Speaker 1: It's in the news today, but it was actually on
Speaker 1: TV Reload, the podcast Last Weep Their Life.
Speaker 2: Welcome back to TV Reload.
Speaker 1: My name is Benjamin Norris and this is your podcast
Speaker 1: to get all the inside goss on the popular TV
Speaker 1: shows you may be watching from around the world. Undeniably,
Speaker 1: our TV sets are a major part of our home entertainment,
Speaker 1: and yet still very little is note about how our
Speaker 1: favorite shows get made. However, each episode I find guests
Speaker 1: they want to dive just that little bit deeper into
Speaker 1: the shows they're currently making so that you can hear
Speaker 1: all their exclusive stories and gain access to the biggest
Speaker 1: names in Australian television. I want to thank you for
Speaker 1: downloading or subscribing to this podcast TV Reload. I love
Speaker 1: hearing your feedback, so make sure you leave a review
Speaker 1: or a comment on your chosen podcast platform. On today's podcast,
Speaker 1: I have Samantha Armitage, who is an Australian journalist, former
Speaker 1: Sunrise presenter and now host of Farmer Wants a Wife
Speaker 1: joining me to talk about her new role on the
Speaker 1: hugely successful dating series, which last night won the ratings
Speaker 1: battle as it launched its twenty twenty three season on
Speaker 1: Channel seven. Samantha Jock viewers in twenty twenty one when
Speaker 1: she quit her coveted role on the Channel seven Breakfast show,
Speaker 1: which made her a household name and staple amongst the
Speaker 1: gossip pages.
Speaker 2: She is now.
Speaker 1: Backfront and center in twenty twenty three, playing Cupid to
Speaker 1: five new farmers plucked from the paddocks around Australia. The
Speaker 1: show continues tonight and while the ads have boasted all
Speaker 1: farmers will find love. The journey is set to be
Speaker 1: heartwarming and entertaining, with three episodes a week for audiences
Speaker 1: to sink their teeth into. I will ask Sam about
Speaker 1: her transition from serious journalist to reality TV host and
Speaker 1: who has been her inspiration over the years. We will
Speaker 1: talk about Sam's decision to replace former host Natalie Gruelski
Speaker 1: and what her relationship has really been like with her
Speaker 1: behind the scenes. We will also clear up those rumors
Speaker 1: that Samantha has signed for Dancing with the Stars along
Speaker 1: with doctor Chris Brown, and will also get a bit
Speaker 1: of a tease as to what's going.
Speaker 2: To happen with her podcast next.
Speaker 1: Plus, we will get plenty of exclusives from behind the
Speaker 1: scenes of the latest series of Farmer Wants a Wife,
Speaker 1: which you can catch up on now on seven Plus. Anyway,
Speaker 1: let's bring Sam into the podcast. I'm a big fan
Speaker 1: and I really do hope you enjoy this very candid
Speaker 1: chat with her.
Speaker 2: Hey, how are you?
Speaker 3: I'm good. I'm good. I've got a pig. I've got
Speaker 3: to pick herbro doors sitting next to me on the couch,
Speaker 3: and when I say hello, I think someone's here. I
Speaker 3: hope he doesn't start barking and blow your ear drums out.
Speaker 3: How are you?
Speaker 1: I'm very well, and I have my Westy outside. Because
Speaker 1: you would know this from recording podcasts, is that pets
Speaker 1: love to be involved. So I've learned to just have
Speaker 1: him not even here because like, doesn't he get fomo though,
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, he's he's outside, Like he's two doors away
Speaker 1: from actually coming to you. From Warburton. I spend a
Speaker 1: lot of time out here in Victoria. I thought it
Speaker 1: was very farmer once a wife with my self.
Speaker 3: I'm looking over your shoulder and it looks very nice
Speaker 3: and warm there.
Speaker 2: It's really lovely. I mean in a log cabin or something.
Speaker 1: It's a log cabin that my best friend's parents build.
Speaker 1: This is now getting very far away from Farmer, but they.
Speaker 2: Built it to me, I know, kind of my brand,
Speaker 2: but they built.
Speaker 1: It two years before she was born, so she came
Speaker 1: here her whole life, and then we fell in love
Speaker 1: with it. I'm forty three, so I've been coming here
Speaker 1: now for twenty five years.
Speaker 3: Fabulous.
Speaker 2: I love to get out of the city, you know.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I know that feeling. And now we are back
Speaker 3: on brand for Farmer once a whork.
