WEBVTT - Peter Ford - SUNRISE / THE MORNING SHOW - Entertainment Journalist 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:01.760 It's in the news today, but it was actually on 0:00:01.840 --> 0:00:04.040 TV Reload, the podcast Past Deep Aline. 0:00:04.320 --> 0:00:06.840 Welcome back guys to TV Reload. As you may know, 0:00:06.920 --> 0:00:09.600 my name is Benjamin Norris and this is your podcast 0:00:09.640 --> 0:00:12.080 to get all the inside goss on the popular TV 0:00:12.160 --> 0:00:15.840 shows you may be watching from around the world. Undeniably, 0:00:15.880 --> 0:00:18.599 our TV sets are a major part of our home entertainment, 0:00:18.720 --> 0:00:21.200 and yet very little is known about how our favorite 0:00:21.200 --> 0:00:24.280 shows get made. So each episode, I've been finding guests 0:00:24.440 --> 0:00:26.360 that want to dive just that little bit deeper into 0:00:26.400 --> 0:00:28.720 the shows they're currently making, so that you can hear 0:00:28.760 --> 0:00:31.680 all their exclusive stories and gain access to the biggest 0:00:31.760 --> 0:00:34.400 names in Australian television. I want to thank you for 0:00:34.440 --> 0:00:38.000 downloading or subscribing to this podcast. I love hearing your feedback, 0:00:38.200 --> 0:00:40.240 so make sure you leave a review or a comment 0:00:40.280 --> 0:00:43.960 on your chosen podcast platform. This chat, I'm joined by 0:00:44.080 --> 0:00:47.199 entertainment reporter Peter Ford, who many of you would know 0:00:47.280 --> 0:00:51.200 from decades of reporting the entertainment news on television and radio. 0:00:52.080 --> 0:00:54.880 Peter Ford is someone who has managed to navigate many 0:00:55.040 --> 0:00:57.920 changes to the landscape of Australian media. He has a 0:00:57.960 --> 0:01:00.680 keen interest in the Royals, covers the old from the 0:01:00.720 --> 0:01:03.680 Oscars and has a lot of our biggest celebrities on 0:01:03.800 --> 0:01:07.160 speed dial. I personally have followed his career since I 0:01:07.240 --> 0:01:09.720 was a teenager, and over the years we have forged 0:01:09.720 --> 0:01:12.120 a friendship. Peter is always a phone call away with 0:01:12.200 --> 0:01:14.520 plenty of support and encouragement, and it's fair to say 0:01:14.560 --> 0:01:17.480 that he's a pretty good friend. Forty, as he is 0:01:17.480 --> 0:01:20.759 affectionately called, is currently on Sunrise in the Morning show 0:01:20.840 --> 0:01:23.039 five days a week, both on Channel seven, and he 0:01:23.040 --> 0:01:25.480 also has a big contract with Channel nine across a 0:01:25.560 --> 0:01:28.920 number of their biggest radio programs. I will ask why 0:01:28.959 --> 0:01:31.800 he has been so private with his personal life, considering 0:01:31.880 --> 0:01:35.679 as a job publicly discussing the private lives of many celebrities. 0:01:36.160 --> 0:01:38.800 I will find out how he prepares these news stories 0:01:38.880 --> 0:01:40.959 and if there is a process to getting these stories 0:01:41.000 --> 0:01:44.280 one hundred percent accurate. We will also talk about some 0:01:44.319 --> 0:01:47.240 of those public clashes that he's had with many a celebrity, 0:01:47.440 --> 0:01:50.360 from the state Premier of Victoria to Lisa Wilkinson and 0:01:50.480 --> 0:01:53.960 recently comedian Dan Illick. Plus, we will get plenty of 0:01:54.000 --> 0:01:57.440 exclusives from behind the scenes of being an entertainment journalist, 0:01:57.600 --> 0:01:59.400 and we will get a look into the life of 0:01:59.440 --> 0:02:02.800 a very young Peter Ford. Anyway, guys, let's bring forty 0:02:02.800 --> 0:02:05.440 into the podcast, and I hope you enjoy this very 0:02:05.560 --> 0:02:07.680 raw and honest episode of TV Reload. 0:02:08.720 --> 0:02:10.960 Curd A, Ben, It's nice to sit down and talk 0:02:10.960 --> 0:02:14.440 to you face to face in a well socially many times, 0:02:14.440 --> 0:02:17.160 of course, but now in a work situation. 