Speaker 1: It's in the news today, but it was actually on
Speaker 1: TV Reload the podcast last week. I'm right, welcome back
Speaker 1: guys to TV Reload. My name's Benjamin Norris and on
Speaker 1: this podcast I go behind the scenes with the biggest
Speaker 1: players in television.
Speaker 2: Yeah, great questions. The show's about the game. There's a
Speaker 2: lot of great television out there in Australia.
Speaker 1: But I've also got to go behind the scenes with writers.
Speaker 1: The truth is, when I started writing it, it wasn't
Speaker 1: had nothing to do with the news and casting agents they.
Speaker 2: Know from a casting point of view what they need.
Speaker 1: And editors because that's what we do as editors where storytellers.
Speaker 1: Not to forget some incredible executive producers who are making
Speaker 1: some of the best TV in Australia. I have been
Speaker 1: on the program since the beginning and it's kind of
Speaker 1: in my DNA. So thanks for joining me each week
Speaker 1: and I hope the podcast continues to give you real
Speaker 1: insight into the magic of television. Today. On the podcast,
Speaker 1: I have the winner of I'm a Celebrity twenty twenty two.
Speaker 1: It's Dylan Lewis. Dylan's been in our lives through radio
Speaker 1: and television for as long as I can remember he
Speaker 1: is a genuine who connects with audiences by being and
Speaker 1: please don't come for me when I say this, but
Speaker 1: his authentic self. It is absolutely hilarious that he's just
Speaker 1: one another reality show, but it's also really heartwarming to
Speaker 1: know that he's just as love now as he has
Speaker 1: always been. I feel like this is going to be
Speaker 1: a really big reminder to studio bosses and executives that
Speaker 1: we need more Dylan Lewis in our lives. Today we'll
Speaker 1: be discussing the rumors about his casting on the show.
Speaker 1: He's passion for Lifeline, he's ambition moving forward, and I
Speaker 1: guarantee you a few good laughs and some thought provoking
Speaker 1: conversation as well. It's all very Dylan Lewis. Some of
Speaker 1: the conversation involves mental health issues, and if you are
Speaker 1: concerned that you or someone is struggling or you might
Speaker 1: be thinking about suicide, you can call Lifeline on thirteen
Speaker 1: eleven fourteen. One of their trained crisis supporters will be
Speaker 1: there to listen and support you. So, without further ado,
Speaker 1: I'm going to bring Dylan Lewis into the chat. I
Speaker 1: hope you enjoy this episode, and I welcome the King
Speaker 1: of the Jungle to tvvyload.
Speaker 2: I've never had this intense amount of interaction before.
Speaker 1: You're King of the I'm a Celebrity Jungle.
Speaker 2: It's hard too. It was too hard for me to share.
Speaker 2: I don't know if I am allowed to say those things.
Speaker 1: Dylan, you really gave us so many highlights.
Speaker 2: There's a bit of self editing that goes on. Dylan
Speaker 2: is a man.
Speaker 1: Who walks to the beat of his own drum.
Speaker 2: It's just easier to just be yourself.
Speaker 1: Hey, Dylan, how are you.
Speaker 2: I'm extremely well and very happy to see Benjamin. How
Speaker 2: are you doing.
Speaker 1: I'm doing so well, and I just have to say
Speaker 1: congratulations on winning this series of I'm a Celebrity. Get
Speaker 1: me out of here.
Speaker 2: I mean, what an experience, Thank you very much. I
Speaker 2: what an experience, indeed, And it's and it's a whirlwind,
Speaker 2: and that was it's been on no sleep and so
Speaker 2: it's like now I'm taking a breath and go, oh
Speaker 2: my god, this is happening. This is real.
Speaker 1: It must be like a bit of a reunion of
Speaker 1: sorts for you, because being in the industry for so long,
Speaker 1: you know, sitting down with these people in radio or television,
Speaker 1: there are all people that have interviewed you before. Does
Speaker 1: it feel like a reunion?
Speaker 2: Oh? Yes, I guess so. It's kind of nice. It's
Speaker 2: nice to be back, and it's been nice seeing people
Speaker 2: that have crossed paths within in the industry before. And
Speaker 2: then there's alt meeting all the new people who I
Speaker 2: was never going to cross paths with sport people. You know,
Speaker 2: I don't hang around the sports people very much, so
Speaker 2: having some sports friends is quite a novelty for me.
Speaker 2: But I think sometimes that's my favorite thing with an experience,
Speaker 2: a surreal experience like this. It's ending up in places
Speaker 2: and in situations that you were never going to end
Speaker 2: up in normal life.
Speaker 1: You were the bookie's favorite to win right from the start. Like,
Speaker 1: I don't know if you saw that online, but I
Speaker 1: want to know, did you put a bet on yourself? Like,
Speaker 1: did you have any money on yourself to win?