Speaker 1: I'm going to get into this because otherwise, because otherwise
Speaker 1: it I'll come undone.
Speaker 2: So just three to one. Hi, Sam, how are you?
Speaker 3: Oh? Ben? Hi, I'm very well.
Speaker 2: This is such an exciting project for you.
Speaker 1: I have to ask you were you were a fan
Speaker 1: of this show before you became involved.
Speaker 3: Yes, I genuinely was a fan of the show. I
Speaker 3: have been watching it for many years, even when it
Speaker 3: was on the other network that we can't talk about.
Speaker 3: But I have always loved it because I always thought
Speaker 3: it was a terrific vehicle for helping countrymen find decent women,
Speaker 3: which I know sounds crazy in twenty twenty three, but
Speaker 3: it is God for a lot of blokes in the
Speaker 3: country to find someone because a lot of girls seem
Speaker 3: to move back to the city or move to the
Speaker 3: city for work, and the boys are sort of, you know,
Speaker 3: if it's a family property, they're sort of stuck there
Speaker 3: or they want I mean, they want to be there,
Speaker 3: but it was hard. I saw a lot of really
Speaker 3: decent blow missing out on love or getting married late,
Speaker 3: or you know, just having a really tough time. And
Speaker 3: so I always thought it was a great show that
Speaker 3: had a great heart, and so when I was asked
Speaker 3: to be a part of it, I said, yes.
Speaker 1: It's a great synergy, and I really love the fact
Speaker 1: that you yourself have gone out into the regional part
Speaker 1: of New South Wales. But I was going to say,
Speaker 1: I wondered whether or not you were kind of already
Speaker 1: doing this show. Had you already been you know, trying
Speaker 1: to hook people up and set up this sort of
Speaker 1: dating game.
Speaker 2: Anyway, Well, you.
Speaker 3: Know, there was a lot of people in my life. Yes,
Speaker 3: I guess, I guess it was sort of happening around me,
Speaker 3: whether or not I was actually playing cute, but I
Speaker 3: was seeing it happen a lot with girlfriends of mine
Speaker 3: who were also sick of this city, who were going
Speaker 3: out to the country to look for the decent husbands.
Speaker 3: And so I did know a lot of city girls
Speaker 3: who were getting together with country blocks. In fact, the
Speaker 3: regional areas are full of the dynamics of these kind
Speaker 3: of relationships. And it's wonderful because I think this is
Speaker 3: part of the resurgence of many of these country towns,
Speaker 3: is that there's a hell of a lot of dynamic
Speaker 3: women out there and they're starting families. These schools that
Speaker 3: you know, probably in my childhood, I was at a
Speaker 3: school out of men to be public. There was twenty
Speaker 3: four kids in the whole school and six in my
Speaker 3: class all the way through to y six, and it
Speaker 3: was on the verge of closing down the whole time.
Speaker 3: So these schools are now sort of burgeoning, full of
Speaker 3: kids and full of really active, intelligent mothers. These P
Speaker 3: and C organizations are going crazy. These women out there
Speaker 3: in regional areas now running their own businesses. They are
Speaker 3: so dynamic. So I am seeing a lot of this
Speaker 3: around me. And so when I met Rich and started
Speaker 3: to make some decision to change my life around, it
Speaker 3: was I guess the similar premise. I thought, you know,
Speaker 3: I can't really you know, obviously couldn't do sunrise and
Speaker 3: in the country. But I was trying to work it
Speaker 3: out how I could do it a couple of days
Speaker 3: a week, and then I just decided I really did
Speaker 3: want a different lifestyle, so I made some changes. So,
Speaker 3: you know, I think it's it's happening all the time.
Speaker 3: And as with reality TV, you'll know this, reality TV
Speaker 3: takes what's going on and puts it under the microscope
Speaker 3: so that everybody can watch it three times a week
Speaker 3: and it's fabulous.
Speaker 1: Well, I really love a journalist in the role of
Speaker 1: a reality TV host. I mean that's always been my
Speaker 1: sweet spot. And if you look at some of the
Speaker 1: best hosts over time since you know, it really started,
Speaker 1: you know, twenty years ago, it's academic that a journalist
Speaker 1: is the best person to host a show like this.
Speaker 1: It gives it more authority. Is a great way to
Speaker 1: look at it. But did you have a favorite host
Speaker 1: of reality TV that you could go, well, that's that's
Speaker 1: amazing and I can lean into that.
Speaker 2: I can borrow some of that.