0:02:17.400 --> 0:02:20.720 Well, after years and years of you're saying no to 0:02:20.760 --> 0:02:23.920 sitting down and doing a podcast about yourself, what's changed? 0:02:23.960 --> 0:02:24.720 Because here we are. 0:02:24.880 --> 0:02:27.000 I don't know, You've got you finally wore me down. 0:02:27.639 --> 0:02:29.600 I don't do a lot, and I don't mean that 0:02:29.680 --> 0:02:32.200 to sound grand in any kind of way, but I'm 0:02:32.200 --> 0:02:35.600 just not very publicity focused. I don't particularly like it 0:02:35.720 --> 0:02:37.440 or want it or need it. But I'm not trying 0:02:37.440 --> 0:02:39.680 to be grand when I say that. I'm actually very boring, 0:02:39.960 --> 0:02:42.960 which you probably will discover it. So I guess I'm 0:02:43.080 --> 0:02:46.639 shy as well. So I say no to almost everything. 0:02:46.680 --> 0:02:49.040 And the few things that I have done over the 0:02:49.120 --> 0:02:52.360 years is usually with people I know personally, and they've 0:02:52.400 --> 0:02:54.440 been so persistent and I've come up with so many 0:02:54.520 --> 0:02:56.680 excuses to put it off, but in the end, I think, 0:02:56.680 --> 0:02:59.440 oh God, just do it, you know, So here I am. 0:02:59.480 --> 0:03:02.600 I'm all your it is strange because for you, I mean, 0:03:02.960 --> 0:03:04.960 a large part of your life is talking about other 0:03:04.960 --> 0:03:08.160 people's personal lives, and there's very little out there for 0:03:08.280 --> 0:03:09.679 us to know about yourself. 0:03:09.919 --> 0:03:12.960 Yeah. Well, I only discovered last week there's a Wikipedia page. 0:03:13.040 --> 0:03:15.600 I stand on heart. I had no idea it even existed. 0:03:15.840 --> 0:03:18.040 I'm too scared to look at it because I already 0:03:18.160 --> 0:03:19.960 know there's a lot of stuff in there that's not 0:03:20.000 --> 0:03:23.120 true or is grossly exaggerated, and I wouldn't even know 0:03:23.160 --> 0:03:26.280 how to begin to go about changing it. But yeah, 0:03:26.480 --> 0:03:28.600 I guess it is odd in that sense. I suppose 0:03:28.600 --> 0:03:31.160 it's also odd. You know, most people who do work 0:03:31.160 --> 0:03:34.800 on television, they enjoy publicity and they see it as 0:03:34.840 --> 0:03:37.040 part of their job and all that. And I don't, 0:03:37.160 --> 0:03:39.800 you know, I don't go out socially. I don't go 0:03:39.840 --> 0:03:42.680 to opening nights. You never see me on a red carpet, 0:03:42.960 --> 0:03:44.880 all those things. I'm a little bit of a strange 0:03:44.920 --> 0:03:48.000 cat in many ways. And I certainly, I guess also 0:03:48.160 --> 0:03:51.040 compared to say, other people that do similar work to me, 0:03:51.400 --> 0:03:53.400 like Richard and Angela, you know, they are very high 0:03:53.400 --> 0:03:56.760 profile and they do publicity and stuff. So I work 0:03:56.800 --> 0:03:59.839 on a different basis. So I guess ultimately I think 0:04:00.120 --> 0:04:03.760 myself as the storyteller rather than the story And in fact, 0:04:03.800 --> 0:04:07.720 this is going, this is getting into a couch stuff, 0:04:08.040 --> 0:04:10.520 lying on the couch, talking to my shrink. But many 0:04:10.560 --> 0:04:12.520 many years ago, when I was very young, when I 0:04:12.560 --> 0:04:14.920 got a job producing Burt Newton Show, actually I was 0:04:15.040 --> 0:04:18.640 very young, and a local newspaper that used to exist 0:04:18.680 --> 0:04:21.720 call TV Scene did a story about me, about this 0:04:21.839 --> 0:04:24.600 young kid has got this amazing job and whatever. And 0:04:24.800 --> 0:04:28.560 I proudly showed this to my mum and she said, oh, 0:04:28.600 --> 0:04:30.560 do you really think it's very appropriate to be talking 0:04:30.640 --> 0:04:33.839 about yourself in a newspaper? And I thought, oh, maybe 0:04:33.839 --> 0:04:37.839 it's not. That kind of soured me for the last 0:04:38.000 --> 0:04:39.440 or thirty five forty years. 