Latest news with #HamishBlake
West Australian
a day ago
- Entertainment
- West Australian
What to Watch: The Survivors, Stick, This City Is Ours, Lego Masters and Guy Mont Spelling Bee
There has been a plethora of book-to-TV adaptations hitting screens of late. Some have been incredibly watchable (Boy Swallows Universe), some have missed the mark (hello series two of Nine Perfect Strangers). This one, based on the book by Jane Harper, will be hoping to land with audiences — and if the trailer is anything to go by, then viewers can certainly expect a twisty-turny tale. It sees The Rings Of Power star Charlie Vickers playing a young man, Kieran Elliott, haunted by events that shaped his life some 15 years earlier, when a storm took the lives of two boys close to him. He survived and is haunted by what happened, still wrestling with his complex survivor guilt as he revisits his childhood home with partner Mia (played by Yerin Ha), who also grew up in the town. Almost as soon as they land back in the tiny Tasmanian town they once called home, a body washes up on the shore, and as events unfold, it begins to look increasingly as though the death is connected to the devastating events that happened all those years ago and the death of another girl they all grew up with. Shot in Tasmania and produced by the award-winning team at Tony Ayres Productions (Fires, Clickbait, Stateless), The Survivors boasts a stunning ensemble cast, including Robyn Malcolm (pictured), Jessica De Gouw, Catherine McClements, Thom Green and Martin Sacks. With a cast like that, you know it's going to be worth a watch. Seven seasons on, it's truly a marvel there's still blood to be squeezed from the Lego Masters stone. But you can't keep a good Brickman down. And he's back, along with host Hamish Blake, to preside over builders from seven countries — Canada, China, Finland, Sweden, USA, New Zealand and Australia — to see who'll be crowned 'the ultimate grandmaster of the galaxy'. It's a stretch, but we'll allow it. Family-friendly fun. This series, starring Owen Wilson as a washed-up golf pro who finds new purpose in mentoring a young golfing prodigy, has 'TV hit' written all over it. Heartfelt performances, believable characters and clippy dialogue make it an incredibly watchable proposition, even if the idea of a show about golf makes you want to stick a tee in your eye. Even the biggest haters will fall hard for this delightful series — you're going to love it. Love yourself a gritty British crime drama? This could be about to become your new favourite. And even better — it stars Sean Bean! This series, about a gang of cocaine smugglers, has been getting great reviews in the UK, and is BBC's most-watched new drama launch of 2025, which gives you an idea of what to expect. Also stars James Nelson-Joyce (pictured) and Hannah Onslow. One for Scouse crime fans. Watching high-profile Australians try to spell on national TV will never not be funny. Throw in comedian Guy Montgomery and his comedy offsider Aaron Chen and you've got a laugh-out-loud quiz show guaranteed to tickle your funny bone. This season's line-up includes Hannah Gadsby, Hamish Blake, Rove McManus, Denise Scott and Dave Hughes. Looking forward to seeing how they fare — the worse, the better!