Speaker 3: My goodness. Well, I did always love and very much
Speaker 3: ADM Gretel Colleen. I used to devour her books and
Speaker 3: thought she was a very, very funny and brilliant woman.
Speaker 3: So I always liked her. I think Sonya Krueger is fantastic,
Speaker 3: Julie Morris and Chris Brown. You know, there's a lot
Speaker 3: of great people out there doing this sort of stuff.
Speaker 3: It's funny you say that, because when this job was
Speaker 3: first offered to me, I sort of thought, oh, I'm
Speaker 3: a journalist, you know, and I've done trying to work
Speaker 3: it out this morning before I spoke to you. I
Speaker 3: started working in a newsroom the week I left university
Speaker 3: in nineteen ninety eight, and that was twenty five years ago,
Speaker 3: and then I basically was NonStop ever since. So I
Speaker 3: had done a lot of time in that newsroom environment
Speaker 3: and the grind of news, which is a relentless cycle,
Speaker 3: and go to be offered something like this, which is
Speaker 3: a bit lighter. It's fun, it's sweet, it's gorgeous. It's
Speaker 3: been a great opportunity for me, and the producers are
Speaker 3: so lovely. I have to do a big shout out
Speaker 3: to Fremantle and Eureka for not only having Banjo the
Speaker 3: Labrador snoring on the floor of the edit suite as
Speaker 3: we've been doing the voiceover sessions. They've all embraced him,
Speaker 3: but they've been so wonderful to me, and they love
Speaker 3: that I can just connect with these farmers and I say, Brad,
Speaker 3: what's happening in Kuda Mundele or you know, I know Bookm,
Speaker 3: I know Couda, I know Narromine. You know, I don't
Speaker 3: know Pasiers where David's from the stand. I know stan Thought,
Speaker 3: but I've got to know some of these towns as well.
Speaker 3: But you know, it's sort of my life. You know,
Speaker 3: when you grow up in the country, you're connected to
Speaker 3: the country, so I knew how to talk to farmers.
Speaker 2: I think that it's the perfect thing.
Speaker 1: I mean, I know that it's very I mean, when
Speaker 1: you are a journalist at your high level, it must
Speaker 1: seem like, oh, reality TV.
Speaker 2: That is a bit light.
Speaker 1: But I actually think, going back to what I originally
Speaker 1: said about having some authority, I mean your unearthing story,
Speaker 1: that's what you've always been doing, and you have been
Speaker 1: amazing at being able to do that with your own
Speaker 1: heart and your own integrity. So for me to hear
Speaker 1: that you're coming to host this show was a real
Speaker 1: sweet spot because I'm like, this is Sam at her
Speaker 1: best and well lucky to have her do this.
Speaker 3: Oh thank you for saying that. I appreciate that, and
Speaker 3: you've hit the noil right in the head because it
Speaker 3: is storytelling and it's fundamental basics that it's hard, and
Speaker 3: that's what journalism, it obviously is. The news cycle does
Speaker 3: become a little bit more relentless and a little bit
Speaker 3: more hard and negative at times. But yes, it is
Speaker 3: about when I stripped back, you know, after all those
Speaker 3: years in journalism and making the changes I made in
Speaker 3: my life, and I had to strip it all back
Speaker 3: and go what do I love most about this? And
Speaker 3: it wasn't necessarily being on air, and it certainly wasn't
Speaker 3: being in a full face of makeup, and it definitely
Speaker 3: wasn't being packed or on the front of the women's magazines.
Speaker 3: And I thought, you know what I love here, Why
Speaker 3: I went into this career in the first place, is storytelling.
Speaker 3: So when an opportunity comes along and go host another
Speaker 3: show in the network that at its heart, you're right,
Speaker 3: is storytelling. It was a great opportunity that I jumped
Speaker 3: at and I have to say I have been thinking
Speaker 3: about this since we shot the show. The character here
Speaker 3: that doesn't get enough attention is the Australian boosh is
Speaker 3: the Australian landscape because the cameramen that work on this
Speaker 3: show are unbelievably talented and they have shot this scenery
Speaker 3: throughout the show that you will see that will make
Speaker 3: you so proud to be an Australian. These are just
Speaker 3: some of the most beautiful landscapes and it helps it.
Speaker 3: They're romantic because that helps the show. But there are
Speaker 3: great stories out there. These blokes, these farmers have got
Speaker 3: great storylines and the ladies who come in to meet
Speaker 3: them are fascinating, very interesting and dynamic.
Speaker 2: I love about this.
