Australian icon Ariarne Titmus unveiled as first Big Freeze 11 slider: ‘I started crying'
Australian Olympic swimming legend Ariarne Titmus has been unveiled as the first slider for Big Freeze 11 at the MCG, revealing the emotional moment she was asked by Neale Daniher to take the plunge.
The latest edition of the FightMND will be a special occasion after Daniher was named Australian of the Year in January.
And it was at that ceremony that Titmus first learned she was in the family's sights to head down the slide at the King's Birthday AFL clash next month.
'This is an unbelievable honour,' she told Channel 7 on Thursday night.
'It's not about me being a slider, it's about the cause we're sliding down the slide for.'
Titmus was quite literally tapped on the shoulder by Daniher's daughter and FightMND leader Bec.
'I actually met Neil at the Australian of the Year (ceremony) and we were just in a line-up to get head shots,' she said.
'Basically Bec tapped on my shoulder and he asked me to be a slider.
'I got so emotional and started crying because it was just a really big moment for him becoming Australian of the Year, and being asked — it's been amazing working with them.'
Titmus has been a familiar face around the AFL supporting her beloved Hawthorn since taking a break from the swimming pool after the Paris Olympics.
The Big Freeze secret has been difficult to keep.
'Six months almost,' the four-time gold medallist laughed.
'But it's important to keep the secret because the cause we are fighting for is so important and what the Danihers have done for MND is incredible.'
Titmus revealed this year's Big Freeze theme as 'iconic Australians' in honour of Daniher's status as Australian of the Year.
She would qualify to go down as herself, of course, but already has an idea in mind.
'Hopefully the costume I'm wearing is going to keep me nice and warm,' she said.
'I'm not telling. No hints!'
Unfiltered next Wednesday night.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Herald Sun
30 minutes ago
- Herald Sun
How the man leading Fight MND's Big Freeze met Neale Daniher
Don't miss out on the headlines from Victoria. Followed categories will be added to My News. FightMND chief executive Matt Tilley describes his first meeting with Australian of the Year Neale Daniher as 'intimidating', but the former radio star and comedian handled it in trademark style. 'I told him he was my third favourite Daniher brother growing up, thinking that might break the ice,' he says with a chuckle. 'I said, 'Terry was my fave, then I had Chris on my back because number 7 was easy for mum to sew on there, and then there was Neale'. 'He's got a very cheeky sense of humour and I think everyone can see that, but it was intimidating for me because I felt a great weight of responsibility to be taking on a role that was created by him – and he has since gone on to be Australian of the Year.' Monday's Big Freeze at the MCG, when celebrities plunge into an ice bath to raise money for motor neurone disease research and support for Australians living with the disease, is Tilley's first time at the helm of the event. He expects the MCG to be filled with blue beanies sold as part of the mega fundraiser, ahead of a traditional Collingwood and Melbourne King's Birthday blockbuster, but has also introduced a 'digital beanie' this year that can be shared via social media. He expects the MCG to be filled with blue beanies sold as part of the mega fundraiser, ahead of a traditional Collingwood and Melbourne King's Birthday blockbuster. Picture: Wayne Taylor 'You can personalise it, put your nickname on it, if you don't want to have hat hair here's a great way of leaning in and supporting the cause,' Tilley says. 'The idea is to fill a virtual 'G – getting to 100,000 digital beanies, which is one for every seat.' Tilley found time to chat to Matt Johnston for the Herald Sun's Big V Interview to explain how he went from a comedy writer with a back-up law degree to being a champion of charities. NATURAL STORY TELLER Although Tilley forged a long career as a commercial radio star, when he was first encouraged to go on air he barely knew what FM was. 'I grew up in a house where my dad just had classical music playing all the time, or jazz,' he says. The house was in Mt Eliza, where kangaroos hopped through the bush at the end of the street and Tilley and his three younger siblings roamed with bare feet. He was 'mad for footy and cricket' but tried everything at The Peninsula School and achieved more success in drama despite not being an 'artsy type'. He concedes he 'was a bit of a smart arse at school', but worked hard. 'I was senior prefect, but the first senior prefect who had been suspended. So a bit of a mix,' he says. He later embarked on an arts/law degree and took part in comedy sketches for the Melbourne University Law Revue, where the Working Dog production team had cut its teeth. Another student at the time was Cate Blanchett, who Tilley says was 'very funny'. 'I think we all thought back then, 'oh wow she's way too talented to be hanging out with us',' he says. Behind the scenes of Melbourne's number 1 rating breakfast show, the Matt and Jo show on Fox FM. Matt Tilley and Jo Stanley. Early attempts to coax him into radio were rebuffed, but when he was offered $100 a day – an 'enormous amount of money to a uni student living in a sharehouse with four blokes' – to write sketches, he caved. 'Radio evolved from … I was more of a natural story teller than I was a great comic actor because I never knew where to put my hands,' he says. 'I was lucky enough to be in and around shows like Fast Forward. Writing and a bit of extra parts, around some pretty elite talent.' His big break came on Fox FM when he partnered with Tracy Bartram, at a time when male and female presenters were paired to bounce off one another. 'Radio was about being relatable and telling a story, it wasn't so much about boom boom punchlines or acerbic comments on the news,' he says. 