''The Footy Show'' was an Australian sports and variety entertainment television program which aired on the
Nine Network. The show was dedicated to the
Australian Football League (AFL) and
Australian rules football. The show featured a panel of hosts and a rotating regular panel of guests.
Under the show's initial format, which ran from 1994 to 2018, ''The Footy Show'' was variously hosted by
Eddie McGuire
Edward Joseph McGuire AM (born 29 October 1964) is an Australian television presenter, journalist and Australian Football League commentator. He is also an occasional '' Herald Sun'' newspaper columnist. He hosts Channel Nine’s Millionai ...
,
Billy Brownless
Anthony William Brownless (born 28 January 1967) is a former Australian rules footballer and radio and television media personality who represented in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the 1980s and 1990s.
Early life
Brownless was ...
,
Sam Newman,
Trevor Marmalade
Trevor Marmalade (born Jason van de Velde, 26 April 1962) is an Australian comedian and radio and television presenter. Marmalade is of Dutch people, Dutch descent and grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Surrey Hills, Victoria, Surrey Hills.
C ...
,
Garry Lyon
Garry Peter Lyon (born 13 September 1967) is a former professional Australian rules football player and was captain of the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Since his retirement from football, he has been mainly ...
,
James Brayshaw
James Antony Brayshaw (born 11 May 1967) is an Australian media personality and retired cricketer working in television for the Seven Network and radio for Triple M. For Seven Sport, he hosts and calls Test cricket during summer and Australian F ...
,
Rebecca Maddern
Rebecca Maddern (born 6 August 1977) is an Australian television presenter and journalist.
Maddern is currently weekend presenter of ''Seven News Melbourne'' with Mike Amor and presents ''Seven Afternoon News'' in Melbourne.
She has worked a ...
and
Craig Hutchison, with changes to the line-up throughout, and won eight
Logie Awards for
Most Popular Sports Program.
In December 2018, McGuire announced that the show would continue as a newly formatted show from 2019 and that he and Newman, the show's original hosts, would host several
specials throughout the year. However, on 9 May 2019, seven episodes into the new season and less than an hour after that evening's episode had aired, the Nine Network announced that the show would be cancelled due to poor ratings for the show. The show was hosted by
Anthony Lehmann
Anthony Lehmann (born 20 August 1969) is an Australian comedian, actor, television and radio presenter.
Career
Born in Peebinga, South Australia, Lehmo started out working as a chartered accountant before realising he did not actually like acc ...
,
Neroli Meadows
Neroli Meadows is an Australian television presenter, sports journalist and sports commentator. Meadows has been a boundary rider for Triple M's Australian Football League (AFL) coverage, and was a presenter and commentator across the Fox Spor ...
,
Brendan Fevola and
Dylan Alcott
Dylan Martin Alcott, (born 4 December 1990) is an Australian former wheelchair tennis player, former wheelchair basketball player, radio host and motivational speaker. Alcott was a member of the Australia men's national wheelchair basketball t ...
in 2019.
On 21 June 2019, McGuire announced that he, Newman, and Marmalade (the original hosts) plus Maddern would do a farewell Grand Final show 25.5 years after the show's first episode. It was filmed at
Rod Laver Arena
Rod Laver Arena is a multipurpose arena located within Melbourne Park, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The arena is the main venue for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tennis tournament of the calendar year.
History
Replacing ...
on 25 September.
Origins and format
''The Footy Show'' had its origins in 1993 when a special Grand Final edition of ''
The Sunday Footy Show'' aired on the Thursday night before the
AFL Grand Final
The AFL Grand Final is an Australian rules football match to determine the premiers for the Australian Football League (AFL) season. From its inception until 1989, it was known as the VFL Grand Final, as the league at that time was the Victori ...
(the name deriving from the
diminutive form of the word
football commonly used in
Australian English). The program was then extended and started as a regular program in 1994 hosted by former
Network Ten reporter
Eddie McGuire
Edward Joseph McGuire AM (born 29 October 1964) is an Australian television presenter, journalist and Australian Football League commentator. He is also an occasional '' Herald Sun'' newspaper columnist. He hosts Channel Nine’s Millionai ...
, former
Geelong player
Sam Newman, and comedian
Trevor Marmalade
Trevor Marmalade (born Jason van de Velde, 26 April 1962) is an Australian comedian and radio and television presenter. Marmalade is of Dutch people, Dutch descent and grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Surrey Hills, Victoria, Surrey Hills.