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Lego Masters star Ryan 'Brickman' McNaught reveals what it's REALLY like working with Hamish Blake
Ryan 'Brickman' McNaught has revealed what he really thinks of working with co-host Hamish Blake. The Lego Masters star has shared the screen with Hamish for the past seven years on the hit Channel Nine game show. On the cusp of the premiere of Lego Masters' seventh season - Grandmasters of the Galaxy - Ryan opened up about what it's like working with Hamish. Speaking to Nine, Ryan admitted that, rather than displaying any diva-like behaviour, Hamish has always been incredibly genuine. 'I'm not surprised by how funny he is, because he's exactly the same guy off camera as what he is on camera. So there's nothing hidden from that perspective,' Ryan said. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. 'He's just incredibly genuine, like he's the same guy, so it makes it pretty easy to go to work I'll be brutally honest.' The Lego doyenne added that when the pair first met eight years ago, they hit it off instantly, bonding over eerily similar hobbies and interests. 'Whilst I'm creative with Lego from a professional point of view, and he's obviously a comedian and media personality type guy, we both cycle every day to and from the studio,' he said. 'We're both into footy. We both play golf. There's lots of things that we do that are the same, which made for a pretty easy connection, and we have a very similar sense of humour.' The chemistry has obviously translated successfully to the screen with Lego Masters proving quite the ratings hit for Nine. The 2024 series finale boasted a national total reach audience of 1.9million viewers - a figure that remained relatively consistent throughout the season with the premiere bringing in 2.2million fans. Ryan's ringing endorsement comes after Hamish was revealed to be one of the highest-paid TV stars in the country. The Australian's TV Rich List report, released this week, places the comedian third in the top 35 highest-paid stars list at a formidable $2million. He trails behind fellow Nine colleagues Scott Cam, who is on $2.4million and Karl Stefanovic who tops the list at an eye-watering $2.8million. However, the Brickman is nowhere to be seen on the list, with the lowest-placed star, 60 Minutes reporter Amelia Adams bringing in $300,000. Hamish recently revealed the celebrity interview that changed his life. The radio star, 42, appeared on the ABC series The Assembly in 2024 and said speaking with billionaire business magnate, Richard Branson, 74, was a life-changing experience. He recalled a time when he was left stunned by Richard's response to a producer who asked for $1,000 during an interview in 2010 on Hamish & Andy. Hamish explained he was chatting with Richard on the comedy show he hosted with co-star Andy Lee when producer Jack Post asked the billionaire for some cash. 'Jack basically said to him, "You are a billionaire. Can we just go downstairs to the ATM, can you give me a thousand dollars? It's nothing to you but it will change my month,"' Hamish said. '[Richard] was like, "I'll tell you what – there's something I'd give you all my money for," and Jack's like, "Really?" and [Richard] goes, 'Your age."' Hamish went on to say Jack was penniless and 22 at the time while Richard was wealthy and 60, but the Virgin co-founder insisted he would love Jack's life. 'We were like, "What do you mean by that?" and he said, "I'd happily be broke and 22 than a billionaire and 68," or whatever he was at the time,' Hamish explained. He added: 'It's true. I think that it will be true for all of us. As we get older, you're like, "OK, money's thing in life, a tool that can certainly take some bad situations and discomfort away, but it's not happiness." 'It's nowhere near the exhilaration of getting to live, and all the best stuff is free. I think about that all the time. 'That always stuck with me, that idea that we've got something immediately available to us, that in the future we'd give all our material possessions for.'
The Age
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Bicycles, ice baths and 4 million bricks: Behind the scenes of Lego Masters