'I've got great memories of that time, and working with people who had the same sense of drive, camaraderie. You rely on everyone to do well.' He was later joined by Jo Stanley, and the Matt and Jo Show was the number one FM breakfast team for eight years. Despite the success and the 3:30am starts, Tilley plugged away at his arts/law degree and graduated after 11 years. 'I think it's close to the record,' he laughs. 'I recently found out I was at law school with Josh Frydenberg but I didn't see him, he was probably in and out a bit quicker than me and I didn't go to a lot of lectures. 'I finished (the degree) because I thought radio was a fool's paradise and it would never last – eventually they'd work out I was a fraud.' Matt Tilley CD Gotach Calls. Cover. In the late 1990s he married Susie and they had three children – Grace, Jack and Oscar. Stories about the challenges and joys of parenthood were often shared on air, which helped Tilley connect to listeners. 'For our audience, young families and stuff, I was going through what they were.' PRANKING HIS WAY TO THE TOP As a teenager, Tilley would entertain friends with prank calls. 'I used to get a mate's dad every second week. He was a baker and always a bit tired and vulnerable,' he says. 'I used to ring up and say I found half a mouse in a hot cross bun and stuff like that, or try and buy the bakery off him, ridiculous things like that.' In the mid-2000s his radio team suggested trying it out on air, and so he called a butcher, feigning to be an elderly man. The butcher kept hanging up and Tilley thought the prank was a fizzer, but a producer cut up the huffing and puffing of the man as he kept hanging up, and it worked. That moment spawned the popular segment, Matt Tilley's Gotcha Calls. 'It was a different time, you could do funny accents and different nationalities and it wasn't necessarily from a mean-spirited place, it was more about duping people into thinking it was someone that wasn't me,' he says. Tilley says that he has no problem with sensibilities changing over time but has empathy for people in comedy today. When Tilley hung up the radio mic he took a break, during which he considered establishing a charity fundraiser. 'Not because the times are woke and that's awful, more because the areas you can play in are more clearly defined and that just makes it harder, it's not as broad a canvas. 'You can be really quickly held to account on social media; quite possibly you offended just as many people back in the day but they couldn't be bothered writing a letter. 'Comedians will always exist at the edge of what people are happy to put up with.' The Gotcha Calls segment became four Gold-selling CDs sold on the late Michael Gudinski's record label, raising almost $1m for charity. 'It exposed me to a different world and a lot of amazing people and I connected with some of those people,' he says. 'I started to move in that direction, not through any noble sense of needing to do right, but I thought 'I kind of like this'. 'And I thought I could use whatever skills I might have to appeal to large audiences, to raise money for important things, and be sufficiently different that I can still have fun and shake things up a bit.' FROM MIC DROP TO DOLLAR DROP When Tilley hung up the radio mic he took a break, during which he considered establishing a charity fundraiser. Eventually he was convinced to have a crack, and created the Aussie Dollar Drop in 2018. 'I had this idea that if everyone dropped $1 on one day, there would be $25m,' he says. The fundraiser took flight in Victoria at the 2018 election, and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for homeless services. TV and radio presenter Tracy Bartram with Matt Tilley, Greg Fleet, Amanda Keller and Peter Berner from TV show "The Chat Room" Mar 2003. panel panellists 'It didn't make the $25m, because everybody votes before the election and no one carries cash,' he says. 'But I kind of went, 'oh, if you have an idea that people think is pretty good and it's achieving a pretty good end, they'll get behind you.' Soon after, he took on a new role at Foodbank Victoria, after CEO David McNamara recognised the impact Covid-19 would have on its services. Tilley jokes that Foodbank's success as the largest hunger relief charity in the country is from being 'beneficiaries of fusspots and morons' who reject fruit and vegetables based on shape or colour. As a 'mad veggie grower', Tilley has an affinity with agricultural producers and the challenges they face. 'My dirty secret is I'm a competitive veggie grower,' he says. 'I want to win as many ribbons as I can; I go to the Red Hill show, I'm three times aggregate champion, undefeated.' His secret to success is simple. 'Chicken shit, I go through tonnes of it,' he says. 'There's this chicken farmer down the road from where my veggie patch is and he puts rice husk on the floor for his chickens, scrapes it up with all the crap on the floor and it's magic.' FIGHTING MND During his time at Foodbank, Tilley instigated a 'food fight' initiative at schools. Using fake fruits and recycled material, the fundraiser is effectively a chance for students to raise money for a worthy cause so they could 'piff stuff at teachers'. 'I wanted to build something that a lot of people want to do, that's fun,' he says. 'The epitome of that is the Big Freeze.' When Tilley was sounded out to take the FightMND reins from outgoing CEO, Dr Fiona McIntosh, he seized the opportunity. Picture: Wayne Taylor When Tilley was sounded out to take the FightMND reins from outgoing CEO, Dr Fiona McIntosh, he seized the opportunity, having admired the organisation's community connection from afar. Neale Daniher, who set up the charity with Pat Cunningham and the late Dr Ian Davis in 2014, is still 'incredibly engaged' in operations, despite MND's crippling effects. 'It's very difficult for him to communicate personally, but there wouldn't be many days I don't get an email or a question from him, he's still incredibly engaged and sharp of mind,' Tilley says. The FightMND Army has invested more than $115 million in research and support services since 2014 and Daniher's advocacy saw him named the 2025 Australian of the Year. Tilley says Monday's Big Freeze event 'is a special one' for that reason, and that FightMND is upfront about Daniher's illness, which weakens nerve cells and eventually leads to muscle paralysis. 'We are very honest about it – it's getting harder and harder for him,' Tilley says. 'The slide is so special for him, we really want to make sure each year it is something amazing.' Donate and grab your digital beanie at