0:04:39.680 --> 0:04:41.680 Well, it's interesting that you say that. I often write 0:04:41.720 --> 0:04:45.040 personal things on my Facebook, or I'll do interviews and 0:04:45.120 --> 0:04:47.480 my mum will also listen to them, and she'll say, 0:04:47.960 --> 0:04:50.680 you share too much information about yourself, you know, And 0:04:50.720 --> 0:04:52.159 I think that's maybe generational. 0:04:52.279 --> 0:04:55.000 Well, you're younger, so you kind of of that mentality 0:04:55.040 --> 0:04:57.279 where you put it out there. I'm a much more 0:04:57.279 --> 0:05:00.560 private person in all sorts of ways, although oddly enough 0:05:00.560 --> 0:05:03.000 to tag to that story about my mum, who's no 0:05:03.080 --> 0:05:05.560 longer with us, is that when I was clearing up 0:05:05.600 --> 0:05:08.760 all her stuff in the nursing home, which was horrible, 0:05:09.160 --> 0:05:11.600 you know, very traumatic thing to have to do, but 0:05:11.800 --> 0:05:13.760 most of at some point have to do it. And 0:05:13.920 --> 0:05:17.200 I found these boxes of various clippings and things that 0:05:17.240 --> 0:05:21.080 she had kept through the years. So although she always 0:05:21.520 --> 0:05:24.000 didn't want me to be in this profession, she right 0:05:24.080 --> 0:05:26.480 up until the end she was still saying. I read 0:05:26.520 --> 0:05:30.360 an article about old age university students. I said on 0:05:30.480 --> 0:05:33.520 m I think the ship has sailed. I don't think 0:05:33.520 --> 0:05:35.440 it's going to be happening now, but thank you for 0:05:35.480 --> 0:05:37.520 your constant criticism and advice. 0:05:37.720 --> 0:05:41.560 It's interesting with parents because you're always trying to impress them. 0:05:41.600 --> 0:05:43.920 I guess what was it that your mum wanted you 0:05:44.000 --> 0:05:44.640 to do instead? 0:05:44.680 --> 0:05:48.320 Oh anything, The priesthood would probably be number one, followed 0:05:48.360 --> 0:05:53.000 by law, followed by medicine, anything. They kind of didn't 0:05:53.040 --> 0:05:56.040 mind the concept. In the end. I think they were 0:05:56.120 --> 0:05:58.760 okay with it all, but it wasn't certainly not how 0:05:58.800 --> 0:06:02.000 they saw playing. And I guess because there was no 0:06:02.080 --> 0:06:04.800 guarantee that I was ever going to get anywhere, it 0:06:05.000 --> 0:06:08.520 wasn't and still is a business full of rejection, and 0:06:08.680 --> 0:06:10.960 in the early days I took more than my share 0:06:11.000 --> 0:06:14.919 of that. So yeah, I guess there was probably fears 0:06:14.960 --> 0:06:17.120 for me rather than anything else where. 0:06:17.120 --> 0:06:20.120 Did you start out because did you always have entertainment 0:06:20.120 --> 0:06:23.080 in your blood? Did you always see yourself working in 0:06:23.120 --> 0:06:24.360 this industry in some way? 0:06:24.640 --> 0:06:27.160 Well? Yes and no. I mean I'd always had an 0:06:27.160 --> 0:06:30.640 interest in the celebrity stuff and the show business stuff, 0:06:30.760 --> 0:06:33.240 and I also always had an interest in journalism because 0:06:33.440 --> 0:06:36.640 I was literally the kid at the news agency waiting 0:06:36.800 --> 0:06:39.800 for TV week copies to arrive. There used to be 0:06:39.839 --> 0:06:43.159 another thing in Melbourn years ago called TV scene, which 0:06:43.400 --> 0:06:46.720 was pre Prior to that, it was a thing called Listener. 0:06:46.760 --> 0:06:50.320 In TV there was the Truth newspaper. They had a 0:06:50.320 --> 0:06:53.400 lot of show business stories that arrived on Mondays and Thursdays. 0:06:53.520 --> 0:06:55.839 So I would literally be there waiting for the truck 0:06:55.880 --> 0:06:59.839 to arrive because I wanted to be first with the news. 