Speaker 2: Yeah? I did not. I'm not a gambling man. I
Speaker 2: did notice somebody who was sending me the odds, and
Speaker 2: I really didn't understand it. I'm like, two dollars for
Speaker 2: me that why how come other people are getting fifteen dollars?
Speaker 2: That sounds huge better? And so I really don't get it.
Speaker 2: So I didn't put a bet on, but I know
Speaker 2: a couple of my friends did. I saw one of
Speaker 2: my friends this morning dropping the kids off at school,
Speaker 2: and he said, dude, I put fifteen on you and
Speaker 2: fifteen on David and I won eight dollars.
Speaker 1: So don't quit your day job.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 1: I heard a rumor that you were approached last year
Speaker 1: to do the show, and that you may have been
Speaker 1: a little bit disappointed to get the call, saying unfortunately,
Speaker 1: it's not going to happen last year. Now is that
Speaker 1: a true rumor?
Speaker 2: Oh, I don't know if I am allowed to say
Speaker 2: those things. If it was a true story, I am
Speaker 2: glad it didn't happen last year. I'm so glad it
Speaker 2: happened this year. I love all the people on every season,
Speaker 2: most of them, but this season was a season full
Speaker 2: of people that they all have such big hearts and
Speaker 2: we all connected, and I think that translated really nicely
Speaker 2: through the television. Just the willingness to get to know
Speaker 2: each other and ask questions to learn more about each other,
Speaker 2: and the amount of heart that was in camp. It
Speaker 2: was the year for me to be in it, and
Speaker 2: I'm really glad if that was a thing that happened
Speaker 2: last year. I'm glad it happened that I didn't do
Speaker 2: it last year.
Speaker 1: I just wanted to know because I thought we'd have
Speaker 1: a laugh about it, because I wanted to know if
Speaker 1: we knew who got in your spot last year. So
Speaker 1: I wondered whether or not you like a voodoo doll
Speaker 1: that you put pins.
Speaker 2: If it had happened, Benjamin, Yeah, I would. I imagine
Speaker 2: that someone like Ash might have taken my spot maybe.
Speaker 1: And no pins were put into an Ash Williams doll.
Speaker 1: That's all we'll say.
Speaker 2: No. I love Ashwilliams, his beautiful soul. So now I'm
Speaker 2: glad that he got to do it last year, and
Speaker 2: then I'm glad that I got to do it this year.
Speaker 1: One hundred percent. I mean, I think that this is
Speaker 1: the universe saying that you're in the right place at
Speaker 1: the right time. And you know, you being in the
Speaker 1: industry for as long as you have been, you know
Speaker 1: that this happens all the time. You know, sometimes things
Speaker 1: don't work out and it can feel really painful at
Speaker 1: the time, but then you realize down the track that
Speaker 1: there was something else waiting for you.
Speaker 2: Man, if only we had crystal balls. On crystal Ball,
Speaker 2: everything would be fine for those of us in this
Speaker 2: weird industry. But yeah, like you say, it is a
Speaker 2: bit of an odd industry, and especially due during the
Speaker 2: last couple of years during pandemic and trying to cope
Speaker 2: with all that in homeschooling, and I lost a lot
Speaker 2: of gigs because of the pandemic working in the arts.
Speaker 2: So it is a bit of a weird industry and
Speaker 2: you need to have your finger in a few different
Speaker 2: pies if you're going to be able to try and
Speaker 2: keep earning a living in this industry, especially at the moment.
Speaker 2: So yeah, it did come at the right time. And
Speaker 2: I do thank the beautiful universe all the time for
Speaker 2: not just this opportunity, but I've had so many weird
Speaker 2: and strange and wonderful experiences through my career and my
Speaker 2: life that I'm grateful for so the universe and I
Speaker 2: are quite tired at the moment. I love your universe.
Speaker 1: I've been in your audience for your entire career, just
Speaker 1: right from the very start. And you know, when I
Speaker 1: did Big Brother in twenty twelve, I thought to myself,
Speaker 1: about two weeks into the competition, I thought, I'm playing
Speaker 1: this all wrong. I need to be more like Dylan Lewis,
Speaker 1: because you had one this season, you know, before me
Speaker 1: doing the show. You know, what is it about these
Speaker 1: programs in your mind that makes you resonate so clearly
Speaker 1: with audiences?
Speaker 2: Well, that's a lovely in depth question, Benjamin. I like
Speaker 2: that one. I guess it's a little hard to answer
Speaker 2: because I'm me, but I think that might be the answer.