7NEWS
an hour ago
- 7NEWS
Wayne Carey caught in explosive late-night physical altercation
North Melbourne legend Wayne Carey has been filmed in a heated altercation with a man he described as an 'antagonist' outside a Melbourne pub. The 54-year-old was captured tussling with one man while another, who appears to be Carey's friend, tries to diffuse the situation, in a physical exchange that spilled out onto the streets surrounding Albert Park Hotel on Thursday night. WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Wayne Carey caught in altercation. In the video, the champion AFL goalkicker and ex-commentator can be seen grabbing at the man's shirt before another man yells out, 'Wayne, Wayne, relax'. The struggle continues as the man attempting to keep peace then speaks to the third man directly, telling him to 'f*** off' and to 'shut the f*** up and go'. A female voice is then heard yelling from somewhere across the road, saying, 'Guys, walk away, people live here. Keep walking. Move it on'. It's the latest in a string of controversies littered throughout Carey's life since his playing days. In 2022, Carey was cleared of any wrongdoing after having a bag of white powder spill out of his pocket at Crown Casino in Perth. He insisted the bag contained crushed-up anti-inflammatory medication. His most infamous controversy was the extramarital affair he had with Kelli Stevens, the wife of former teammate Anthony Stevens, in 2002. Carey and Anthony Stevens have had a long-running feud in the 23 years since, but are set to be reunited at the Kangaroos' 100-year celebration later this year. Carey, Stevens and North great Glenn Archer will all be present for the Round 20 clash against the Western Bulldogs, which takes place in prime time on Thursday night. The trio will show a united front, nearly 25 years since Carey's messy exit from the club. It comes just six months after the club unveiled a video celebration of the centenary year that interestingly excluded Carey. Former teammate Corey McKernan was vocal at the time, but Carey and other North Melbourne greats, including Stevens and Archer will all be present for the special night. Channel 7's Caroline Wilson revealed the exclusive details of Carey's return on 7NEWS Melbourne and The Agenda Setters last month. 'All three men (Carey, Stevens, Archer) are well aware that they will be there together and united for the first time,' Wilson said 'There was speculation last year when North unveiled their centenary jumper. And if you remember, there were North champions from through the eras and there was no Wayne Carey, and Corey McKernan was very upset about this. 'In 2022, a year later, they had a 25-year premiership reunion for the '96 flag, and there was an altercation at a pub between Anthony Stevens and Wayne Carey. We know the history there. 'They had to be separated. I don't think it was physical, but it was not nice. 'And when there was a motorcade the next day at Marvel Stadium, Anthony Stevens wasn't there and Wayne Carey was. 'So the club has worked really hard to get all these guys within the fold. And clearly you can't celebrate your 100th anniversary without Wayne Carey being there.'
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Hardeman happy to be home ahead of Roos Bunbury clash
North Melbourne youngster Riley Hardeman says he can't wait to run out onto the ground in Bunbury on Sunday for his first AFL game in his home state. The Kangaroos selected Hardeman with pick 23 during the 2023 national draft and, despite having reached double digits in games, has yet to pull on the blue and white in Western Australia. But the Swan Districts product gets his first opportunity this week with North Melbourne in town for a home game against the Eagles in the South West. 'I'm feeling really excited,' Hardeman said. 'We came down here for the pre-season against West Coast. I got down but didn't play any minutes, so it's exciting to be playing my first AFL minutes in Western Australia. 'I'll have a few family members down, so it will be good to get around them and the West Australian fans.' The game comes as part of a doubleheader that includes a clash against Fremantle at Optus Stadium next week, the Kangaroos having sold a home game to the WA clubs to address travel imbalances as well as assist the club's coffers. Hardeman revealed the playing group had embraced the home-away-from-home clash in Bunbury, saying they were eager to put on a show for their WA fans. 'From a club point of view, it's really exciting to get over to WA, sell a home game and appeal to our fans over here,' he said. 'The condition of the ground is in good nick and the stands they are putting around and the atmosphere they are creating, I'm really looking forward to playing there.' A capacity crowd of nearly 15,000 is expected to fill Bunbury's upgraded Hands Oval. A good number of those may also just be there to see Hardeman, the 20-year-old stating his inbox had been blowing up with family and friends wanting tickets. 'I've got a few ticket requests already, but I think there is a bit of a waitlist for family and friends,' he said. 'But I'll have plenty of support over here, which is exciting.'