Every day while filming Lego Masters, Hamish Blake and Ryan 'Brickman' McNaught, host and judge of the Logie-award-wining show, ride bicycles together to get to work. 'Yeah, probably don't tell production that I ride my bike because I'm a 50/50 chance of not making it,' Blake says, laughing. 'City drivers don't love seeing a cyclist. I mean, the anger is palpable.' McNaught grimaces with a smile. 'Dicing with death daily,' he says. 'Lucky we're not angry on this show.' Indeed, Lego Masters Australia, returning for its seventh season with Grandmasters of the Galaxy, a global battle of 10 teams from Australia and overseas, is a bastion of family-friendly encouragement and kinship. 'We're definitely the light side,' Blake says, laughing. 'We're Jedis, always trying to really harness that Jedi feeling.' This season, 20 players from seven countries – a mix of homegrown and international winners and finalists from Australia, Canada, China, Finland, Sweden, the US and New Zealand – will tackle extraordinary challenges. This includes seeing if Lego can fly, building a car with a dash of 'movie magic', creating lifelike objects for a Chinese restaurant, and creating a monster from ancient civilisations. There's also the introduction of the 'magic brick' – a coveted large, glowing block that teams battle for to gain immunity from elimination in the next challenge. And TV personality Sophie Monk will return as special guest in four episodes. Returning Australian builders include fan favourite and season-five winner Owen, teamed up with Gabby, who came fourth in season three; season-one runners-up David and Gerhard (known as 'G'); Henry and Cade, champions of season one; and Trent and Alex, who have come close to victory more than once. Loading The overseas teams include Dai and Jiayuan, from Lego Masters China; Oskari and Aura from Finland; New Zealand runners-up Emily and Sarah; and sibling duo Paul and Nealita from the US. There are also best friends and Lego Masters Sweden alumni Vidar and Albin; and Nick and Stacey, the first Canadians to win Lego Masters USA, who did so in their Lego bow-tie and hair bow respectively. 'These are all the best of the best,' says Blake, who won the 2022 Gold Logie for most popular personality on television. 'Not only has everyone built on the show before, the only people that haven't won are people that are back here because they just missed out. They're the elite.' On the day I visit the studio, which is housed in a hangar-style building at Disney Studios in Sydney's Moore Park, teams of production staff are sorting used bricks on an upper level while, below, a large bank of multiple screens shows 25 camera angles of the contestants, all metres away, constructing against the clock at their workbenches. The set, a red and gold Chinese restaurant, complete with tables and chairs, fills the end of the room. The teams are hunched over, building intently, and the sound of murmuring and clicking bricks fills the air. Every so often, someone will sprint to choose from 4 million bricks in the Brick Pit. Blake and McNaught hover between the tables, quietly observing between chats, jokes and advice with teams off- and on-camera. For all the fun of Lego Masters, the pair know how their presence can affect contestants. 'You have to be cognisant of how much pressure they're always under,' Blake says. 'They want to put their best foot forward, the clock is always ticking and there's a real skill to what everyone's doing on the show, I never want to be flippant about that. 'But I still believe it helps people be at their best if you can keep a slight amount of cheerfulness in adversity. It keeps a pep in their step.' As one of the world's leading Lego brick artists, and the only Lego certified professional in the southern hemisphere, McNaught understands his influence. Loading 'My job, obviously, is to be a judge, but also I want them to be the best possible Lego builders they can be,' he says. 'In some instances there's still 90 minutes on the clock, they've done 95 per cent, they've got capacity to finesse, make it that little bit better. 'In other instances, it's 'hang on a minute, we've just gotta get you over the line'. So you have to juggle both of these.' After seven seasons, Blake says one of the challenges of Lego Masters is coming up with new build quests. 'I think we will have done close to 100 challenges by now,' he says. 'Everything's new. You have to keep getting more and more creative to keep it novel, and that becomes the challenge. But that's all right. That's what happens with any creative process that's seven years in.' In the past week, McNaught has already banked four ideas for future seasons. 'Once you've got your Lego brain on, it's all, 'What about this wild thing?'' he says. There's no doubt McNaught has a Lego brain. But what about Lego fingers? Does building trigger injuries? 'Absolutely yes,' he says. '[Just] working with your fingers for eight hours here is really hard. For instance, Gabby isn't used to operating with the big bricks she's using today, so her hands are throbbing. But it doesn't take long to get match-fit.' McNaught himself has some 'pretty gnarly arthritis' in his hands after manoeuvring Lego for years. 'At the end of a long day my knuckles swell,' he says. 'No different to a bricklayer or a chippy.' Brickman's tips for Lego enthusiasts with aching digits? Learn to use both hands, rest them alternately and have a long break afterwards. What about mini ice baths? 'That's what I do,' McNaught says. Blake is excited. 'Yeah – 'Bricks down, guys!'' he says, jokingly. ''Come to the centre now. I want your hands in the ice baths!''
