David William Hughes (born 26 November 1970[citation needed]) is an Australian stand-up comedian, television and radio presenter. He is known for his larrikin personality, drawling Australian accent, and deadpan comedic delivery.[1]
After leaving university, it was seven years before Hughes found work as a stand-up comedian and he did a variety of jobs including working at an abattoir, as a bricklayer's labourer and a shop assistant.[3]
After dreaming about being a comedian since he was a youngster, his first comedy gig came at age 22 when he was living in Perth doing labouring jobs and he decided, "I'm going to have a crack". Appearing onstage he acknowledges that he was "just horrible" but after three attempts over six months he gained his confidence and went on to become a headline act.[3]
He is a regular performer at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Some of his shows have been released on CD (Dave Hughes: Whatever), and on DVD (Dave Hughes, Live, Dave Hughes - Handy[4] and David Hughes - Pointless).
Television
Hughes had his first break on mainstream television when he was asked to do stand-up on Hey Hey It's Saturday,[5] a show Hughes revered growing up. Hughes recalled in a 2021 50-year anniversary Hey Hey special that he had not been more nervous before or since that set.[6]
Hughes worked on Australian television show Rove in 2007, with a weekly "Hughesy Loses It" segment. In 2008–09, the segment evolved into a recurring segment known as "Help me Hughesy" where he would rant about a given topic.[9]
On 20 July 2009, Hughes began co-hosting the half-hour Channel 10 show The 7PM Project, which later expanded to become the hour-long The Project. His regular co-hosts were Charlie Pickering and Carrie Bickmore. In June 2011, Hughes was one of the few people to be granted a one-on-one interview with the Dalai Lama during his visit to Australia.[10]
In December 2013 Hughes resigned from his full-time position on The Project to return to stand-up comedy. Hughes would, however, appear once a week on the show from wherever he was around the country. Hughes is quoted as saying, "It's definitely a tough decision, as we have had so many unbelievable moments on the desk. You meet some of the biggest stars in the world and chat with them and have some wonderful times." Hughes later stated his reason for leaving The Project in 2016 with Mia Freedman on her podcast No Filter:
The news cycle is so set, it's just the same. The news cycle rarely changes. We talk about the same things endlessly and no one's got the answers. Nothing's changed in so long. But to sit there every night and talk about the same things, it's just too much. I'm a comedian, so yeah, that's really why.[11]
Hughes began a year-long round of stand-up engagements around Australia, in Adelaide in February 2014, where he and his family will be based for five weeks before moving onto other venues.[12][needs update]
In October 2014 Hughes guest-starred in an episode of ABC-TV's Julia Zemiro's Home Delivery, in which Zemiro accompanied Hughes back to his home-town of Warrnambool to reminisce about his childhood and to explore what influenced him to embark on a career in comedy.[13]
In January 2019 Kate Langbroek and her family moved to Bologna, Italy and Langbroek continued to host the show until June. In August 2019, it was announced that Kate will file reports for the show for the remainder of the year. Ed Kavalee filled in as co-host until December.
In December 2019 Kate Langbroek resigned from the show confirming that she will extend her time in Italy. Ed Kavalee has been announced as her replacement from January 2020 and the show was renamed Hughesy & Ed. It was also announced that the show will air from 5pm until 7pm.
In August 2024, Southern Cross Austereo announced that Hughesy, Ed & Erin had been axed with 2Day FM taking a new direction.[18] The last show aired on Wednesday 7 August. Jimmy & Nath will host breakfast for the remainder of the year.
Advertising
In 2005 Hughes appeared in a series of television commercials for the Australian car manufacturer Holden.[citation needed]
In 2009 Huges appeared in a three embedded advertising zoot review shorts promoting the return of Samboy Chips in which he reveals his favourite flavour is Atomic Tomato and shows off his signature "Conga Line" chip eating technique. [19]
Acting
Early in his career, Hughes had a brief appearance in an episode of Neighbours in 1998.
Hughes has also appeared in Ed Kavalee's comedy films Scumbus, which aired on Ch-10 in 2012 and the yet-to-screen Border Protection Squad.
He married Holly Ife, a reporter with the Herald Sun, on 31 December 2006.[24] They have three children together.[25][26][27]
Hughes has haemochromatosis.[28] He gave up drinking alcohol when he was 22 after deciding that it had become a bad influence in his life.[29] Hughes is a vegan.[30]
Hughes is a keen supporter of the Carlton football team in the AFL[31] and even asked the Dalai Lama to bless Carlton; after doing so, the Dalai Lama commented: "It probably won't do much, and it didn't."[10]
Controversy
During the 2007 Logie Awards, which he co-hosted with Adam Hills and Fifi Box, Hughes referred to radio shock-jock Kyle Sandilands as a "massive dickhead" to applause and laughter from the audience. Later that year, when interviewed on Enough Rope with Andrew Denton, Sandilands said of Hughes, "I hate him – the next time I see him I'm going to punch him in the throat."[32] Hughes retorted by releasing an official apology, which said in part that Hughes was "sincerely and deeply sorry that Kyle Sandilands is a massive dickhead" and that "massive dickheads have the same rights as normal people."[33]
^Rae, Harvey. "Zemiro delivers intriguing lives". Yahoo News, 15 October 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2014. (Hughes graduated from) the Christian Brothers' College, Warrnambool, where he graduated dux in 1988
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