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:02.560 I'm talking about eleven and twelve year old kid. I mean, 0:07:02.600 --> 0:07:03.880 it's pretty weird. 0:07:03.800 --> 0:07:04.520 Not so weird. 0:07:04.720 --> 0:07:07.120 I started getting the TV Week delivered to my house 0:07:07.320 --> 0:07:08.360 in nineteen ninety one. 0:07:08.839 --> 0:07:09.560 I was eleven. 0:07:10.000 --> 0:07:13.120 Was that fascination I guess was built then because I 0:07:13.200 --> 0:07:15.280 used to be able to go and see shows. I 0:07:15.360 --> 0:07:17.640 used to hang around stage doors of theaters. I used 0:07:17.640 --> 0:07:20.800 to hang outside radio stations and get autographs. I've got 0:07:20.800 --> 0:07:23.360 autographed books of I look through them actually a few 0:07:23.440 --> 0:07:25.920 years ago, and half of the people whose autographs I 0:07:25.960 --> 0:07:29.720 have no idea who they were, no idea, but at 0:07:29.720 --> 0:07:32.560 the time I obviously wanted that autograph and I got it, 0:07:32.600 --> 0:07:35.160 and it probably meant something to me at the time. 0:07:35.520 --> 0:07:37.920 So I want to ask you, how does young Peter 0:07:38.080 --> 0:07:40.760 go from being a little bit of a fanboy to 0:07:40.800 --> 0:07:41.800 getting into journalism. 0:07:41.880 --> 0:07:45.080 Yeah, so that fascination was always there, but then getting 0:07:45.120 --> 0:07:48.960 into journalism was hard. I've got a box full of 0:07:49.000 --> 0:07:52.880 rejection letters and from all the big obvious places, but 0:07:53.000 --> 0:07:55.800 even sort of places that are left field, like two 0:07:55.800 --> 0:08:00.520 tam Tamworth and no, we don't want you. So that's 0:08:00.680 --> 0:08:03.679 very grounding to keep those sort of letters. 0:08:04.040 --> 0:08:05.760 Yeah, I don't think that people who are a part 0:08:05.800 --> 0:08:09.000 of the insta famous family really understand the hard yards 0:08:09.040 --> 0:08:11.280 that needed to be made back in the day. I mean, 0:08:11.320 --> 0:08:13.120 even when I did Big Brother, I got a sense 0:08:13.160 --> 0:08:15.440 that you know, the people on that show and shows 0:08:15.480 --> 0:08:18.120 around me were all hoping for a golden ticket to 0:08:18.160 --> 0:08:20.720 a media career. I guess I'm a little bit guilty 0:08:20.720 --> 0:08:21.160 of that too. 0:08:21.600 --> 0:08:25.000 You obviously pursued a radio career pretty much instantly, wasn't it. 0:08:25.120 --> 0:08:27.360 Or Yeah, I'd already been doing red carpet, Yeah. 0:08:27.440 --> 0:08:30.920 Exactly, so you were still the halfway in any way. Yeah. 0:08:30.960 --> 0:08:32.959 But for a lot of the people who and it's 0:08:32.960 --> 0:08:36.160 a legitimate path these days to get into the media 0:08:36.360 --> 0:08:39.720 or getting to become a celebrity is to obviously go 0:08:39.800 --> 0:08:43.240 on reality TV. That's the fast track now, and it's 0:08:43.280 --> 0:08:46.200 a whole different ballgame to what it was, for better 0:08:46.280 --> 0:08:48.920 or for worse, a different ballgame to what it was 0:08:49.120 --> 0:08:50.120 thirty forty years ago. 0:08:50.200 --> 0:08:51.840 If you look at the type of celebrity that we 0:08:51.920 --> 0:08:54.800 have now though, you think about you know, comedians and 0:08:54.880 --> 0:08:58.280 reality TV people, that's a far way away from probably 0:08:58.320 --> 0:09:01.560 the people that originally fed you to work in this industry. 