C ...
. They were usually joined by three current and former football players in a panel format.
The show was broadcast live from Melbourne with a large studio audience "warmed up" each week by MC and comedian
Michael Pope. From 1994 to 2010 (Seasons 1 to 17), the show was broadcast from Studio 9 at GTV 9 in Richmond. Following GTV 9's relocation to Docklands at the start of 2011 to 2019—rom Season 18 to Season 26—the show was produced from Sound Stage 4 at Docklands Film Studios.
Over the years, the show has also broadcast special live episodes from various locations, including Geelong, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
(2001 and 2004) and
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
(2006).
In 2006, after McGuire's appointment as CEO of the
Nine Network, he stepped down as host of the program and was replaced by former
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
player
Garry Lyon
Garry Peter Lyon (born 13 September 1967) is a former professional Australian rules football player and was captain of the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Since his retirement from football, he has been mainly ...
and
North Melbourne Football Club director, later chairman,
James Brayshaw
James Antony Brayshaw (born 11 May 1967) is an Australian media personality and retired cricketer working in television for the Seven Network and radio for Triple M. For Seven Sport, he hosts and calls Test cricket during summer and Australian F ...
, as co-hosts. In a bid to reinvigorate the show in 2009, Trevor Marmalade was cut from the program to make way for former footballers
Shane Crawford
Shane Barry Crawford (born 9 September 1974) is a former Australian rules football player, television media personality and author. He played 305 senior games for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) and won the ...
and
Billy Brownless
Anthony William Brownless (born 28 January 1967) is a former Australian rules footballer and radio and television media personality who represented in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the 1980s and 1990s.
Early life
Brownless was ...
. In 2012, former Essendon player Matthew Lloyd was brought in, with Lloyd, Crawford and Brownless rotating each week.
The panelists discussed any news stories which arose during the week, reviewed the last round of matches, and previewed each match for the upcoming week, including showing the lineups. Before 2001, no footage of any AFL games could be aired by the show, as rival station
Seven Network
The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australia ...
held the broadcast rights and refused to allow the show to air footage in an attempt to stall the program's success. From 2002 until 2006, Nine had the rights to AFL broadcasts, and footage was used liberally during the show. From 2007, they reverted to not using any game footage due to Nine having lost the rights to AFL broadcasting to the Seven Network and Network Ten until the end of the
2011 football season. From 2012 until the show's 2019 termination, footage was used from
Fox Footy
Fox Footy (stylised as FOX FOOTY) is an Australian rules football subscription television channel dedicated to screening Australian rules football matches and related programming. It is owned by Fox Sports Pty Limited, operated out of their Me ...
, who broadcast all of the AFL games every weekend.
The show's iconic logo is based on a famous photo of AFL legend
Jack Dyer
John Raymond Dyer Sr. OAM (15 November 1913 – 23 August 2003), nicknamed Captain Blood, was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) between 1931 and 1949. One of the ga ...
.
Presenters
*
Eddie McGuire
Edward Joseph McGuire AM (born 29 October 1964) is an Australian television presenter, journalist and Australian Football League commentator. He is also an occasional '' Herald Sun'' newspaper columnist. He hosts Channel Nine’s Millionai ...
(1994–2005, 2017–2018, 2019 finale)
*
Sam Newman (1994–2018, 2019 finale)
*
Trevor Marmalade
Trevor Marmalade (born Jason van de Velde, 26 April 1962) is an Australian comedian and radio and television presenter. Marmalade is of Dutch people, Dutch descent and grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Surrey Hills, Victoria, Surrey Hills.
C ...
(1994–2008, 2019 finale)
*
James Brayshaw
James Antony Brayshaw (born 11 May 1967) is an Australian media personality and retired cricketer working in television for the Seven Network and radio for Triple M. For Seven Sport, he hosts and calls Test cricket during summer and Australian F ...
(2006–2016, 2019 finale)
*
Anthony Lehmann
Anthony Lehmann (born 20 August 1969) is an Australian comedian, actor, television and radio presenter.
Career
Born in Peebinga, South Australia, Lehmo started out working as a chartered accountant before realising he did not actually like acc ...
(2019)
*
Garry Lyon
Garry Peter Lyon (born 13 September 1967) is a former professional Australian rules football player and was captain of the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Since his retirement from football, he has been mainly ...