Speaker 2: And I think if anyone it finds themselves in this
Speaker 2: kind of situation, it's just easier to just be yourself
Speaker 2: than to try and put on an act, because you
Speaker 2: can't keep up an act twenty four to seven. And
Speaker 2: on these kind of shows, reality TV shows, the cameras
Speaker 2: are on you all the time, you know, and I'm
Speaker 2: really conscious of that the whole time. I'm conscious of
Speaker 2: there's a bit of self editing that goes on, you know,
Speaker 2: And I'm not going to reveal every single thing about
Speaker 2: my life because it'll be seen, and I like to
Speaker 2: keep some things private. Other people go into the situations
Speaker 2: and forget the cameras are there, or don't care what
Speaker 2: they say, and it's inevitably going to be used. So look,
Speaker 2: I guess there is a little bit of gameplay. Maybe
Speaker 2: is the wrong word, because it's not. I don't play
Speaker 2: these things like a game. I just go in there
Speaker 2: with the attitude of there's no point in acting because
Speaker 2: the act will drop within a few days, especially in
Speaker 2: something like the Jungle, where you're beaten down to a
Speaker 2: sad little shell of what you formerly were with no food.
Speaker 2: So if look, if there was anything that I've taken
Speaker 2: away from having one celebrity big brother twenty years ago
Speaker 2: and then being crowned King of the Jungle a couple
Speaker 2: of days ago, it's just I'll just keep on being me.
Speaker 2: And you know, that's a lovely thing that I got
Speaker 2: out of this latest one, because I think I went
Speaker 2: in there going, oh god, you know what am I
Speaker 2: doing for my job next? I'm not sure. Is it
Speaker 2: going to be radio or Telly or will they write books?
Speaker 2: Or will I learn to poor beers or I'm not
Speaker 2: I'm not sure. I'd sort of lost my way a
Speaker 2: little bit during the pandemic, losing work and working in
Speaker 2: you know a few jobs that were kind of hectic
Speaker 2: for a while. So when I went in I was
Speaker 2: a little confused about what I am, what I am
Speaker 2: what am I? Am? I A bun nip? Why am I?
Speaker 2: And then by the end of it, I had, honestly
Speaker 2: I found myself and I was just in there. I
Speaker 2: was just inside me waiting to find an opportunity to
Speaker 2: come out again. I remembered what I do this for.
Speaker 2: I remembered why I got into this industry in the
Speaker 2: first place. And that was a that was a really
Speaker 2: transformative moment for me to go, oh, there you are.
Speaker 2: You know, in that film about Peter Pan called Hook
Speaker 2: with Robin Williams in it, and then the little kid
Speaker 2: comes up and stretches Robin Williams's face back to make
Speaker 2: him look young again. He goes, oh, there you are,
Speaker 2: there's the Pan. You are the Pan. It was that
Speaker 2: little moment of me stretching my own face back and say,
Speaker 2: oh my god, I don't I mean, it doesn't look
Speaker 2: that good when I do it.
Speaker 1: But I just think that, you know, when I was
Speaker 1: watching the finale and watching you being crowned, I thought,
Speaker 1: you know, twenty years a part of winning these reality competitions.
Speaker 1: I just hope that it was reassuring for you that
Speaker 1: you now know that Australian audiences have never left and
Speaker 1: that they've always been there in your audience, loving Dylan Lewis, Ah, what.
Speaker 2: A lovely thing to say, Benjamin, thank you. I did
Speaker 2: feel the love and I am feeling the love. And
Speaker 2: you know, when I did recovery back in the nineties,
Speaker 2: the Music Show or other music shows early in the
Speaker 2: two thousands, or Celebrity Big Brother, that was no social media,
Speaker 2: and so the feedback was just in public, like someone
Speaker 2: in the supermarket would say say, oh my god, I
Speaker 2: liked you on this, or my husband thought you were
Speaker 2: a nod, but now he likes you. But now the
Speaker 2: feedback is so instant, isn't It's coming into my house,
Speaker 2: It's coming into my lounge room when I sit on
Speaker 2: my couch and I'm seeing these comments and ninety nine
Speaker 2: point nine percent of them really lovely, and so many
Speaker 2: people are sharing their stories with me, and it's a
Speaker 2: I've never had this intense amount of interaction before through
Speaker 2: social media, so it's a real eye opener for me.
Speaker 2: It's a little bit new to me, but it's been amazing.
Speaker 2: It's been wonderful. My favorite comments back in the day
Speaker 2: were like what I just said, my husband thought you
Speaker 2: were a NOD, but now he likes you, and I've
Speaker 2: been getting them again. I got one the other day
Speaker 2: and said, my husband said, oh no, this guy's a
Speaker 2: wanko when I went on the telly, and then by
Speaker 2: episode two or three, he turned and decided that he
Speaker 2: didn't think I was that way, and he thought it
Speaker 2: was all right. I love those kind of comments.