0:09:01.920 --> 0:09:05.760 There's so many now, I mean, I literally can't keep 0:09:05.840 --> 0:09:08.880 up with all the celebrities, And to be honest, I'm 0:09:08.920 --> 0:09:10.760 lucky in as much as and I've just got to 0:09:10.800 --> 0:09:13.840 focus on the ones who are of interest to my audience, 0:09:14.160 --> 0:09:17.800 whether it's appearing on television every day. Obviously we have 0:09:18.120 --> 0:09:20.920 a certain audience and they have certain interests. And then 0:09:21.000 --> 0:09:23.840 on radio, so you know, thankfully I don't have to 0:09:23.960 --> 0:09:28.000 obsess too much about TikTok stars or Instagram stars or 0:09:28.360 --> 0:09:31.040 you know. I need to be conscious as best I 0:09:31.160 --> 0:09:33.360 can of who they are, but I don't have to 0:09:33.360 --> 0:09:36.400 focus on them. That's why it's almost impossible now to 0:09:36.480 --> 0:09:38.800 go and do a red carpets. Well, I really don't 0:09:38.960 --> 0:09:41.480 do them anymore. Is because they're just too many people 0:09:41.600 --> 0:09:43.760 and you just see people you think, I've got no 0:09:43.840 --> 0:09:46.199 idea who that person is, and because they are very 0:09:46.200 --> 0:09:49.960 famous in their certain sphere or their demographic or whatever, 0:09:50.360 --> 0:09:53.959 but you just can't keep up with everybody. It's too 0:09:54.000 --> 0:09:55.120 hard now. It's funny. 0:09:55.200 --> 0:09:57.880 I sometimes see, you know, your commentary of some of 0:09:57.920 --> 0:10:00.440 those people, like reality TV people, comedian and some of 0:10:00.440 --> 0:10:02.640 these new age celebrities, and you can be a little 0:10:02.640 --> 0:10:03.560 bit critical on them. 0:10:04.000 --> 0:10:05.720 Is there any kind of animosity? 0:10:05.760 --> 0:10:05.960 There? 0:10:06.080 --> 0:10:07.080 Is there? Some sort? 0:10:07.800 --> 0:10:09.800 I think so, But I mean some of them are 0:10:09.840 --> 0:10:15.680 not really talented. They're famous or infamous and there you know, 0:10:15.720 --> 0:10:18.559 they might be on our TV screens every night, you know, 0:10:18.840 --> 0:10:22.359 take maths for example, but that doesn't mean, they're talented, 0:10:22.440 --> 0:10:25.520 and I guess I probably, but you know, I accept 0:10:25.520 --> 0:10:28.160 that you don't have to have any qualifications to become 0:10:28.200 --> 0:10:30.600 a celebrity. You don't have to have any talent, you know, 0:10:30.679 --> 0:10:35.600 anyone not exactly. So yeah, I hope, I don't hope. 0:10:35.600 --> 0:10:38.560 I accept that things have changed. But if you ask me, 0:10:38.840 --> 0:10:41.920 in all honesty, do I have more interest in Dame 0:10:42.000 --> 0:10:44.800 Judy Dench or the girl from Maths? So I probably 0:10:44.840 --> 0:10:48.040 would go for Dame Judy Dench, me too, thank you. 0:10:49.000 --> 0:10:49.840 Case closed. 0:10:50.160 --> 0:10:52.600 I think it's interesting to look back at the stars 0:10:52.640 --> 0:10:55.079 that were probably around when you got started. I mean, 0:10:55.120 --> 0:10:57.640 who were the people that people were interested back then? 0:10:57.880 --> 0:10:58.960 Who were you fascinated with? 0:10:59.080 --> 0:11:00.720 Well, it was the people you saw on free to 0:11:00.760 --> 0:11:03.920 air TV. I mean, we'd always had a culture of 0:11:04.120 --> 0:11:07.719 sports stars, football stars becoming stars as well, but yeah, 0:11:07.800 --> 0:11:10.240 it was the people you saw on free to air TV. 0:11:10.320 --> 0:11:12.760 It was the first you saw on the Graham Kennedy 0:11:12.800 --> 0:11:15.440 Show or the Penthouse Club or the Ernie Sigley Show, 0:11:15.600 --> 0:11:18.400 or the star of the current hot soapy. You know, 0:11:18.400 --> 0:11:22.000 it was pretty well defined, and there weren't that many 0:11:22.040 --> 0:11:24.439 of them. There might have been, I don't know. If 0:11:24.480 --> 0:11:27.160 we went back, say, thirty years, there might have been 0:11:27.200 --> 0:11:32.559 I reckon thirty maybe forty people who were household names 0:11:32.840 --> 0:11:36.959 in Australian entertainment, putting music to one side. Now you've 0:11:37.000 --> 0:11:39.440 got hundreds and you see that at the logis, And 0:11:39.480 --> 0:11:41.320 I guess that's the point I'm making, is you know something. 