Speaker 1: What I love about this show and what I've always
Speaker 1: loved about it is that there is a very wholesome
Speaker 1: nature to it. However, there's this huge debate about what
Speaker 1: it is that people want to watch on reality television
Speaker 1: With the Juggernaut, it's married at first sight, being that
Speaker 1: there is a lot more scandal involved in that, that's
Speaker 1: a little bit more drama, there's a lot more confrontation.
Speaker 1: Whilst you guys sort of lean away from that, you know,
Speaker 1: do you think that they're I mean, what do you
Speaker 1: think audiences want. Do you think audiences want farmer wants
Speaker 1: a wife to stay very wholesome in the way we've
Speaker 1: always known it, or do you think there is a
Speaker 1: bit of a maybe, I don't know, a tipping point
Speaker 1: into wanting to lean into more of what that controversial
Speaker 1: reality TV has become.
Speaker 3: Oh, Ben, that's a big question. What do audiences want.
Speaker 3: I don't know if anybody, because everybody says, everybody says
Speaker 3: it's too much, they don't want the drama, and then
Speaker 3: they confess to you they do watch maps or they do.
Speaker 3: You know, we're humans. You do need a bit of drama.
Speaker 3: There is drama in life, so of course there's going
Speaker 3: to be drama in reality TV. I think the difference
Speaker 3: with us with Farmer is that it is definitely not Maps.
Speaker 3: There is not that much drama, but it is. There
Speaker 3: are love stories here, so you're going to have the
Speaker 3: ups and downs of people falling in love. And obviously
Speaker 3: you've got five girls out on each farm, five ladies
Speaker 3: on each farm with each Farmer, so you're going to
Speaker 3: have You're going to have your moments of drama and
Speaker 3: your moments of complete hilarity. A my add as well.
Speaker 3: But look, we do lean away from that sort of
Speaker 3: maths thing very deliberately, and really I say to people,
Speaker 3: I say to my friends and family, it is a
Speaker 3: very genuine show most of the people, all of the farmers,
Speaker 3: are there for the right reasons. They are looking to
Speaker 3: find someone seriously. And I think everybody really is there
Speaker 3: for the right reasons. They want to make good television,
Speaker 3: but we also wanted to really, you know, help people
Speaker 3: fall in love. It is wholesome. It's as wholesome as
Speaker 3: you get on television in twenty twenty three. Let me
Speaker 3: tell you that I.
Speaker 2: Think it's a good alternative. You know, No, that's you know.
Speaker 2: I think everything has its place.
Speaker 1: What I thought was interesting about what you were saying
Speaker 1: there is about us all wanting to find love. I
Speaker 1: think we all fear like you know, we grew up
Speaker 1: watching Disney movies. You grew up wanting a love story
Speaker 1: for yourself. Do you think it's becoming easier or do
Speaker 1: you think it's becoming harder? With you know, apps and technology?
Speaker 1: You know, what do you think or how do you
Speaker 1: think finding love is in twenty twenty three? Is it
Speaker 1: easier or harder than it's ever been before?
Speaker 3: Well? I think finding true love is incredibly hard and
Speaker 3: if you find it, you're incredibly lucky, and you should
Speaker 3: grip onto it and hold on to it like I did,
Speaker 3: because it took me a long time. Don't forget. I
Speaker 3: didn't get married till I was in my early forties.
Speaker 3: So by no means was it easy for me. That's
Speaker 3: an interesting question, Ben. I don't know. It should like
Speaker 3: everything else in this day and age, it should be
Speaker 3: easier because technology should make things easier. But rich has
Speaker 3: two daughters who are in their twenties, and you know,
Speaker 3: it's quite it's quite acceptable that all these apps that
Speaker 3: they got, you know, Richard's the youngest daughter said to
Speaker 3: me the other day, Oh, no one talks face to
Speaker 3: face anymore, Richard. I were like, what, so quite acceptable
Speaker 3: for that generation, that that's how they do me. And
Speaker 3: yet then she says, oh, there's some real losers on there.
Speaker 3: You know, you've yah got a bruit. And I was like,
Speaker 3: good Sash, I should hope you are being very choicy.
Speaker 3: But so I think it's incredibly hard to find love,
Speaker 3: and I don't know if I don't think technologies is
Speaker 3: making that any easier. But I think if you if
Speaker 3: you take your time and you find the right one,
Speaker 3: then it's so worth it. And love is everything, isn't it, Ben?