(2006–2015)
*
Craig Hutchinson
Craig Hutchinson (June 23, 1891 – February 1976) was an American film director, director and screenwriter. He directed more than 80 films between 1915 and 1928. He also wrote for 33 films between 1914 and 1927. He was born in Austin, Minn ...
(2017), news reporter 2007–2010
*
Billy Brownless
Anthony William Brownless (born 28 January 1967) is a former Australian rules footballer and radio and television media personality who represented in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the 1980s and 1990s.
Early life
Brownless was ...
(2006–2016)
*
Craig Hutchison (2017), news reporter 2007–2010
Panellists
*
Brendan Fevola (2018–2019)
*
Dylan Alcott
Dylan Martin Alcott, (born 4 December 1990) is an Australian former wheelchair tennis player, former wheelchair basketball player, radio host and motivational speaker. Alcott was a member of the Australia men's national wheelchair basketball t ...
(2019)
*
Matthew Lloyd
Matthew James Lloyd (born 16 April 1978) is a former professional Australian rules footballer, who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
A highly decorated full-forward, Lloyd's AFL's honours include ...
(2012–2013)
*
Dave Hughes (2015–2017)
*
Chris Judd
Christopher Dylan Judd (born 8 September 1983) is a former professional Australian rules footballer and captain of both the West Coast Eagles and Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Widely regarded as one of the bes ...
(2018)
*
Dane Swan
Dane Swan (born 25 February 1984) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). (2018)
*
Shane Crawford
Shane Barry Crawford (born 9 September 1974) is a former Australian rules football player, television media personality and author. He played 305 senior games for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) and won the ...
(2009–2019) – panellist/roaming
*
Billy Brownless
Anthony William Brownless (born 28 January 1967) is a former Australian rules footballer and radio and television media personality who represented in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the 1980s and 1990s.
Early life
Brownless was ...
(2009–2018, 2019 finale) – panellist/roaming
* Damian Barrett (2011–2018) – news reporter
Scheduling
The
AFL
AFL may refer to:
Sports
* American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues:
** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...
version of the show aired every Thursday.
VIC, TAS, SA, & WA
* Thursday Night: 8:30pm on
Nine
9 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
9 or nine may also refer to:
Dates
* AD 9, the ninth year of the AD era
* 9 BC, the ninth year before the AD era
* 9, numerical symbol for the month of September
Places
* Nine, Portugal, a parish in the ...
* Sunday Morning: 10am on
Nine
9 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
9 or nine may also refer to:
Dates
* AD 9, the ninth year of the AD era
* 9 BC, the ninth year before the AD era
* 9, numerical symbol for the month of September
Places
* Nine, Portugal, a parish in the ...
NSW, QLD, ACT, & NT
* Thursday Night: 11:30pm on
Nine
9 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
9 or nine may also refer to:
Dates
* AD 9, the ninth year of the AD era
* 9 BC, the ninth year before the AD era
* 9, numerical symbol for the month of September
Places
* Nine, Portugal, a parish in the ...
* Sunday Morning: 1pm on
9Gem
9Gem is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, launched by the Nine Network in September 2010. The channel provides general entertainment and movie programming, from which the original name "GEM" is derived.
History
Nine N ...
From 1994 to 2012, ''The Footy Show'' usually aired at 9.30 pm AEST. However, from 28 November 2012 to 9 May 2019, Nine announced that the show would air at 8.30 pm AEST.
Thursday
In
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
,
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
,
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
and
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
, the show aired on Thursday nights at 8:30 pm during the AFL season.
In 2008, the AFL version of ''The Footy Show'' could be seen live into most
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
and
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, establishe ...
TV markets via the
Nine HD channel. However, this was discontinued before the launch of
GO! when Nine HD ceased breakaway programming. Since then, the show aired at 11.30pm.
Sunday
A related program, ''
The Sunday Footy Show (AFL)
''The AFL Sunday Footy Show'' is an Australian rules football program aired on the Nine Network on Sunday mornings at 10am to 12pm hosted by Tony Jones with a panel consisting of Damian Barrett, Nathan Brown, Matthew Lloyd and Kane Cornes.
H ...
'', continues to air between 10.00 am and 12.00 pm on Sunday mornings.