0:11:41.360 --> 0:11:43.680 At the logis, I look at the people arriving and 0:11:43.760 --> 0:11:45.400 I don't know who a lot of them are because 0:11:45.400 --> 0:11:47.360 you just can't keep up with it all. But so 0:11:47.480 --> 0:11:50.320 back then, it was much more defined as to how 0:11:50.360 --> 0:11:54.160 you became famous, and the bulk of those people were 0:11:54.280 --> 0:11:58.040 genuinely talented people. Talent inasmuch as they were funny, or 0:11:58.040 --> 0:11:59.959 they could sing, they could dance, or they could add. 0:12:00.320 --> 0:12:02.760 Now you don't need to necessarily have any of those 0:12:02.800 --> 0:12:03.760 things when you're. 0:12:03.600 --> 0:12:06.040 Putting together who you're going to talk about every day? 0:12:06.360 --> 0:12:08.760 How do you qualify that these days? Do you talk 0:12:08.800 --> 0:12:11.760 to a producer? Are you producing your own self? How 0:12:11.760 --> 0:12:14.040 do you work out who Australia wants to hear about? 0:12:14.240 --> 0:12:16.080 Yeah? Well, a lot of it's gut feel. I mean, 0:12:16.120 --> 0:12:17.920 you can do easy things like go and see what's 0:12:17.960 --> 0:12:20.440 trending on Twitter as well, and I do that, and 0:12:20.480 --> 0:12:23.240 I have to be very conscious and I do work 0:12:23.280 --> 0:12:27.360 at it to not be locked in a time zone 0:12:27.559 --> 0:12:29.920 of the past. You know, I need to be current 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:32.360 as best I can and as much as I need 0:12:32.400 --> 0:12:35.040 to be to deliver for the audience I'm working to. 0:12:35.280 --> 0:12:36.920 You know, I do a whole bunch of different radio 0:12:36.920 --> 0:12:39.520 stations around Australia and some days there will be some 0:12:39.679 --> 0:12:43.040 stories that are kind of universal in every radio station 0:12:43.160 --> 0:12:44.839 wants to hear about it. But then there'll be other 0:12:44.920 --> 0:12:46.959 stories that come up and I look at it and think, oh, no, 0:12:47.080 --> 0:12:49.600 Triple m in Hiabat wouldn't give us stuff about that. 0:12:50.280 --> 0:12:53.040 To GiB and Sydney will care about that, three aw 0:12:53.160 --> 0:12:55.680 will like that. You know. So you've got as best 0:12:55.720 --> 0:12:58.360 you can tailor it and curate it if you like, 0:12:58.640 --> 0:13:00.800 for the audience you're working to. But there are certain 0:13:00.880 --> 0:13:04.680 topics that are universal and they're completely newsworthy and nobody 0:13:04.679 --> 0:13:07.000 would argue with that. TV is a little bit easier 0:13:07.080 --> 0:13:09.840 because we know who we're working to. And so yeah, 0:13:10.200 --> 0:13:12.720 to answer your question, basically, when I wake up in 0:13:12.720 --> 0:13:16.520 the morning early, I'm really excited by the day ahead 0:13:16.520 --> 0:13:20.400 because I'm always curious about what's happened overnight, and then 0:13:20.559 --> 0:13:22.280 I've got to look at those things and not think, 0:13:22.360 --> 0:13:24.760 well that I'm interested in that, you know, but the 0:13:24.800 --> 0:13:26.920 public may not be, the audience may not be. So 0:13:26.960 --> 0:13:29.720 I've got to pick out what will work for the audience, 0:13:29.760 --> 0:13:31.599 particularly on TV, because then you've also got to have 0:13:31.800 --> 0:13:34.320 something to show. You've got to have vision or a 0:13:34.360 --> 0:13:37.040 clip or something. So yeah, it's a bit of a 0:13:37.160 --> 0:13:40.000 job each morning trying to work out what fits where 0:13:40.320 --> 0:13:44.320 and what people will respond to. But I also do 0:13:44.400 --> 0:13:47.400 have other people who helped me, particularly with television radio, 0:13:47.480 --> 0:13:50.559 I'm largely left to my own devices. I tell them 0:13:50.559 --> 0:13:53.000 what I want to talk about and they go with it. 0:13:53.360 --> 0:13:54.880 I think I like you a little bit more in 0:13:55.000 --> 0:13:56.800 radio because I feel like you have a little bit 0:13:56.800 --> 0:13:58.840 more license to be yourself. 