Hamish & Andy

41

Hamish & Andy : biography

They had a minor acting role on soap opera, Neighbours, portraying radio presenters Fred and Big Tommo on the episode dated 27 August 2008. The episode featured them promoting university drop-out Ty Harper’s (Dean Geyer) band, and interviewing schoolgirls Rachel Kinski (Caitlin Stasey) and Donna Freedman (Margot Robbie) about their situation with Harper. They make a cameo appearance in the upcoming 2010 short film IA: Interview Artist.

At the beginning of 2012 they announced they were creating a new social networking website to rival whosay.com, theirs being chumsgroup.com.www.chumsgroup.com|title=Chums Group The website is still in the development process and currently includes posting, Flags(to represent your feelings and activities) and a cucumber (a security measure).

Heading to Mudgee in September 2013 to help the local Year 12 group celebrate the end of schooling with the annual "Rainbow Day".

Television career

Blake united with Lee in 2003 when they developed a Channel 31 sketch show, Radio Karate. Blake reunited with Lee in 2004 when they were named hosts of a new Seven Network variety program, The Hamish and Andy Show, a show described as a successor to Big Bite. It premiered in 2004, and steadily built a moderate cult audience. However, due in part to poor programming, the show did not rate well and was cancelled after its initial run of six episodes.

In 2005, they were recruited by comedian Rove McManus, to develop the satirical television comedy series, Real Stories, which aired on Network Ten in 2006 and 2007. From 2007 to 2009, the duo appeared fortnightly on Rove in pre-recorded segments. They hosted the Logie awards in 2007 and 2008, and the ARIA awards in 2008. They appeared on Joker Poker and Australia’s Brainiest Comedian in 2005, Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? in 2009 and Good News Week in 2010. The group appeared on The Jay Leno Show twice in 2009, and on The 7PM Project numerous times from 2009, in a similar manner as they did on Rove. They appeared on UKs The Graham Norton Show in June 2010.

Network Ten Specials

The duo have presented numerous televised clip show specials on Network Ten: Hamish and Andy: Re-Gifted on 19 November 2008 that was viewed by 1.136 million, Hamish & Andy’s American Caravan of Courage on 10 September 2009 that was viewed by 1.307 million, Hamish & Andy: Re-Gifted, Another Very Early Christmas Special on 23 November 2009 that was viewed by 1.052 million and Hamish & Andy’s Caravan of Courage: Great Britain and Ireland on 17 June 2010 that was viewed by 1.749 million. The Re-Gifted specials consisted primarily of excerpts from the duo appearances on previous episodes of Rove. The pair presented a special for Network Ten for the 2010 Commonwealth Games entitled Learn India with Hamish and Andy.

Nine Network

Following a series of media reports, the pair confirmed in February 2011 that they had joined the Nine Network on a two-year contract, to produce Hamish and Andy’s Gap Year.http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2011/04/hamish-andys-gap-year-for-nine.html The show first aired on 28 July 2011. There is a second season based in a London pub, Hamish and Andy’s Euro Gap Year .

The pair filmed a fifth Caravan of Courage in which they compared their home country, Australia, to their neighbours New Zealand. It aired in Australia in November 2012.