Segments throughout the show's run
*''Almost Football Legends''—(Formerly by Crawford/Brownless/Marmalade). Showcases local footy highlights (such as big marks, great goals, and unusual occurrences). Originally started so that ''some'' football footage would be shown. It became a talent quest, with the winner receiving a prize, and some players featured in the segment (most notably
Russell Robertson
Russell "Robbo" Robertson (born 24 November 1978) is a former professional Australian rules footballer, who last played for the Melbourne Football Club.
Robertson is one of the Melbourne's great goalkickers, being one of just four players in ...
) have even been signed up by AFL clubs based on their performances.
*''Angry Al''—Originally the
Gary Coleman
Gary Wayne Coleman (February 8, 1968 – May 28, 2010) was an American actor and comedian. Coleman was the highest-paid child actor on television throughout the late 1970s and 1980s. He was rated first on a list of VH1's "100 Greatest Kid ...
Medal, renamed the Gary Coleman Memorial Medal and then the
Charlie Sheen
Carlos Irwin Estévez (born September 3, 1965), known professionally as Charlie Sheen, is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as ''Platoon'' (1986), ''Wall Street'' (1987), '' Young Guns'' (1988), '' The Rookie'' (1990), ''The Thr ...
Medal, and was later resurrected in homage to volatile coach
Alastair Clarkson
Alastair Thomas Clarkson (born 27 April 1968) is an Australian rules football coach and former player who is currently the head coach of the North Melbourne Football Club. He was previously the head coach of the Hawthorn Football Club in the ...
—a faux medal awarded to the AFL personality who lost their temper in the most major way in the previous week. Footage of other sport flare-ups where also shown as 'nominations'.
*Big Bill House—A one-off segment which aired on the show in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Was introduced in 2013 when Newman, Shane, and Garry all got their certainty tips incorrect in the same round. Big Bill House featured challenges set by Big Bill (Brownless) which were often humorous and stupid.
*The Wheel—Brownless goes around to local footy clubs to have a competition where they won what would come up on the wheel. This segment come back in 2018 for only a couple of episodes.
*''Street Talk'' (by Newman)—A satirical take on
by interviewing and making fun of various characters on the streets of cities around Australia. Brownless, Crawford or
Brendan Fevola fill in as host of this segment when Newman was unable to fulfill his position.
*''The Footy Show Stakes'' (cartoon
Andrew Fyfe)—A satirical animation sending up the weekly events in football in the form of a house race (Formerly known as Fyfe's Footy Flicks).
*''Sam's Mailbag''—Newman reads and answers letters sent in by viewers of the show.
*2018 Sam's Mailbag changed its name, with Newman reading social media post from the shows Facebook or Twitter or Instagram and his own Instagram or Twitter
*''Fyfe's Footy Flicks'' (by cartoonist
Andrew Fyfe)—A satirical animation sending up the weekly events in football.
*''MARStermind''—Each week McGuire would quiz someone. It was a football-themed pub-style quiz named after
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...
, who sponsored the show.
*''Hatchet Jobs''—Featured during 2006 towards the end of the show. Footage from coach interviews is chopped up and edited resulting in facetious one-liners.
*''House of Bulger''—5-minute parody of daytime
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
s featuring Crawford as Hank Bulger; other presenters and AFL stars appear as recurring characters.
*''Bulger, MD''—The sequel to ''House of Bulger'', ending with Hank being shot dead by Dr. Pink (
Nathan Brown) on the Grand Final show.
*''Shane's Mailbag—''A simple mocking of ''Sam's Mailbag'' that occurred occasionally in 2009. Crawford placed a sign in front of himself with the segment's name whilst wearing a wide-brimmed hat and blowing a whistle.
*''Pillow Talk'' (by Brayshaw/Lyon)—Wives or girlfriends of AFL footballers are interviewed.
*''Under The Pump''—A member of the panel would be asked poignant questions by other panellists and presenters, with a bike pump lowered above them for comedic effect.
*''That's What I'm Talkin' About'' (by Crawford/
Kevin Sheedy)—Recurring segment in 2009. Crawford attempted to beat various
Guinness World Records. Records that have been broken include kissing 96 people in 60 seconds and having 153
spiders
Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species di ...
crawl on his body for 30 seconds.
*''Pardon My Puzzle'' (by Brayshaw/Lyon)—Recurring segment in 2011. A sequence of images is displayed from which Newman and the panel must "piece together" the answer. Usually (but not always) they are the names of AFL players and coaches, and the images are often amusing. Examples include:
Dick Clay
Richard Harold Clay (born 6 March 1945) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Renowned for his versatility, aerial strength and prodigious field kicking, Cl ...