Speaker 3: Like I mean, it's really you know, without loving your
Speaker 3: life what do you have? Love and health? I realize
Speaker 3: now at the ripe old age of forty six, about
Speaker 3: the most important things you can have.
Speaker 2: Well, I'm in a relationship now.
Speaker 1: I've been in one for nearly fourteen years, and in
Speaker 1: the LGBT IQ plus world, it's a very rare thing
Speaker 1: to find a relationship that has sort of lived that.
Speaker 1: I always say to people, we've been together fourteen years,
Speaker 1: but in straight terms, converted from gay terms, that's like
Speaker 1: seven hundred years.
Speaker 2: So it's hard to find love.
Speaker 1: But I mean, I think it's you know, if you
Speaker 1: find it, you're right, you've got to hang on to it.
Speaker 1: And there's a lot of there's a lot that we
Speaker 1: aren't talking about though, with young people when it comes
Speaker 1: to compromise. I think if you want to be in
Speaker 1: a good relationship, there is an enormous amount of compromise.
Speaker 1: And I think, without saying something so negative about the
Speaker 1: next general the generations below me, but I don't think
Speaker 1: they want to compromise. I think they've always had things
Speaker 1: at their fingertips. So I think that there's a lot
Speaker 1: that you know, we as you know, forties, can teach
Speaker 1: young people about how to make relationships work.
Speaker 3: Yes, because relationships are work. I mean, it's not all.
Speaker 3: It's not all you know TV shows that wrap up
Speaker 3: in an hour and everybody ends happily. You know, it
Speaker 3: is hard work. And you know, I'm new to this
Speaker 3: marriage thing. Fourteen years, I see. I think fourteen years
Speaker 3: is fantastic achievement. We've only been married too. And I
Speaker 3: have some days where I go, oh my god, But
Speaker 3: but no, I love it.
Speaker 2: That's a real relationship.
Speaker 1: And Richard would probably say the same thing, right, you know,
Speaker 1: like if you're going to have a if you're in
Speaker 1: a real relationship with someone, you've got to unpack your
Speaker 1: bag of shit in front of this person and they
Speaker 1: have to do the same thing. And you know it
Speaker 1: has to be balanced, you know what I mean, Like
Speaker 1: you have to have both people being real, and that
Speaker 1: creates problems in every day, every day.
Speaker 3: Life one hundred percent. And I guess farm at the
Speaker 3: show is at there at the beginning of this. But
Speaker 3: I quite like this show because I think it is
Speaker 3: it is a whole different scenario. There's that romantic ideal
Speaker 3: of a countryman and living on a farm and you know,
Speaker 3: having chickens, but the reality of that and I keep
Speaker 3: saying this during the show. I think people are sick
Speaker 3: of me saying it, but you know, if you really
Speaker 3: want to go into that life, it's wonderful and rewarding.
Speaker 3: But it is totally different to the city. It is
Speaker 3: not easy. It is it can be quite isolated. You've
Speaker 3: got to be a particularly resilient woman and you've got
Speaker 3: to realize that that man, you know, farming is not
Speaker 3: My mother used to say this about my father. Farming
Speaker 3: is not just a job, but it is a lifestyle.
Speaker 3: So you are moving out there and that man will
Speaker 3: love the land, and you've got to love the land
Speaker 3: too and be part of that partnership, which I think
Speaker 3: is a really nice well. I think it's really interesting
Speaker 3: because it's more than just those reality shows where you
Speaker 3: throw a wine glass at each other and then you
Speaker 3: go to a commercial break. I mean, this is this
Speaker 3: is a lifelong thing that you have to commit to
Speaker 3: and it's not going to be easy. You know. These
Speaker 3: ladies that come out to be on this show know that,
Speaker 3: and I think that's part of it too. I think
Speaker 3: it's wonderful that Australia gets to see the beauty of
Speaker 3: our country and you know that old thing that the
Speaker 3: Australia is riding on the sheep's back. You know, it's
Speaker 3: part of our culture, this wonderful agricultural industry that we
Speaker 3: have that has supported us for so many years. And
Speaker 3: I love that we just all still love our farmers
Speaker 3: so dearly.
Speaker 1: This is not a spoiler as well, but we are
Speaker 1: promoting this show by saying that all of these farmers
Speaker 1: find love. Do you think that's a bold move to
Speaker 1: take away from us wondering whether or not they do
Speaker 1: find love? I mean, is that an interesting decision for
Speaker 1: you guys to make, to tell us that it's all
Speaker 1: good to end?
Speaker 2: Well?
