'gumboot shuffler' Cliff Young.

Over five days in 1983, Cliff Young shuffled into Australian folklore when he won the inaugural Sydney to Melbourne ultramarathon. Few people rated the 61-year-old potato farmer's chances and race organisers feared he could die on the way, delivering them a public relations disaster. Instead, he smashed the record for a run of that distance and became an instant – if unlikely – national hero.

"He was a little fella who became larger than life," says fellow competitor John Connellan. "Everyone who was alive at that time remembers Cliff as much as they remember the man landing on the moon. Probably both as unlikely as each other."

Although he seemed to come from nowhere, Young's achievement was a lifetime in the making. Growing up in the Otway Ranges, he ran for hours at a time, often in gumboots. To the locals he was a curiosity but when he started to mix with other long-distance runners, he found his people.

"Cliff was a simple man and led a simple life but he was not a simpleton," journalist and friend Neil Kearney tells Australian Story.

With his distinctive shuffle and humble bearing, Cliff Young captured the public's imagination and was a fixture in the media as he continued to run competitively well into his 70s. Although his short-lived marriage in 1983 to Mary Howell, more than 40 years his junior, raised eyebrows, he remained a much-loved figure until his death in 2003.

In an engaging and nostalgic Australian Story, friends and fellow runners look back at an extraordinary feat of athleticism and a man whose name still inspires wonder and delight.

"This is just a real ordinary bloke," says his former trainer and manager Mike Tonkin. "But real ordinary blokes are capable of extraordinary things."