(penis made of clay),
Drew Petrie
Drew Petrie (born 15 October 1982) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the North Melbourne Football Club and the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). He came out of retirement in 2017 to pla ...
(
Drew Carey
Drew Allison Carey (born May 23, 1958) is an American comedian, actor and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, he gained stardom in his own sitcom, '' The Drew Carey Show'', an ...
+ a kid peeing on tree)
John Schultz (a picture of a toilet
lso known as a john+ a picture of
Sergeant Schultz
The following is a list of characters from '' Hogan's Heroes'', an American sitcom television series which starred Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer and John Banner, and featured Robert Clary, Richard Dawson, Ivan Dixon, and Larry Hovis. It ran for s ...
), and
Scott Camporeale (A
Scot
The Scots ( sco, Scots Fowk; gd, Albannaich) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded t ...
+ a
camper + a
rally
Rally or rallye may refer to:
Gatherings
* Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade
* Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event
Sport ...
).
*''Hughesy's Spray''—Involves Hughes attending a selected team's training and 'stirring them up' with humorous asides about their club and various players. This was similar to the BTG Super Spray (also done by Hughes on
Before The Game
''Before the Game'' was an Australian rules football comedy panel television show which aired on Network Ten on 1 March 2003 until 27 September 2013. The show was hosted by Andrew Maher with regular panelists Mick Molloy, Dave Hughes, Anthony ...
)
Grand Final spectacular
Commencing in 1996, The Grand Final edition of the show was broadcast live from the
Rod Laver Arena
Rod Laver Arena is a multipurpose arena located within Melbourne Park, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The arena is the main venue for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tennis tournament of the calendar year.
History
Replacing ...
annually on the Thursday night before the
AFL Grand Final
The AFL Grand Final is an Australian rules football match to determine the premiers for the Australian Football League (AFL) season. From its inception until 1989, it was known as the VFL Grand Final, as the league at that time was the Victori ...
in front of a crowd of around 12,000. The show includes the AFL Players Revue in which players dress up and dance to themes.
Despite the cancellation of the weekly show earlier in 2019, Eddie, Sam, Trevor and Garry did the last-ever ''Footy Show'' Grand Final edition, which aired on 25 September 2019, looking back at the show's 25½-year history.
Awards
''The Footy Show'' was nominated for the
Logie Award for Most Popular Sports Program
The Logie for Most Popular Sports Program was an award presented annually at the Australian TV Week Logie Awards. It recognises the popularity of an ongoing Australian sports program, where the general theme of the show is sport, with the emphasi ...
each year between 1996–98 and 2000–2018 (with no Logie awarded in the category in 1999).
Criticism and controversy
Sam Newman, regularly a controversial figure during his media career, was by far the most controversial figure on ''The Footy Show'' and has been the subject of many complaints to the Nine Network. Some of his most controversial incidents on ''The Footy Show'' include:
* Wearing
blackface to impersonate legendary Indigenous AFL footballer
Nicky Winmar
Neil Elvis "Nicky" Winmar (born 25 September 1965) is a former Australian rules footballer, best known for his career for and the in the Australian Football League (AFL), as well as in the West Australian Football League.
Growing up in ...
in 1999 after Winmar did not attend a scheduled appearance on the program
* Having his trousers pulled down by
Shane Crawford
Shane Barry Crawford (born 9 September 1974) is a former Australian rules football player, television media personality and author. He played 305 senior games for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) and won the ...
live on-air in 2001
* Hitting an unsuspecting
David Schwarz with a pie in the face during an appearance on ''The Footy Show'', with Schwarz responding by shoving Newman to the ground
* Manhandling and groping a lingerie-clad mannequin with journalist
Caroline Wilson's face attached to it in 2008 in response to the way Wilson was dressed on ''Footy Classified''. Newman was suspended by the Nine Network after the incident
* Describing five female directors of AFL clubs as "liars and hypocrites" after they complained about Newman's mannequin skit, leading one of those directors,
Susan Alberti
Susan Marie "Sue" Alberti (born 18 May 1947) is an Australian businesswoman, philanthropist and former Vice President of the Western Bulldogs Football Club.