Sydney Morning Herald
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Bicycles, ice baths and 4 million bricks: Behind the scenes of Lego Masters
Every day while filming Lego Masters, Hamish Blake and Ryan 'Brickman' McNaught, host and judge of the Logie-award-wining show, ride bicycles together to get to work. 'Yeah, probably don't tell production that I ride my bike because I'm a 50/50 chance of not making it,' Blake says, laughing. 'City drivers don't love seeing a cyclist. I mean, the anger is palpable.' McNaught grimaces with a smile. 'Dicing with death daily,' he says. 'Lucky we're not angry on this show.' Indeed, Lego Masters Australia, returning for its seventh season with Grandmasters of the Galaxy, a global battle of 10 teams from Australia and overseas, is a bastion of family-friendly encouragement and kinship. 'We're definitely the light side,' Blake says, laughing. 'We're Jedis, always trying to really harness that Jedi feeling.' This season, 20 players from seven countries – a mix of homegrown and international winners and finalists from Australia, Canada, China, Finland, Sweden, the US and New Zealand – will tackle extraordinary challenges. This includes seeing if Lego can fly, building a car with a dash of 'movie magic', creating lifelike objects for a Chinese restaurant, and creating a monster from ancient civilisations. There's also the introduction of the 'magic brick' – a coveted large, glowing block that teams battle for to gain immunity from elimination in the next challenge. And TV personality Sophie Monk will return as special guest in four episodes. Returning Australian builders include fan favourite and season-five winner Owen, teamed up with Gabby, who came fourth in season three; season-one runners-up David and Gerhard (known as 'G'); Henry and Cade, champions of season one; and Trent and Alex, who have come close to victory more than once. Loading The overseas teams include Dai and Jiayuan, from Lego Masters China; Oskari and Aura from Finland; New Zealand runners-up Emily and Sarah; and sibling duo Paul and Nealita from the US. There are also best friends and Lego Masters Sweden alumni Vidar and Albin; and Nick and Stacey, the first Canadians to win Lego Masters USA, who did so in their Lego bow-tie and hair bow respectively. 'These are all the best of the best,' says Blake, who won the 2022 Gold Logie for most popular personality on television. 'Not only has everyone built on the show before, the only people that haven't won are people that are back here because they just missed out. They're the elite.' On the day I visit the studio, which is housed in a hangar-style building at Disney Studios in Sydney's Moore Park, teams of production staff are sorting used bricks on an upper level while, below, a large bank of multiple screens shows 25 camera angles of the contestants, all metres away, constructing against the clock at their workbenches. The set, a red and gold Chinese restaurant, complete with tables and chairs, fills the end of the room. The teams are hunched over, building intently, and the sound of murmuring and clicking bricks fills the air. Every so often, someone will sprint to choose from 4 million bricks in the Brick Pit. Blake and McNaught hover between the tables, quietly observing between chats, jokes and advice with teams off- and on-camera. For all the fun of Lego Masters, the pair know how their presence can affect contestants. 'You have to be cognisant of how much pressure they're always under,' Blake says. 'They want to put their best foot forward, the clock is always ticking and there's a real skill to what everyone's doing on the show, I never want to be flippant about that. 'But I still believe it helps people be at their best if you can keep a slight amount of cheerfulness in adversity. It keeps a pep in their step.' As one of the world's leading Lego brick artists, and the only Lego certified professional in the southern hemisphere, McNaught understands his influence. Loading 'My job, obviously, is to be a judge, but also I want them to be the best possible Lego builders they can be,' he says. 'In some instances there's still 90 minutes on the clock, they've done 95 per cent, they've got capacity to finesse, make it that little bit better. 'In other instances, it's 'hang on a minute, we've just gotta get you over the line'. So you have to juggle both of these.' After seven seasons, Blake says one of the challenges of Lego Masters is coming up with new build quests. 'I think we will have done close to 100 challenges by now,' he says. 'Everything's new. You have to keep getting more and more creative to keep it novel, and that becomes the challenge. But that's all right. That's what happens with any creative process that's seven years in.' In the past week, McNaught has already banked four ideas for future seasons. 'Once you've got your Lego brain on, it's all, 'What about this wild thing?'' he says. There's no doubt McNaught has a Lego brain. But what about Lego fingers? Does building trigger injuries? 'Absolutely yes,' he says. '[Just] working with your fingers for eight hours here is really hard. For instance, Gabby isn't used to operating with the big bricks she's using today, so her hands are throbbing. But it doesn't take long to get match-fit.' McNaught himself has some 'pretty gnarly arthritis' in his hands after manoeuvring Lego for years. 'At the end of a long day my knuckles swell,' he says. 'No different to a bricklayer or a chippy.' Brickman's tips for Lego enthusiasts with aching digits? Learn to use both hands, rest them alternately and have a long break afterwards. What about mini ice baths? 'That's what I do,' McNaught says. Blake is excited. 'Yeah – 'Bricks down, guys!'' he says, jokingly. ''Come to the centre now. I want your hands in the ice baths!''
