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Would Adam Hills ever return to Adam Hills Tonight?

Adam Hills hosted a Tonight show from 2011- 2013, and a decade on responds favourably to the idea of a revival.

He’s busy with The Last Leg, Spicks & Specks and comedy commitments, but would Adam Hills ever consider a return to Adam Hills Tonight?

The show (originally titled Adam Hills In Gordon Street Tonight) ran from 2011 – 2013 on ABC, with co-host Hannah Gadsby.

Yet while Australia is lacking a ‘Tonight’ show, Hills left the door open to possibilities.

“You never know,” he told TV Tonight.

“But I think Hannah Gadsby is now too big a star. I’ve joked about it with her. I always said, I regret that we never quite found the right way to show off her talents on our show.

“But I think if we brought it back, she might be the host and I might be her sidekick.”

For now Hills’ focus is on Spicks & Specks with upcoming guests including Dilruk Jayasinha, Geraldine Hickey, Rhys Nicholson, Peter Helliar, Ross Noble and Meshel Laurie.

The show is yet to get Barry Gibb, who wrote the show’s (borrowed) theme song but Hills did snatch an encounter with the Bee Gees legend in the UK.

“We were making The Last Leg in the London Studios right on South Bank and there were a whole bunch of other shows being made around that time. I remember walking past Barry Gibb in the hallway, doing a double take and turning back to look at him. He didn’t recognise me, but his manager did, and said, ‘Adam!’ and then called Barry back and said, ‘Barry, this is Adam Hills,'” he explains.

“Barry said, ‘Oh my god, I love The Last Leg!’ I think he was living in Florida at the time, but he still somehow found a way to watch The Last Leg.

“So then I said, ‘Well, this is might sound strange, but I used to host a TV show in Australia called Spicks & Specks.’ And he said, ‘Oh my God, I remember when they asked me for permission to use that title and I thought that’s a terrible name for a TV show!'”

Hills adds, “I heard they played a charity bushfire concert, at like the SCG or the MCG, and he started to play Spicks & Specks, and the crowd went wild and I think he might have been a little bit confused by it But I think he kind of appreciates that (the show has) given the song a bit of a renaissance.”

Spicks & Specks continues 7:30pm Sundays on ABC.

14 Responses

  1. Safer for him not to. Also in the UK he is frying with much bigger fish and is ‘out there’. Don’t let parochialism muddy things.

  2. “In Gordon Street” was a “modern” variety show. Hannah Gadsby was the sidekick similar to “The Don Lane Show’s” Bert Newton.

    Similarly “Tonightly” hosted by Tom Ballard was another variety show. It had ‘skits’ in a similar fashion to the regular skits on the “Graham Kennedy Show” with Graham Kennedy, Mary Hardy and Joy Westmore.

    Unfortunately the language on “Tonightly” was vulgar. The program was on the ABC2 channel not the main ABC channel as “In Gordon Street”.

    Generally shows like “In Gordon Street” and “Tonightly” were short lived, unlike the variety shows such as “Don Lane”.

    Australian TV is lacking a variety show and those attempts by the ABC were a bright star that disappeared.

    Thanks

  3. Adam Hills Tonight was a great show. Good guests on it, and some funny sketches and interaction with the audience.

    Hannah Gadsby went on to a stellar career after this too.

    Can’t believe it’s been 11 years since it last appeared. One of the last Australian talk-shows to appear on our screens (the short-lived Frankly was the last, i believe?).

  4. I think Adam Hills is more suited to shows like Spicks and Specks, as they’re generally not political or biased. What was seen with The Last Leg was outrageous political bias. So ABC should consider a neutral host for a ‘Tonight’ or primetime variety show.

    Otherwise ABC can’t say they are being ‘Your ABC’ when it becomes ‘Their ABC’. It could go against what the ABC stands for, which is public broadcasting that should portray and value diversity of views as well. It’s not socially inclusive to exclude or alienate half of the audience.

      1. It’s evident in the IMDB comments about the show, where there is criticicm for its perceived left-wing bias. Viewers have commented that it leans too far left, often making it difficult for some to enjoy the humour without being distracted by the political undertones.

        Also remarks by Miriam Margolyes about then-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson resulted in over 240 Ofcom complaints.

          1. I’m referring to The Last Leg. The IMDB user reviews for The Last Leg indicate that the show started out alright, but shifted in political tone, which I agree with.

            When the tone of The Last Leg had shifted, there’s a concern from me that an Adam Hills Tonight revival could also go in that direction. I’d express that any revival should be mindful about diversity of views as well.

      2. P.S. I commend the show for giving a platform for people with disabilities. It’s not so much the diversity of people, though acknowledging the diversity of views as well.

    1. Last Leg is a show looking back at the week’s events from three comedians living with a disability, so it was always going to discuss news events, and at its heart has been about equality, giving voice to invisibility, comedy and politics. ABC is also not Channel 4 so you’re targetting a different crowd with a classic Tonight show format. Over 3 years of the show I don’t recall any bias complaints, off the top of my head.

  5. I loved Gordon Street Tonight. It was an incredibly funny, entertaining talk show that interacted with the in-studio audience in clever ways. The guests were always good gets too… and Adam Hills has an excellent way of interviewing that makes everything seem relaxed. It was a stunningly underrated gem in my opinion. I hope it gets resurrected.

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