Speaker 1: It's amazing, though, because I mean, you're right about the
Speaker 1: instancy of being able to read these comments as it
Speaker 1: happens live. Because connecting to a really positive thing can
Speaker 1: be just as dangerous as connecting to something negative. You
Speaker 1: kind of have to attach yourself to it with a
Speaker 1: grain of salt, not to take yourself too seriously or
Speaker 1: not to believe everything that you read through your internet.
Speaker 1: So correct, absolutely, but I still think for you, like
Speaker 1: I was online watching the responses, watching every episode of
Speaker 1: the show, and you're right, it was just so intensely positive.
Speaker 2: When I started opening up and it was coming on,
Speaker 2: you know, opening up about bearing my soul and explain
Speaker 2: why I chose Lifeline for a charity and about losing
Speaker 2: my brother, the responses that were coming in were like,
Speaker 2: I'm a really empathetic person, and so I was reading
Speaker 2: every response on this on the first day when it happened,
Speaker 2: and the second day when it happened as well, and
Speaker 2: I was taking it all on board and really feeling
Speaker 2: so sad that something like trigger wanting suicide is so
Speaker 2: prevalent in society, and especially in this day and age,
Speaker 2: people are having a rough time. It was upsetting me,
Speaker 2: and I felt so drained reading and taking on board
Speaker 2: all these people's stories and finding some words that I
Speaker 2: could try and give back to these people. And it
Speaker 2: was a constant. It was two days of it, and
Speaker 2: at the end of the two days, I realized, like
Speaker 2: you say, you've got to take it with some grains
Speaker 2: of salt, You've got to also protect yourself a little bit.
Speaker 2: And so now I'm I'm trying to be a little
Speaker 2: bit more disciplined with how I handle the social media
Speaker 2: because every single comment matters to me, every single comment
Speaker 2: I read, and I want to find some words for
Speaker 2: comments that need words. Trying to find some discipline in
Speaker 2: this modern world of social media. This is it's a
Speaker 2: new skill that I'm learning. Wasn't born into that world
Speaker 2: in the nineties. The only trolling we got in the
Speaker 2: nineties was old people writing actual letters and sending them
Speaker 2: to the ABC and complaining that the gardening Australia had
Speaker 2: been taken off and replaced with a man with metal
Speaker 2: in his face. Very different. Yeah, it's differently, you know.
Speaker 1: I just I mean, not to go too deep with you,
Speaker 1: but in my life at the moment, it was really
Speaker 1: important to watch you tell that story about your brother
Speaker 1: on the show, and it was really powerful that the
Speaker 1: television network and ITV studios left that honesty and sort
Speaker 1: of that rawness since its proper form. I lost my
Speaker 1: brother in law to suicide in October last year, and
Speaker 1: so my whole world has been completely rattled to its
Speaker 1: very core. And the weird thing was, I mean, you
Speaker 1: and I both have worked in radio on and off
Speaker 1: for years, and you know Lifeline is always an ad
Speaker 1: that you did. It was one of those ads that
Speaker 1: you know, you'd always be promoting Lifeline on the radio station,
Speaker 1: and so I use Lifelines so heavily through the loss
Speaker 1: of my brother in law, where I wasn't feeling like
Speaker 1: bad myself, but I just needed someone to talk to
Speaker 1: and they were always there giving me advice. And I
Speaker 1: just hope that people have that reaction now people realize
Speaker 1: that doesn't need to be this big moment. It could
Speaker 1: just be a question that you have about your own
Speaker 1: mental health, and you can call these people and they
Speaker 1: will help you on both sides of the fence. You know,
Speaker 1: if you're worrying about someone else, so you're worrying about yourself.
Speaker 1: I can't thank you enough.
Speaker 2: I am so sorry for your life, you beautiful man.
Speaker 2: That is horrible, and unfortunately I know how it feels.
Speaker 2: So thank you for sharing that, and thank you for
Speaker 2: understanding and giving weight to how important lifeline is. It
Speaker 2: really is what you said. It's people who are not
Speaker 2: only empathetic and only a voice at the other end
Speaker 2: of the line who will listen to you, but they're trained,
Speaker 2: and they know steps to take, and they know urgency
Speaker 2: and when that's required. I think a big message and
Speaker 2: one that I've been trying to explain why I think
Speaker 2: it's so important. A big message I've been trying to
Speaker 2: say is please don't second guess yourself. Please don't think
Speaker 2: I'll leave it for a bit. I might call tomorrow.
