During her time at 702 Sydney first presenting 'Breakfast', Catterns temporarily displaced prominent Australian radio broadcaster Alan Jones in 2004 to achieve number one in the listener survey ratings.
[1] Catterns has also held broadcasting roles at Australian commercial radio stations 2SM and Vega 95.3 in Sydney, 2UE and at WKYS in Washington DC.
Her popularity as a radio broadcaster is often attributed to her "perfectly measured combination of intellect and personality",[2] her listening and interviewing skills, and a voice described as being "smooth as chocolate" (The Sydney Morning Herald)[3] or "as if her vocal cords have been marinated overnight in plum brandy and golden syrup" (Elle Magazine).
In addition to her involvement with Wrap With Love, Catterns is an ambassador, volunteer and supporter of the charity Habitat for Humanity Australia and The Public Education Foundation.
Around this time, Catterns had several of her original poems published in an anthology of Australian women's poetry, the controversial Mother I'm Rooted, edited by Kate Jennings.
After several years in Orange, Catterns returned to Sydney and immediately travelled overseas as a sound recordist for a documentary shot in Papua New Guinea.
In 1979, Catterns landed the high-profile position as one of the first four reporters on the popular children's Logie award-winning television show, Simon Townsend's Wonder World.
Catterns left Wonder World to travel, and on returning to Australia, she produced the film documentary "Double Concerto" about the Australian pianist Roger Woodward and Polish violinist Wanda Wilkomirska.
In the mid-1980s, Catterns joined the ABC youth network, Triple J, as producer and then presenter of the morning show for the then Sydney-only radio station.
Catterns landed an on-air shift at the top rating WKYS in Washington DC, a popular station best known for its soul and R&B music programming.
At Triple J, Catterns aired a selection of memorable and popular interviews with subjects like David Bowie, Michael Hutchence, Jeff Buckley and then Prime Minister Paul Keating.
As one article at the time put it, Catterns was offering something different to the dominant 2GB and 2UE breakfast shows, and appealed to a younger demographic of 30- to 59-year-olds: "702's mix of warm, intelligent Sydney talk and good music, uninterrupted by advertising and wrapped around a solid digest of ABC news and current affairs, is a hard combination to beat".
In the same article, Catterns echoed the sentiment: "It's some of the most enjoyable and rewarding work I've ever done… (we're) almost certainly the first two women ever to share the early morning duties (on Australian radio).
[13] In a feature article for Elle Magazine, colleague Sharon Longridge said, "Aside from being sophisticated and insightful, Catterns is a genuinely inclusive broadcaster.
[14] Catterns also offers her own thoughts about her motivations, talking here about working with ABC Radio: "After all, 702 is the Sydney station that reflects the interests and aspirations of its people.
[15] In the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours, Catterns was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for "significant service to the broadcast media industry as a radio presenter, and to social welfare organisations".
Speaking about her father in an article she wrote for the Sydney Morning Herald, Catterns said: In 2002 he and nine other veterans were flown back to Papua New Guinea for the 60th anniversary of the battles along the Kokoda Track, commemorated with the unveiling of a monument at Isurava by then Prime Minister John Howard.