''I've just got a slightly torn meniscus [in my knee], it's got nothing to do with my weight,'' she said.

''They're trying to make me look like I'm dying or something. But, no, it's an old dancing injury.'' And she laughs. Although it sounds just a little strained.

And whether her second contract with Jenny Craig is worth the reported $1.25 million, Szubanski is not saying.

''Oh, I can't possibly comment but I'm very flattered at this age and stage of my career, people think I'm worth that much. That's lovely,'' she said.

The 52-year-old much-loved actor and comedian has returned for a second go with the weight loss company after initially losing 35 kilograms on its program between 2009 and 2011.

She eventually put all the weight back on - plus an extra five kilos - to stand this year at 126 kilograms. So Jenny Craig came calling again.

There have been plenty of comments about whether Szubanski should be ''allowed'' to return as a Jenny Craig ambassador - media personality Matty Johns, for one, suggested on Sydney radio that it wasn't kosher and was like ''rewarding people for being fat, and getting fat again''.

Szubanski, not surprisingly, sees it differently.

''Basically, I would see it as the second major phase in my health journey. Had the first crack,'' she said.

''We have such a zero-sum culture. If you don't succeed, then it's deemed that you failed. I think, really, it's just a step back on my health journey.

''I put the weight back on. Jenny Craig came to me and said, 'What do you reckon?'. And I said, 'Yeah, all right, let's do it again.' ''

While last time she reached her goal weight of 85 kilograms, Szubanski isn't putting any parameters on herself this time. ''I don't have a goal weight,'' she said. ''I'm just basically going to go along and see how I go and take it as it comes rather than racing towards a finishing line.''

Speaking to Relax this month, Szubanski said she had lost seven kilograms on the program so far. She says her weight went up slowly but surely after she kept it off for two years.

''I think it was just that portion-creep, when the sizes of everything you eat start to get slightly bigger and slightly bigger,'' she said. ''I did have an accident and broke a rib and then had another accident and hurt my knee. It meant I couldn't exercise. It was just life, the way life goes.''

The Kath and Kim star has also been in the headlines after coming out as a gay woman on television in February 2012. ''There's no doubt that was quite a stressful life event, but ultimately incredibly empowering. I can't overstate how empowering that's been actually,'' she said.

''I've been so thrilled at the feedback I've got from all sorts of people but especially the LGBTI [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex] community who have felt really supported and like they have a role model. You know, I never quite felt comfortable with that but I'm very happy - if it's been of any help to anyone, I'm thrilled.''

She was outraged by the demise of short-lived gay marriage laws in the ACT, eventually scuttled by the High Court.

''How cruel is that? To just wrench that away from people,'' she said.

''That's the thing, there is this perception that if you did that to any other minority group, there would be an absolute outcry and it would be very apparent that that group were second-class citizens. But people don't always make that leap in terms of seeing the disadvantages that we experience.

''Whilst legally, we have a lot more parity now, there are some really glaring areas where we don't. And also I just think given the way the world is going - Uganda, Nigeria, Russia - we are a country where it would cost us nothing to lead the way. It really wouldn't. It's crazy. Spain has equal marriage for God's sake. Don't get me started!''

Szubanski, who says she is single, is next appearing as the Wicked Witch in Snow White, the musical, in Sydney in July.

She remains close to her fellow comedian gal pals - Jane Turner, Gina Riley, Jane Kennedy and Marg Downey.

''I had dinner with the girls the other night,'' she said. ''We don't live in one another's pockets but we're all great friends. Whether or not we'll all be getting back together just depends on where we all are in our lives and whether we think there's something funny to say. But we do still have enormous fun together. We make one another giggle like nothing. We're just doing it in the privacy of our own homes. Between consenting adults.''

Szubanski is also writing a memoir, due out ''when I finish it''. How much of her life she actually exposes for public consumption remains to be seen.

''I think increasingly my life has been out there anyway, which is kind of liberating. But, you know, it is what it is. I'm a big rolling mess like most people.''