Speaker 2: You know, if it's about yourself, or if it's about
Speaker 2: someone that you love or someone that you know and
Speaker 2: you're worried about them, don't leave it. Do it, because
Speaker 2: there is a worst possible scenario that can happen if
Speaker 2: you do leave it. And that's what we're trying to
Speaker 2: avoid here, to be able to get this message out
Speaker 2: there and for you to be able to back it
Speaker 2: up with real life story. This is what this weird
Speaker 2: little platform of the media can do, isn't it. We
Speaker 2: can start the conversations, and that's what's happening. You know.
Speaker 2: The feedback I'm getting is parents telling me that they're
Speaker 2: able to talk to their children because the conversation started
Speaker 2: from watching the show, or it's people letting me know
Speaker 2: that it that they decided to call Lifeline because they
Speaker 2: were reminded of Lifeline because of watching the show. And
Speaker 2: people now listening to this, you know, maybe it's going
Speaker 2: to tweak with some of these people. And you know what,
Speaker 2: if we can, if we can get the message through
Speaker 2: to one person that needs it, then this has been
Speaker 2: a good, worthwhile experience.
Speaker 1: Well, sharing stories, in my mind is always saving lives.
Speaker 1: That's what I always say to people. You know, we
Speaker 1: so often have things that happen to us and we think, oh,
Speaker 1: I can't share.
Speaker 2: That absolutely of course, and it's hard too. It was
Speaker 2: too hard for me to share fifteen years. I'll talk
Speaker 2: about it with my very close friends. I talk about
Speaker 2: it with my family sometimes because it's so hard and painful,
Speaker 2: but never in public. And it took me fifteen years
Speaker 2: to be able to talk about it, and I'm glad
Speaker 2: that finally I have. And I don't regret taking that
Speaker 2: long to do it, because that's what I needed to
Speaker 2: do on my journey. But you're so right. It's the conversation,
Speaker 2: the conversation about any kind of thing, whether it's suicide
Speaker 2: prevention or equality or anything that we're trying to still
Speaker 2: struggle with and evolve as humans, you know, towards being
Speaker 2: a more beautiful race of people. It's a good thing.
Speaker 2: It's a positive thing, and you're doing you're doing a
Speaker 2: good thing by talking about this right now.
Speaker 1: Well, just try and step out of that and to
Speaker 1: finish the interview. I mean, it's a fairly heavy conversation.
Speaker 1: But to shed a little bit of light on it
Speaker 1: was that I could always remember from doing breakfast radio.
Speaker 1: I couldn't remember, I should say, from doing breakfast radio.
Speaker 1: I'd always get the numbers confused between the competition line
Speaker 1: and the lifeline number. Remember once going down this conversation
Speaker 1: out of the radio station and saying to someone ring
Speaker 1: thirteen twelve sixteen, which was the competition line.
Speaker 2: And oh bro, it's an honest mistake. However, a little
Speaker 2: bit shocking when you're ringing for some help and somebody says,
Speaker 2: I just put you on hald My god, it's true
Speaker 2: though it's thirteen eleven fourteen.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I just checked on my phone to make sure I
Speaker 2: got it right, because I know, thirteen years of working
Speaker 2: at a commercial radio station, I've still got the number
Speaker 2: in my head. Real strong.
Speaker 1: I know how ridiculous, how ridiculous? Had you been asked
Speaker 1: to do any other reality shows over the twenty years
Speaker 1: in between these two, because I mean now we're terrified
Speaker 1: no one's going to ask you to do them because
Speaker 1: they just know you're going to win. But I I
Speaker 1: just want to know have you turned any down? Have
Speaker 1: you turned shows down like this? Over the twenty.
Speaker 2: Years, There's been a couple of kind of reality shows,
Speaker 2: but they the more the more that the years go on,
Speaker 2: the more these reality shows become. They've become a real
Speaker 2: formulaate kind of program where people are going in them
Speaker 2: knowing they can get careers off the back of them,
Speaker 2: and people are going in them with a game plan,
Speaker 2: And I guess the nature of the programs through the
Speaker 2: years has sort of come to a place where the
Speaker 2: real kind of bitchy ones and the ones where they're
Speaker 2: putting people together because they know there's going to be
Speaker 2: some fighting, that's become quite prevalent. So going from Celebrity
Speaker 2: Big Brother in two thousand and two when Reality TV
Speaker 2: was new and no one knows, I knew what they do,
Speaker 2: were a naive and we're just playing. So now doing
Speaker 2: this one where I've seen the seasons and I've seen
Speaker 2: Tony Perrient getting bitten on the face five times, and
Speaker 2: I've seen people doing game plans on Survivor and you know,
Speaker 2: trying to get their politics in order and all this.
Speaker 2: It's I'm not going to go and I'm not going
Speaker 2: to go and do anything that's that way in clime.