Speaker 3: Well, because when we were filming, they all were falling
Speaker 3: in love, they were all finding love, and I did
Speaker 3: stay to the EP one day. Oh my god, what
Speaker 3: are we going to do? How do we tell Australia
Speaker 3: about this? Like is it just you know, if everybody
Speaker 3: falls in love, it's like, oh, well, that's the end.
Speaker 3: No one's going to watch. It's actually far more fascinating
Speaker 3: than that, because this is the journey. Ben. You've got
Speaker 3: to work out which one which lady each farmer falls
Speaker 3: in love with, And like all of our paths to love,
Speaker 3: there's ups and downs so I think the fun and
Speaker 3: the adventure in this season's show will be the viewers
Speaker 3: working out which girl each Farmer picks. Because it was
Speaker 3: really good. I mean, we had to tell us Radier
Speaker 3: that they found love. There was no way around it,
Speaker 3: because they all did.
Speaker 2: I think it was crazy.
Speaker 1: I was sitting next to Nav from Publicity High Nav
Speaker 1: in the background, but we watched the promo on a
Speaker 1: big screen, you know, on the first idle night, and
Speaker 1: we watched this promo and I was like, this is
Speaker 1: a bold move to tell everyone that you know that
Speaker 1: they're going to find love.
Speaker 2: But it's true.
Speaker 1: We still don't know who it's going to be. You know,
Speaker 1: we still have to go and take that journey. And
Speaker 1: I think I've heard on the groundswell more people are
Speaker 1: interested in coming to this. I think is basically, you know,
Speaker 1: the hangover from some of the other reality shows like Maths.
Speaker 1: I think everyone's coming for something a little bit more wholesome.
Speaker 3: Yes, and I tell you what, some of them will surprise.
Speaker 3: I can't tell you, Ben, this is really going to
Speaker 3: be hard for me. I'm terrified I'm going to blab
Speaker 3: that you know what happened, But.
Speaker 2: Some of them don't Bury the lead.
Speaker 3: No, some of them will surprise you, you know. I
Speaker 3: on the first night in the barrel room. The first
Speaker 3: night were shooting, and you know, I sort of just
Speaker 3: just met the farmers and then we just met the lady.
Speaker 3: And I always like to think I'm pretty clever in
Speaker 3: those situations. I'm thinking, Okay, he's going to pick her.
Speaker 3: And there were some big surprises for me. At the end.
Speaker 3: I was like, what, okay, that's interesting. Some of them
Speaker 3: I think you'll work out, but there's others that you'll go,
Speaker 3: oh wow, did not see that coming?
Speaker 1: Brilliant? Do you have a favorite farmer? Do you have
Speaker 1: someone have you? Is it hard not to pick favorites?
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 3: You can't ask me to pick a favorite farmer. That's
Speaker 3: like a picking a favorite child. I'm so I really
Speaker 3: really like these farmers this year. They were I liked
Speaker 3: them last year too, and I haven't only been involved
Speaker 3: two years, so I've only known them. But they are
Speaker 3: all divine and they're quite different. I think Australia farmer
Speaker 3: Brad is very handsome. He's from farmer David has very
Speaker 3: sparkly eyes. He's very sweet too. I think Brenton, I
Speaker 3: mean every person in Australia is going to fall in
Speaker 3: love with Brenton. He's just hilarious and he's like sort
Speaker 3: of your little brother. We just go God, you are
Speaker 3: just living your best love. Andrew's devine. He's our older farmer.
Speaker 3: I mean he's only forty one, but he's our older
Speaker 3: farmer and he's just such a great soul, a really
Speaker 3: nice bloke. And Matt from Bookham is the youngest farmer
Speaker 3: and he's having it. He's got an interesting time because
Speaker 3: he's so young, and I'm like, are you really ready
Speaker 3: for this? And he says he's really ready for it,
Speaker 3: So I think I think everyone will love to meet
Speaker 3: Matt too. So they're very different blokes, which I suppose
Speaker 3: is what you want, but they're all just gorgeous and
Speaker 3: very genuine in their own ways.
Speaker 2: Sam, that actually just really resonated with me.
Speaker 1: I'm like, the elder farmer now is forty one and
Speaker 1: is younger, and both younger than both of us.
Speaker 3: Like I in my notes, it's like, you know, the
Speaker 3: older farmer Andrew, and then I'm pet reading is forty one.
Speaker 3: I was like, oh, for goodness.
