“I’ve never been busier!”

“I’ve never been busier!” Scott Tweedie declares.

“Basically add the word ‘home-made’ to everything in TV. I’m a home-made, director, producer, cameraman, lighting, coming up with content ideas.”

“E! has been throwing other projects at me”

Two months after starting his role on E! News, Scott Tweedie began lockdown in his New York apartment. Now in his 9th week, it’s been a whirlwind of change for the former 10 presenter -but he insists he is driven by the challenge and E! is loving their latest star recruit.

“E! has been throwing other projects at me. I’m hosting a live show for their Instagram, called Happy Hour, interviewing the biggest music artists around the world.

“I thrive when I work with a very small team because I’ve come from those those years of Channel 10, ELEVEN, 10 Peach, ABC3.”

From his home studio he co-hosts E! News live at 7am, plus celebrity news show Pop of the Morning at 11am. He’s stepped in as host on Daily Pop and has been given Instagram show Happy Hour. Not bad for the former host of The Loop.

In his NYC apartment, where he is living alone through the pandemic, he has all the necessary tech tools.

“There’s a little broadcast camera over there, some lights, a TVU network… I can see the control room screen on my laptop, where they show the split of my co-host and a prompter up. It’s a DIY home studio,” he explains.

“It was a pretty gruelling schedule”

Tweedie arrived in December, having landed the plum role from E! and hit the ground running. Prior to COVID restrictions, his alarm would go off at 3am, before he was picked up by a driver at 3:30am, on-air by 7am with more shows and production through to afternoons.

“It was a pretty gruelling schedule. I was still getting my body clock used to that. Plus it was the middle of winter. I went from back to back winters. So I cannot wait for summer!

“It was a whole shock to the system then there’s the pace of New York City.

“I thought being a Brisbane boy moving to Sydney was fast.”

“I thought being a Brisbane boy moving to Sydney was fast. But New York is on another level! You know when you’re getting nudged on the street by people and they don’t even acknowledge you, you’re in a fast city.”

But New York has also been slammed by the virus, at over 350,000 cases and 27,000 deaths.

“One of my friends tested positive. It smashed him for 10 days. He was in bed, had the chills, getting up throughout the night sweating, have a shower, going back to bed,” he continues.

“He never got tested at the time because he couldn’t. One of the great problems of America, especially in New York, was they didn’t have enough tests. So he locked himself away for two weeks, got over it and he’s been healthy and well.

“I’d wipe every single thing”

“For the first three weeks to four weeks, I was coming in my door with gloves and a mask on, removing a layer of clothing, leaving my shoes at the door. I’d wipe every single thing.

“But now, while I haven’t let my guard down, it’s not to that level anymore.”

Thankfully he doesn’t personally know anybody who has died.

But there have been many concerned friends and family back home in Australia.

“A lot of people have been genuinely concerned for my health and well being. Lots of friends, lots of ex-colleagues. But it’s not like that for us, living here. It’s a really peaceful city right now.

“It’s a Manhattan that you’ll probably never ever see again”

“It’s a Manhattan that you’ll probably never ever see again. A lot of coffee shops and cafes are operating as take-away places. So it’s a very liveable city right now. The only thing is you have to adapt your life, living and working from home all the time.

“The hardest part, initially, was having really nice moments where you want to share it with somebody, but you’re on your own. So that’s kind of what you miss out on. I’m lucky that I’ve got seven of my very close school friends that, one by one in the last eight years, have all moved to New York.”

Despite the flurry of work Tweedie does miss the simplicity of making television back in Australia where smaller teams worked organically across production.

“I miss the process of making those shows, compared to here, where there’s bigger teams, bigger crews, bigger budgets. I feel like that takes away from bringing out the best in the show and the talent.

“I miss living at the beach, but it’s starting to warm up here, which means it’s a totally different city. New York in Spring is amazing. And of course miss my girlfriend and my family but since moving away from home at 21 I’ve been quite independent. I’ve always been able to adapt to a new city or a new environment very quickly, and be content with the things around me.”

“Did I get the big primetime show with them? No. But did I get a fantastic opportunity”

Indeed, Tweedie credits 10 and ABC with having given him such a great grounding, which is clearly paying off big time in the Big Apple.

“I moved to Melbourne for Prank Patrol at 21 years of age, and then moved to Sydney for Channel 10.

“I was very lucky. 10 gave me a lot of opportunities, kept me employed for eight years on some great shows. Did I get the big primetime show with them? No. But did I get a fantastic opportunity to travel the world and do a lot of stuff? Yes.”

He expects to keep producing from his home studio until July or August, but interviewing international talent and hosting entertainment news, is just the start for a star on the rise.

“I’m very proud of what I’ve achieved over here and E! are noticing it and putting me on more and more stuff,” he adds.

“I’m getting some of my best work done. I’m getting more eyeballs onto the work I’m doing. It’s a very nice experience for me, at the moment.”