Speaker 2: The producers promised me that this season might feel a
Speaker 2: little bit different to other seasons. When we all found
Speaker 2: ourselves in the jungle and we met these people and
Speaker 2: it was so full of heart, I was so thankful. Yes,
Speaker 2: I think they're right. This isn't like one of the
Speaker 2: other bitchy kind of shows. This is a really different
Speaker 2: necessary thing at this time in history, going through the pandemic,
Speaker 2: a lot of people are having a rough time. I
Speaker 2: think we just needed some heart and that's what this was.
Speaker 2: So I'm not going to go on a dating show.
Speaker 2: So you know, I'm selling and celebrating my twenty year
Speaker 2: anniversary of being married tomorrow. Congratulations, thank you, and it's
Speaker 2: you know, we've been together for twenty seven years or
Speaker 2: something like that. So yeah, I'm not going to do
Speaker 2: a dating show. I really don't feel like doing an
Speaker 2: thing where authority figures are going to stand really close
Speaker 2: to my face and shout at me. I'm I'm not
Speaker 2: keen on that idea of either. But I think the
Speaker 2: only other one that I've been asked in the twenty
Speaker 2: years was Celebrity Circus. But that was not really a
Speaker 2: reality show. It was us living at a circus, learning
Speaker 2: to be circus performers, and then putting on a circus show.
Speaker 2: So that is both very nature, was going to be
Speaker 2: nothing like a dating show or a bitchy, scary show.
Speaker 2: So I haven't been asked to do that many shows.
Speaker 2: I'm looking forward to being asked to do another show
Speaker 2: in twenty years, and I'm looking forward to seeing what
Speaker 2: the landscape will look like in twenty I only to
Speaker 2: do the maybe twenty years now, that's my thing, got it?
Speaker 1: My favorite onever was like I think it was like
Speaker 1: two years after winning Big Brother, someone wrote to me
Speaker 1: and I proposed to my partner at the end of
Speaker 1: that show. I've been in a relationship, you know, my
Speaker 1: whole life. And I thought people knew that. And I
Speaker 1: kept getting people writing to me on social media saying,
Speaker 1: ben you'd be a great bachelor. You should be on
Speaker 1: the Bachelor. How is my partner that these people get
Speaker 1: single and go on the Bachelor?
Speaker 2: No, thank you, well, Benjamin, you know it's a lot
Speaker 2: more lucrative to be single. Apparently.
Speaker 1: Apparently. Now I want to ask you this other question.
Speaker 1: So Bo revealed after the show that he's snuck in
Speaker 1: a phone put it in Brooks guitar. I'm sure you've
Speaker 1: heard this story, but I want to know, was there
Speaker 1: any rules that you broke? You know, is there anything
Speaker 1: that you broke whilst being in the jungle.
Speaker 2: Okay, for a start, I never saw that phone. If
Speaker 2: there was a phone there, I would have found that
Speaker 2: phone and I would have played Pokemon Go, because that
Speaker 2: was one of the biggest things I missed Ohry and
Speaker 2: I would have called my family and then played Pokemon Go.
Speaker 1: I have never played Pokemon, but I hang the sec
Speaker 1: I just remember that Pokemon there's like a gym or
Speaker 1: whatever where there's a whole bunch of Pokemon or working
Speaker 1: out or whatever. I wondered whether or not there'd be
Speaker 1: any gym nasiums in the area.
Speaker 2: Is that what it is?
Speaker 1: Is that how they call it?
Speaker 2: And when the show wrapped, we went back to the
Speaker 2: to the jungle the next day and I was allowed
Speaker 2: to take my phone then, of course, and so yes
Speaker 2: I did search and no, there's no handy gyms nearby.
Speaker 2: Who would have been useless anyway if the phone was
Speaker 2: indeed real. I don't know if Bob is tricking or
Speaker 2: if that got taken out of context, or if I
Speaker 2: just didn't see. But as far as did I break
Speaker 2: any rules, yes, I love breaking rules. I see a
Speaker 2: rule and I smash it. I'm a rule breaker. So
Speaker 2: I did everything I could to try and make myself comfortable.
Speaker 2: I smuggled so much contraband in there. On the first day,
Speaker 2: we were pushed out of a helicopter, and if you
Speaker 2: look at the footage, you can see that I've got
Speaker 2: a really strangely shaped pop belly, and that is because
Speaker 2: there is so much chocolate shoved into my pockets that
Speaker 2: I'm thinking, I'm getting this, I'm getting this in there.
Speaker 2: And so I had all these parachute things on me
Speaker 2: and a man strapped to my back, and it was
Speaker 2: all really tight and it was all going up in
Speaker 2: the junk area. But there was so much chocolate in there,
Speaker 2: and when I landed the cut, it all melted into
Speaker 2: the shape in my body and it was just covered
Speaker 2: in this fear sweat. I saved that. I saved some
Speaker 2: of that chocolate to the very end of the camp
Speaker 2: and like on one of the last days, I put
Speaker 2: the chocolate out.