Speaker 1: Sake, before we finish up, I was going to say
Speaker 1: swapping your role for you know, with Nat. You know,
Speaker 1: NAT's been on the show for a very long time,
Speaker 1: so that might be a little bit daunting at times.
Speaker 1: But I want to know what advice did Natalie give you,
Speaker 1: because I can imagine the two of you were able
Speaker 1: to swap some notes.
Speaker 3: Yes, NAT's been divine. She was sort of like, just
Speaker 3: be yourself, you're going to love it. And she's still
Speaker 3: in there. So she's sort of going to actually bring
Speaker 3: back some farmers from previous years so we can get
Speaker 3: to patch up with them. And they're the ones that
Speaker 3: are married now with babies. And I can't remember the
Speaker 3: exact stats, I probably should know them, but there's something
Speaker 3: like twenty nine farmer babies that have been born since
Speaker 3: the show started in Australia, so there's this huge success rate.
Speaker 3: So NAT's sort of gone out and found all those
Speaker 3: families again and she's going to reintroduce us to them,
Speaker 3: and then she's got some other stuff planned. They've got
Speaker 3: a bit of a NAT's getaway in the middle where
Speaker 3: she's going to introduce some new ladies in and upset
Speaker 3: the apple cart a little bit. But she was completely divined.
Speaker 3: She was just sort of like enjoy it and be
Speaker 3: yourself and have fun. And you know you're married to
Speaker 3: a farmer. You know what they're going to go through. Yes,
Speaker 3: I do.
Speaker 1: Channel seven's been your home for so long. I mean,
Speaker 1: we all know you as being a staple there. It
Speaker 1: would be remiss for me not to ask this question.
Speaker 1: But there's lots of rumors about you maybe doing another
Speaker 1: show coming up. You are allowed to tell us anything
Speaker 1: about whether or not you have another project coming up
Speaker 1: on Channel seven.
Speaker 3: Ben. As usual in my life and career, I'm the
Speaker 3: last one to hear the rumors about me. No, I
Speaker 3: don't have another show coming up, but this one has
Speaker 3: been enough for me at the moment. I did a
Speaker 3: bit horse racing last spring, which was great fun. So
Speaker 3: I'm just quite happy to, you know, just have a
Speaker 3: little bit going on, but not too much. But no, honestly,
Speaker 3: I don't have another show. Yeah.
Speaker 1: You know what's interesting about that is someone said to
Speaker 1: me because there was a story that was just a
Speaker 1: I tweeted something about a real housewife from overseas, like
Speaker 1: what was I even thinking? And turned out this real
Speaker 1: housewife had tweeted me back, and then it was in
Speaker 1: the Daily Mail and it had been up for like
Speaker 1: three days, and a friend of mine asked me about it,
Speaker 1: and I was like, what do you think that I
Speaker 1: have Google alerts on myself to read what happens in
Speaker 1: the daily mail, you know, But it doesn't bring me
Speaker 1: to that question. I mean, do you just avoid all
Speaker 1: of those websites?
Speaker 2: Oh?
Speaker 3: Yes, oh goodness, yes, I did go mad if you.
Speaker 3: But look, it's really occasionally I'm amazed by how many
Speaker 3: people tell me what you know? Did you see what
Speaker 3: they wrote about you today? And I'm actually, firstly, I'm
Speaker 3: amazed still writing about me because I haven't been on
Speaker 3: air for a couple of years, so you know, I
Speaker 3: would have thought people might forget fine now. And I'm
Speaker 3: always amazed when people tell me what's going on on
Speaker 3: these tabloid websites. But most of it's not true, and
Speaker 3: you do have to wear it like a little bit
Speaker 3: of a badge of honor. I guess it's a big
Speaker 3: news cycle to feel, so they have to fill it
Speaker 3: with something. It's often made better to be talked about
Speaker 3: than not, I guess, Ben, But I promise you this,
Speaker 3: there's nothing other than farmer. There's nothing terribly exciting on
Speaker 3: the horizon for me, which is just the way I
Speaker 3: want it.
Speaker 1: Well. Yeah, And I also, because I've been in your
Speaker 1: audience for so long, I wanted to ask you about
Speaker 1: your podcast that you did for two years. Was that
Speaker 1: a really interesting thing for you to be able to do,
Speaker 1: because you know, making things in short, sharp form format
Speaker 1: for so long and then telling stuff over a longer
Speaker 1: period of time.
Speaker 2: What was that like for you?
Speaker 3: Yes, I really enjoyed that I did that. I did
Speaker 3: forty four episodes a year for two years, so that
Speaker 3: was good, and it sort of filled a space when
Speaker 3: I wasn't on air, so I wasn't working every day.