0:13:59.080 --> 0:14:01.680 Yeah, a bit more of your own spin on the story. 0:14:01.800 --> 0:14:04.080 I can, I guess I can pick my own passion 0:14:04.120 --> 0:14:07.360 projects for radio and things I feel I want to. 0:14:07.720 --> 0:14:09.960 You know, I still have to be conscious of the audience. Mean, 0:14:09.960 --> 0:14:12.240 I can't just talk about stuff that interests me. We're 0:14:12.240 --> 0:14:14.560 going to talk about lizam An Alley all morning or something, 0:14:14.679 --> 0:14:17.240 but so I need to be conscious that. But I 0:14:17.360 --> 0:14:20.520 have working here on the morning show. I have now 0:14:20.600 --> 0:14:22.760 for the last eight years, I've had a whole series 0:14:22.800 --> 0:14:26.960 of young female producers who have been so good and 0:14:27.200 --> 0:14:29.520 good reality check. You know when you mentioned a name 0:14:29.600 --> 0:14:31.840 and they stare at you blankly and have no idea 0:14:32.120 --> 0:14:34.560 what you're talking about. So you think, oh, okay, well 0:14:34.600 --> 0:14:36.400 I've got to be conscious of that. And then I 0:14:36.440 --> 0:14:38.840 have a very good executive producer, Chloe Flynn. I have 0:14:38.880 --> 0:14:42.560 a director of morning television who oversees Morning Show and Sunrise, 0:14:42.720 --> 0:14:46.359 which I also do, and that Stair Since Stinson, and 0:14:45.720 --> 0:14:49.760 she's like a Spengalian And for me, when she hired 0:14:49.800 --> 0:14:52.120 me years ago, I didn't want to do any more TV, 0:14:52.440 --> 0:14:55.200 and she talked me around and because every other television 0:14:55.200 --> 0:14:58.120 show I've done they wanted me to be different. They've 0:14:58.120 --> 0:15:00.560 wanted me to what I am. They want me to 0:15:00.560 --> 0:15:02.480 be John Michael House and or they wanted me to 0:15:02.640 --> 0:15:04.920 do it. And she said, I want you to be you. 0:15:05.480 --> 0:15:07.800 If I wanted those people, I would have hired them. 0:15:08.000 --> 0:15:10.080 So that was the most beautiful thing I ever heard 0:15:10.160 --> 0:15:12.600 in terms of giving me confidence to just go on 0:15:12.720 --> 0:15:16.320 and be myself. So yeah, I've been very fortunate in 0:15:16.360 --> 0:15:18.480 that respect. My whole life is based on a lot 0:15:18.480 --> 0:15:18.840 of luck. 0:15:19.560 --> 0:15:22.200 They always say, it's luck, chance and circumstances. It'll get this. 0:15:22.560 --> 0:15:22.840 Yeah. 0:15:22.920 --> 0:15:26.440 Well, you know, I one of my great mentors was 0:15:26.600 --> 0:15:30.720 the comedian Joan Rivers, and I had a very wonderful 0:15:30.760 --> 0:15:33.440 relationship with her, and she always said to me that 0:15:33.520 --> 0:15:36.320 luck is simply preparation meeting opportunity. 0:15:36.360 --> 0:15:37.440 It's a good way to look at it. 0:15:37.560 --> 0:15:37.960 Yeah. 0:15:38.080 --> 0:15:40.960 I think what's interesting about you is that you're always 0:15:40.960 --> 0:15:42.920 paid to do the work that you do, and I 0:15:42.920 --> 0:15:46.480 think that you've maintained that. I think that's interesting because 0:15:46.520 --> 0:15:49.040 there's been so many people in your industry who would 0:15:49.080 --> 0:15:52.480 love to do your job and would do it for free. 0:15:52.640 --> 0:15:56.040 And kill me in the process and throw me into 0:15:56.080 --> 0:15:59.360 the whole Leve Doug. Yeah, look, I'm part men of 0:15:59.400 --> 0:16:01.960 the US Old to work for free, you know. I 0:16:02.040 --> 0:16:05.640 just I get calls still to this day, particularly when 0:16:05.640 --> 0:16:08.560 there's a major story breaks. You know, some radio station 0:16:08.640 --> 0:16:11.560 will ring me from Madaiser or something and so will 0:16:11.560 --> 0:16:14.440 you come on here? And I said, no, not for free, 0:16:14.560 --> 0:16:17.920 I won't. And I feel sad sometimes saying it because 0:16:17.920 --> 0:16:21.040 sometimes they're very polite, and you know, I know what 0:16:21.080 --> 0:16:23.040 it's like to be a radio producer trying to get 0:16:23.080 --> 0:16:25.400 content and you haven't got a budget and all that stuff. 