Daily Mail
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Andy Lee's secret tribute to Hugh Jackman in his new Aussie-themed pub goes horribly wrong
Andy Lee has revealed a tribute to Aussie superstar Hugh Jackman in his recently opened New York pub went horribly wrong. The comedian, 43, opened his Australian-themed pub, Old Mates, in Manhattan, back in February. With Andy at the helm of the venture, it is backed by an owner's group that includes the likes of Hamish Blake, tennis star Ash Barty, surfing legend Mick Fanning, Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins and Hollywood A-lister Hugh, to name a few. Speaking to Nine Entertainmen t, the funnyman revealed that he wanted to place secret nods to the backers on the walls of the pub. 'I asked them what's their favourite pub in Australia, their favourite drink?' Andy said. 'There's little nods to all of them. Everyone's favourite pub in Australia is framed and hanging on the wall.' However, Hugh's tribute did not last the first full day of trading, falling victim to a workplace accident. 'Unfortunately we smashed Jackman's on day one accidentally,' Andy admitted. 'It was hanging above the register and one of the employees walked around the corner and knocked it off and smashed the glass!' The Hundred host did reveal however that Hugh's favourite place to grab a beer Down Under is the iconic Sydney watering hole The Oaks Hotel in Neutral Bay. Andy first announced his plans to open a New York pub back in December last year. Taking to Instagram, he posted a slew of pictures with restaurateur Eddy Buckingham and Aussie café connoisseurs Nicholas Stone and Andrew Stone. 'Super EXCITED for this!!' he wrote. 'After the last Aussie bar in Manhattan closed down during COVID, a few pals and I thought it was important to build a new venue. 'Aussies in NYC need a place to have a crisp cold Australian beer, to watch the AFL & NRL finals, to cheer on the Matildas and watch The Ashes. 'Old Mates is it. 170 John St, Seaport NYC.' On a comedic note, he added: 'It's taken me three years to personally build this pub with my bare hands like Noah from The Notebook. 'If you don't believe me, see the last picture where I'm clearly holding a drill.' The comedian certainly has a lot on his plate at the moment, recently taking a very hands-on approach to his mammoth Melbourne renovation project. Andy and fiancée Rebecca Harding are currently restoring a 150-year-old derelict mansion by the Yarra River in Hawthorn. As the protracted build continues, he took to Instagram last month to show a clip of him operating a large crane. Perched atop the crane, high above the treetops, workers on the build stood precariously in a large metal cage as they left their fate to Andy's skill with heavy machinery. It was a fact not lost on Andy either who said, 'This is incredible,' laughing, as he sat in the machine's cabin. 'Gosh, I've got five people in my hands up there. It's a powerful thing,' Andy added as he cast his eyes skyward. Thankfully, Andy's worksite tomfoolery appeared to occur without major incident. Andy and Rebecca have grand plans for their Italianate manor, called Ravenswood, with the planned renovation worth an estimated $5million having begun in 2023. Plans for the site include adding a second building which will be connected by a tunnel to the original Italianate mansion, which was built around 1876. Other highlights planned for the 1950square metre holding include a home theatre, a gym, a swimming pool and a 'mega bedroom'.