Life and career
Alberti was born in 1947 in Bairnsdale, Victoria, Australia. Her fami ...
, to sue the Nine Network for $220,000
* Smoking a bong on-air in 2012 after the AFL banned marijuana as a game-day substance; the substance in the bong was later revealed to be tea leaves
* Describing NFL draftee
Michael Sam
Michael Alan Sam Jr. (born January 7, 1990) is an American professional football defensive lineman for the Barcelona Dragons in the European League of Football. A defensive end, Sam played college football for the Missouri Tigers and was d ...
as "annoyingly gratuitous" in 2014 after the openly homosexual player kissed his boyfriend on live television on being drafted to the NFL
* In 2015, there were questions raised after Newman made remarks about
Mitch Clark's depression issues
* Referring to transgender celebrity
Caitlyn Jenner as "he" and "it" in 2017 (See also:
preferred gender pronoun
Preferred gender pronouns or personal gender pronouns (often abbreviated as PGP) are the set of pronouns (in English, third-person pronouns) that an individual wants others to use in order to reflect that person's gender identity. In English, whe ...
)
* Staging a silent protest and refusing to speak throughout an episode in 2017 after producers refused to allow him to dress up as a woman in response to two senior AFL executives were exposed as having had affairs with junior staffers; the Nine Network responded by taking ''The Footy Show'' off air for four weeks, sacking
Craig Hutchison as host, and replacing him with
Eddie McGuire
Edward Joseph McGuire AM (born 29 October 1964) is an Australian television presenter, journalist and Australian Football League commentator. He is also an occasional '' Herald Sun'' newspaper columnist. He hosts Channel Nine’s Millionai ...
* Ranting about the
AFL Commission
The AFL Commission is the official governing body of the Australian Football League Limited (AFL), its subsidiaries and controlled entities. Richard Goyder has been chairman since 4 April 2017, replacing Mike Fitzpatrick.
It was formed in 198 ...
's decision to publicly support the "yes vote" in the
Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey
The Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey was a national survey designed to gauge support for legalising same-sex marriage in Australia. The survey was held via the postal service between 12 September and 7 November 2017. Unlike voting in ...
, which would pave the way for legalising same-sex marriage
* Describing the newly elected
U.S. President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
Joe Biden as “mentally retarded and has special needs” on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
In June 2020, Newman arrived at a mutual agreement with the Nine Network to resign from the network after he stated in a podcast that while
George Floyd died as a consequence of police brutality, Floyd's extensive criminal record meant he was a "piece of shit".
The following week, Newman engaged in a conversation with
Don Scott and
Mike Sheahan
Michael Sheahan (born 4 March 1947) is an Australian journalist who specialises in Australian rules football. He was chief football writer and associate sports editor for the '' Herald Sun'' for 18 years. Although he left these positions at t ...
on the podcast in which they cast doubt that Nicky Winmar's famous jumper raise in 1993 was about Winmar responding to racism, with Scott and Sheahan instead suggesting that they believed it was to signify a "gutsy" effort. Winmar and photographer Wayne Ludbey took legal action against Newman, Scott and Sheahan, alleging defamation, with the parties reaching an agreement during mediation involving a formal apology and an undisclosed donation to an Indigenous charity.
Newman has also had a number of well-publicised off-screen incidents that were often brought up during the show.
In 2018, on the last live episode for that year, Newman made a nine-minute farewell speech at the top of the show with no one else on set to the audience.
Almost immediately after the show went off the air, he was told he would not be a part of it the following year. He had been a part of the show for 25 years. He would not appear again until the final grand final spectacular a year later in September 2019.
International broadcast
The program was previously shown in the United Kingdom and Ireland on
Premier Sports
Viaplay Sports and Premier Sports are a group of pay television sports channels owned by Viaplay Group.
Viaplay Sports holds exclusive live UK and Republic of Ireland TV rights to La Liga, Scottish League Cup, Elite Ice Hockey League, NHL an ...
the following night on Friday evenings at 8pm and live on
Sky Sport in New Zealand on Thursday evenings at 10:30pm.
See also
*
List of Australian television series
*
List of longest-running Australian television series
References
External links
''The Footy Show'' website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Footy Show
Nine's Wide World of Sport
1994 Australian television series debuts
2000s Australian television series
2019 Australian television series endings
English-language television shows
Television shows set in Melbourne
Australian rules football television series
Television articles with incorrect naming style