Merrick Watts reveals the moment he and Tim Ross lost $1million for Nova: 'It was a big deal'
Merrick Watts has opened up about the moment he and his former co-host Tim Ross lost the Nova network $1million.
The 51-year-old revealed on the Friendlyjordies Podcas t, he and Rosso had been asked to promote McDonald's El Maco range live on air early in their career but things didn't go to plan.
After introducing the range, the radio duo joked it 'was the blandest food you would ever have' and their bosses weren't impressed.
'That's what we refer to as the El Maco incident and no one ever brings that up but Rosso and I know about it,' Merrick explained.
'We really upset the guys. Part of the quote was about "the geniuses at McDonald's have done it again... the blandest food you've ever had" and I was so dumb and I was laughing so much.
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'And must have doubled down and said something about the shaker fries. We got off air and it was a big deal, I think we lost them $1million.'
Merrick and Rosso were best known for their radio shows on Triple J, Nova, and Triple M, but the comedy duo shocked their listeners when they parted ways in 2009 after over a decade together.
Last year, Merrick spoke about his 'brutal' split with his longtime comedy partner.
'Rosso and I fractured, we split up at the end of 2009. It was brutal, it was tough. It's not really something I talk about a lot…but it was really devastating at the time,' he told SAS Australia host Ant Middleton on his podcast Head Game.
'I was focused on wanting to follow a certain trajectory that I felt innately was the right way to go and that was probably in conflict to the way we were doing things and the way we were working together.'
The comedian said he felt the collaboration between himself and his partner had run its course at the time.
'I think we just exhausted ourselves as a unit and we'd done everything, we'd even lived together, and then I got my own family and got different priorities,' he claimed.
Ant suggested that Watts' change in priorities was likely due to the arrival of his first son, Wolfe, in 2009.
'I kind of wanted to forge my own identity…which I thought would be a lot easier than what it was,' Watts added.
The podcast interview wasn't the first time Watts encountered Ant, as the pair first met on SAS Australia in 2020.
Watts said Middleton helped him achieve 'the best physical and mental state I've been in in my entire life'.
Speaking candidly at the time, he said he struggled with anxiety and depression before making the appearance on the gruelling Channel Seven series.
The father-of-two said he had been in the 'worst mental state' of his life, and not even a psychologist or 10-week meditation course could help.
'I felt like I was chipping away,' Watts said during an interview with Nova's Fitzy and Wippa.
'I did all the right things, I spoke to a psychologist, I spoke to my doctor, I did a 10-week meditation course. Nothing was working. I know that what I needed was to rebuild my confidence.'
Watts said he knew that going on SAS Australia would help him feel more confident.
'When I'm confident I'm very, very capable. When I'm not confident I go back into my shell... I knew that just the process of getting ready for SAS Australia would be enough to rebuild my confidence and I was right,' he explained.
'I look at myself, a year ago and when I signed up for this show I was in the worst mental state I've ever been in. I look at myself a year later and I'm in the best physical and mental state I've been in in my entire life.'
He finished: 'It's been extraordinarily good for my mind and my body.'
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The Musical Clint Ramos — Maybe Happy Ending Paul Tazewell — Death Becomes Her Catherine Zuber — Just In Time Best Lighting Design of a Musical Jack Knowles — Sunset Blvd. Tyler Micoleau — Buena Vista Social Club Scott Zielinski and Ruey Horng Sun — Floyd Collins Ben Stanton — Maybe Happy Ending Justin Townsend — Death Becomes Her Best Sound Design of a Musical Jonathan Deans — Buena Vista Social Club Adam Fisher — Sunset Blvd. Peter Hylenski — Just In Time Peter Hylenski — Maybe Happy Ending Dan Moses Schreier — Floyd Collins