Speaker 1: Well, I'm assuming the producers must have thought you soiled yourself,
Speaker 1: and that's what all the melted chocolate was. You know,
Speaker 1: when they padded you down, you know, they were like, oh,
Speaker 1: he needs to he needs to go and jump in
Speaker 1: that lake thing to wash himself down.
Speaker 2: If I'd saw myself, I wouldn't have jumped in the
Speaker 2: lagoon because it would have it would have harmed the
Speaker 2: wildlife in there. I didn't saw it myself, but it
Speaker 2: could have been a problem after some of the eating trials.
Speaker 1: Absolutely, absolutely, you know, you have such a strong understanding
Speaker 1: of this strained media, you know, obviously being in it
Speaker 1: for so long. I wanted to know whether or not
Speaker 1: you offered David Sabritski the David, any advice on what
Speaker 1: he could do next, because you know, obviously audiences have
Speaker 1: just enjoyed his time in the jungle with your real celebrities.
Speaker 1: What do you think David should do coming out of
Speaker 1: the show.
Speaker 2: I thought about that quite a lot while I was
Speaker 2: in there, because once we found out he was a
Speaker 2: non celebrity, I thought, well, now, ironically, he's a celebrity
Speaker 2: by being a non celebrity. He got famous for being
Speaker 2: not famous, and he should one hundred percent believe he'll
Speaker 2: be doing some amazing and magical things. He's such a
Speaker 2: wonderful energy, His heart is so beautiful, he's so kind,
Speaker 2: and you see him being flamboyant all the time, and
Speaker 2: you know, and he's so entertaining and that's infectious. And
Speaker 2: it was in the jungle and it was a joy
Speaker 2: to get to know him and hang out with him.
Speaker 2: But when you you know when you get to know
Speaker 2: him a bit more, it's that heart and that kindness
Speaker 2: that shines through. And I think that like some of
Speaker 2: the challenges we did, he did he did a cooking
Speaker 2: thing with Poe getting electrocuted, and he was so bad
Speaker 2: at cooking. I just thought, this is a show. This
Speaker 2: is if Poe and David were to do a show
Speaker 2: together of Poe trying to explain to David how to
Speaker 2: do some basic cooking stuff, because people would get something
Speaker 2: out of that. I'd get something out of that. It
Speaker 2: would be so entertaining watching him walking around in his
Speaker 2: eight inches in his eight inch daves stuff, bling around
Speaker 2: attempting to help Hoe but being bad at it. He
Speaker 2: also does hosting as well, so I mean he hosts
Speaker 2: events and stuff, and so I think a lot more
Speaker 2: of that will happen. We'll be seeing more of David.
Speaker 1: I know, I know, well, I'm sure that there'll be
Speaker 1: something there for him. But I guess one of the
Speaker 1: last questions I have for you is, you know, beyond
Speaker 1: you know, coming out of a reality show and thinking, oh,
Speaker 1: this is going to be a reboot or a rebrand
Speaker 1: or something for Dylan Lewis, I want to know from
Speaker 1: the bottom of your heart, what you would want to
Speaker 1: do likes in sure, this might offer you another opportunity somewhere,
Speaker 1: but and you know, lots of people go, oh, I
Speaker 1: want to be the next Kyle and Jackie O, or
Speaker 1: I want to be on the Today Show, and everyone
Speaker 1: has all these grandiose ideas, But like, from the bottom
Speaker 1: of your heart, what's something that you'd love to be
Speaker 1: able to be given some legs to give the opportunity
Speaker 1: to work.
Speaker 2: Thank you for asking that, I think because I'm still
Speaker 2: thinking in that this has happened, and I'm in a
Speaker 2: really unusual position right now to be I don't know
Speaker 2: what the next thing is yet, I really don't. And
Speaker 2: I've got dreams and aspirations, and I've had dreams and
Speaker 2: plans and written pictures for shows for the decades now,
Speaker 2: but it always seems to come back to the same
Speaker 2: place of in an ideal world, I'd love to be
Speaker 2: hosting a variety show. It's a night show with bands
Speaker 2: coming on, and it's pretty much the same as where
Speaker 2: I started, you know, doing recovery back in the day
Speaker 2: of having rock and roll chatting to bands. You know,
Speaker 2: A big twist on it because it's well, we're in
Speaker 2: the future now and we've got all this new technology,
Speaker 2: so it doesn't have to be look like recovery. But
Speaker 2: my passion for music remains the same, and my passion
Speaker 2: for meeting people and seeing people and loving people remains
Speaker 2: the same. And doing that now it's going to have
Speaker 2: a very different feel to how it felt twenty five
Speaker 2: years ago. I did meet ahead of the network of
Speaker 2: Network ten the other day before the final and I said, Ah,
Speaker 2: we should talk. I've got an idea. It's a variety
Speaker 2: show set in space. And his eyes glazed over. He's like,
Speaker 2: oh God, is he being serious? Yes, I am being serious,
Speaker 2: said it in space. Let's make friends with Elon and
Speaker 2: do a variety show in space. And now that sounds
Speaker 2: See when I say that loud, I think people think
Speaker 2: I'm a trip up. Let's start maybe with a variety
Speaker 2: show and then move from there.