0:16:25.400 --> 0:16:28.360 But yeah, I just am too old now to start 0:16:28.400 --> 0:16:30.520 working for free. I've got nothing to prove. I'm not 0:16:30.600 --> 0:16:33.320 auditioning for anything. I don't need any more work. So, 0:16:33.480 --> 0:16:36.280 you know, very occasionally, if someone I know rings me, 0:16:36.320 --> 0:16:37.880 I'll do it as one off favor. 0:16:37.920 --> 0:16:39.120 But you did it for me once. 0:16:39.360 --> 0:16:41.680 Oh yeah, a regional radio and yeah, I rang you 0:16:41.800 --> 0:16:43.720 and you said, is there a budget? I said no, 0:16:43.880 --> 0:16:45.440 and you were pretty much like, well, this is a 0:16:45.480 --> 0:16:47.600 ones off one, so off enjoy. 0:16:48.400 --> 0:16:51.000 Yeah, you're right. There are a lot of people out 0:16:51.000 --> 0:16:53.320 there who will do it for free, and good luck 0:16:53.320 --> 0:16:56.360 to them. But I've always had the feeling too, if 0:16:56.400 --> 0:16:59.240 you start working for free, they're not going to suddenly 0:16:59.240 --> 0:17:00.240 start paying it. 0:17:00.360 --> 0:17:02.360 Well, the's hard to jump to go from exactly you 0:17:02.360 --> 0:17:04.159 know what I mean? Why would they pay you and 0:17:04.160 --> 0:17:05.240 they know you're already doing it for you. 0:17:05.600 --> 0:17:08.159 So I always say to people when they're in that situation, 0:17:08.280 --> 0:17:11.560 and sometimes people ask for advice, and I just say, look, 0:17:11.600 --> 0:17:14.240 say to them that you know, do one or two 0:17:14.240 --> 0:17:16.440 if you have to, but that's it. And then say, look, 0:17:16.480 --> 0:17:18.600 get your sales department to go out and find a 0:17:18.600 --> 0:17:20.919 sponsor for it, and that way you can pay me. 0:17:21.000 --> 0:17:22.879 It's not costing their radio station anything. 0:17:23.119 --> 0:17:25.240 But you know what's funny to me is, you know, 0:17:25.320 --> 0:17:27.160 with all the people that would love to do what 0:17:27.240 --> 0:17:29.720 you do, they sort of come and go. You kind 0:17:29.720 --> 0:17:32.199 of hinted at it before. Do you think maybe some 0:17:32.280 --> 0:17:34.760 of the magic goes and when they realize it's not 0:17:34.800 --> 0:17:37.280 about them. Yeah, and it is about the story that 0:17:37.320 --> 0:17:39.800 people get bored with it and they then look for 0:17:39.880 --> 0:17:43.000 ways to get attention elsewhere. I mean, why hasn't anyone 0:17:43.040 --> 0:17:45.640 ever been as successful as you in this space? 0:17:45.840 --> 0:17:48.080 Yeah? Well, I mean there are obviously people who do 0:17:48.200 --> 0:17:50.840 similar stuff, like Richard and Angela. But in terms of, 0:17:51.200 --> 0:17:54.119 you know, the way I've positioned myself, I guess I 0:17:54.160 --> 0:17:57.200 am there's no one really to compare. But I suppose 0:17:57.240 --> 0:17:59.720 I'm odd also in that, you know a lot of 0:17:59.720 --> 0:18:03.360 people who want to start doing this stuff, they really 0:18:03.359 --> 0:18:05.400 want to be on the First Night lists. They want 0:18:05.440 --> 0:18:08.800 to have celebrity friends. You know, I don't want any 0:18:08.840 --> 0:18:09.120 of that. 0:18:09.280 --> 0:18:11.520 I don't have one at the end of the day. 0:18:11.720 --> 0:18:14.600 No, exactly, I've got celebrity enemies. That's what I've cot 0:18:14.800 --> 0:18:17.800 through the years. You know, I guess without sending wanky 0:18:17.840 --> 0:18:20.880