Speaker 3: But again back to what we talked about before, it
Speaker 3: was storytelling and I had never in my career done
Speaker 3: that sort of long form storytelling, so it was it
Speaker 3: was a rewiring of the brain, if you like. Yes, yeah,
Speaker 3: which is a little bit intimidating. And there were you know,
Speaker 3: it was hard for a while to get to know
Speaker 3: because I mean the longest in an interview ever went
Speaker 3: on Sunrise was like three minutes, So to do something
Speaker 3: for forty minutes is a whole different way of thinking,
Speaker 3: and you can really dive deep in a very different
Speaker 3: way of interviewing but I really enjoyed the experience with
Speaker 3: some fantastic people on I think I interviewed every single
Speaker 3: person in their whole Australian entertainment industry in that time,
Speaker 3: and you know, I just I had a bit much.
Speaker 3: Everything was happening at the same time. You know, I
Speaker 3: have racing going, We're shooting Farmer, and so something had
Speaker 3: to give. But watch this Space, man, we might see
Speaker 3: something exitting coming in the not too distant future on
Speaker 3: the podcast front. But because it's a nice vehicle, you know,
Speaker 3: I think people do have the time to listen to podcasts.
Speaker 3: I think they're wonderful things. I listened to them a lot,
Speaker 3: and it just has to be the right one. You
Speaker 3: want to do, you want to do, you want to
Speaker 3: have sort of quality. You just don't want to pump
Speaker 3: them out, you know, you want to you want to
Speaker 3: have something you're really proud of. So watch this Space.
Speaker 1: Well, I'm in your audience. I've always been in your audience,
Speaker 1: and I think that you do an amazing job with
Speaker 1: unearthing stories from people, and I can't wait to watch Farmer.
Speaker 2: The last question I will ask you, though, is.
Speaker 1: What is something from behind the scenes, something that we
Speaker 1: maybe like a funny anecdote, something that we won't see
Speaker 1: from your experience of filming Farmer for this season. Is
Speaker 1: there anything that happened behind the scenes that you can share.
Speaker 3: You're putting me on the spot, and there's so many
Speaker 3: things I can't share.
Speaker 2: You funny something.
Speaker 3: There was one. I have to tell you this story.
Speaker 3: And I don't think that the producers will get cranky
Speaker 3: when we go. Just make sure when you're watching, and
Speaker 3: this was genuinely behind the scenes. Probably won't see this
Speaker 3: on camera. The Country Ball, which we filmed off on
Speaker 3: the central coast of New South Wales, and it was
Speaker 3: I mean, as you know, you're a Victorian, but I'm
Speaker 3: sure you've been living through this lave Nina. I mean,
Speaker 3: it has not stopped raining here for three years. It
Speaker 3: was a show based clin torrential thunderstorm, so it was
Speaker 3: it's just so wet and we're all right. The girls
Speaker 3: were in these tity dresses because it was a ball,
Speaker 3: I mean, they wanted to wear a little dresses. So
Speaker 3: everybody was freezing. Everybody looked like a drown rat. There
Speaker 3: was a picture taken of me which I saw the
Speaker 3: other day and it just looks like I've sort of
Speaker 3: got my hands pressed together, like I'm praying for the
Speaker 3: rain stop. All the crew were getting leeches on their
Speaker 3: legs out of the grass because it was so wet,
Speaker 3: and honestly, it was just like it was just like
Speaker 3: I'm again and it was crazy, but it was I mean,
Speaker 3: that's all just part of making a show, isn't it.
Speaker 3: I guess, an outdoor show in the weather.
Speaker 1: Yes, French kissing in the barn and French kissing from
Speaker 1: the leeches on your legs and no one is spared.
Speaker 3: Well, look, it is quite a dramatic episode on air,
Speaker 3: so that might give you a bit of decide into how
Speaker 3: it was behind the scenes as to what drove a
Speaker 3: lot of the drama that night. We probably put it
Speaker 3: down to mother nature.
Speaker 2: Sam.
Speaker 1: Can I just say thank you so much for being
Speaker 1: so generous with your time. I have been looking forward
Speaker 1: to chatting to you for years. I think you do
Speaker 1: a fantastic job and I can't wait to see what
Speaker 1: you bring to the show.
Speaker 3: Oh, Ben, thank you so much for having me on.
Speaker 3: I really loved our chat and hopefully we're talking again soon.