Speaker 1: Well, I think that you definitely have a thirst for storytelling,
Speaker 1: and I think that you also have a good ear
Speaker 1: for being able to listen as well, And I think
Speaker 1: that's probably what makes you a bit of a vehicle
Speaker 1: for audiences to be able to enjoy in a conversation.
Speaker 1: The way in which you sort of have it portrayed,
Speaker 1: and there isn't anything on nighttime television in Australia. There
Speaker 1: is a wide opening for I mean, we have these
Speaker 1: we have international people that come to this country and
Speaker 1: we have no show to put them on, to do
Speaker 1: like on the couch interview, and it still blows. It
Speaker 1: blows my mind. And I think that the best people
Speaker 1: to do those sorts of jobs are people like yourself,
Speaker 1: which is you're incredibly funny and you're incredibly interesting, but
Speaker 1: you also so highlight other people. And I think that's
Speaker 1: what is the magic of Dylan Law's.
Speaker 2: That is the most beautiful thing. Thank you so much,
Speaker 2: because that's I think right at the core of my
Speaker 2: whole career. My job has always been help other people shine.
Speaker 2: So show other people's realness, get through the bit where
Speaker 2: they're acting to the camera, get through that bit where
Speaker 2: they think they need to say some stuff to please
Speaker 2: the record company, and get to the bit. And often
Speaker 2: you've got three minutes to do it, don't you know.
Speaker 2: You've got to meet them, make them happy, disarm them,
Speaker 2: and get the gold and the golds in everyone. Everyone's
Speaker 2: got a story to tell.
Speaker 1: My last question to ask you whi' to ask everyone
Speaker 1: who comes on the podcast is what is something from
Speaker 1: behind the scenes that were as an audience didn't see
Speaker 1: that you can share.
Speaker 2: One year, I was lucky enough to host the Arias
Speaker 2: and it was at the Sydney Opera House and it
Speaker 2: was with Natalie Bassingtoas and Rebel Wilson, and it was
Speaker 2: all being filmed outdoors and it was a kind of
Speaker 2: a chaotic Arias, like people didn't know where to look,
Speaker 2: and it was like because it wasn't in the studio,
Speaker 2: it wasn't on the stage. It was outdoors and there
Speaker 2: were just cameras randomly everywhere. But I did the opening
Speaker 2: shot for the show from the top of the Opera House.
Speaker 2: It took like forty five minutes to climb through the
Speaker 2: inside of the opera House all the way up to
Speaker 2: the top, and then you sort of strap yourself into
Speaker 2: this thing and you walk up this scary lit I
Speaker 2: hate heights and I'm going, oh, this is horrible. And
Speaker 2: then a helicopter came and it was ages away and
Speaker 2: it was filming me on the top and I said, oh, welcome,
Speaker 2: and this is the Arias. Yeah, And then the titles
Speaker 2: rolled and it all started, and then I'm like, all right,
Speaker 2: I've got my next link to do. Now, in about
Speaker 2: ten minutes, we'll have a couple of bands, Rebel, I'll
Speaker 2: do something this that. So I'm trying to frantically get
Speaker 2: down off the roof, and it took me forty five
Speaker 2: minutes to get down because we got stuck halfway down.
Speaker 2: So I'm telling my parents, Hey, parents, I'm hosting the arias.
Speaker 2: You should watch the Arias and see me hosting the areas.
Speaker 2: And they tuned in and saw this shitty opening shot
Speaker 2: because the helicopter was so far away you couldn't even
Speaker 2: tell it was me. And then forty five minutes I
Speaker 2: wasn't on it anymore because I was stuck in the
Speaker 2: bloody the roof of the opera house.
Speaker 1: Boom.
Speaker 2: That is hilarious.
Speaker 1: Well, can I just say, my friend, it's been an
Speaker 1: absolute pleasure. You're a beautiful person, And congratulations on the
Speaker 1: wind and I'll be in your audience.
Speaker 2: Oh my god, that is lovely. Thank you so much
Speaker 2: for having me on, Benjamin. I really appreciate your insight
Speaker 2: and your way of doing things. You do it right.
Speaker 2: You help me, You help me say some stories then
Speaker 2: that were hard to do so. Thank you Mane