''Better Homes and Gardens'' is an Australian television program which is broadcast on the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

, which is based on the magazine of the same name domestically published by

Are Media Are Media is an Australian media company that was formed after the 2020 purchase of the assets of Bauer Media Australia, which had in turn acquired the assets of Pacific Magazines, AP Magazines and Australian Consolidated Press during the 2010s ...

(itself licensing the brand and magazine format from the American

Meredith Corporation Meredith Corporation was an American media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, that owned magazines, television stations, websites, and radio stations. Its publications had a readership of more than 120 million and paid circulation of more ...

). The programs covers a wide variety of lifestyle related topics. These include, gardening, landscaping, architecture, cooking,

DIY "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and sem ...

, pet care, and home improvement, as well as featuring celebrity guests. The show is hosted by former Commonwealth Games swimmer-turned-television presenter

Johanna Griggs Johanna Leigh Griggs (born 17 October 1973) is an Australian television presenter and former competitive swimmer. She won a bronze medal at the 1990 Commonwealth Games. Griggs has been at the Seven Network since 1993 where she joined ...

, who has hosted the program since 2005. In 2014, ''Better Homes and Gardens'' was awarded a record 12th Silver

Logie Award The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as the ...

for Australia's Most Popular Lifestyle Program.

History

The show was created by Peter E. Fox, who was also an executive producer for the 1995 series, along with Grahame Duckham. This was for the original magazine publisher, Murdoch Magazines and executive director Mark Kelly. The series aired its 1000th episode on 29 June 2018. Gardening guru Graham Ross has appeared on the show since 1995, presenting over 700 episodes. Resident vet Dr. Harry Cooper joined the team in 2004 and has been providing pet information and advice to viewers ever since.

Ed Halmagyi Ed Halmagyi (born February 1975), also known as "Fast Ed," is an Australian TV presenter, chef, author, photographer and radio host. Early life Ed Halmagyi was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in February 1975 to neurologist Dr Gabor M ...

(known on the show as 'Fast Ed') joined the team in 2004 he transforms elegant restaurant cuisine into recipes that anyone can prepare at home. Melbourne Chef

Karen Martini Karen Martini (born 20 September 1971) is an Australian chef, restaurateur, writer and television presenter. Early life Martini was born in Greensborough, Victoria and is now living in Melbourne who began cooking at a young age. At 15 she u ...

joined the show in 2006 bringing with her a love of relaxed cooking with fresh, healthy, seasonal produce. Builder Adam Dovile joined the show in 2015 after winning season two of ''

House Rules House rules are unofficial modifications to official game rules adopted by individual groups of players. House rules may include the removal or alteration of existing rules, or the addition of new rules. Such modifications are common in board g ...

'' in 2014, and is the go-to for DIY projects on the show. In January 2020,

Charlie Albone Charles Albone (born ) is an Australian landscape designer and television presenter known for co-hosting ''Selling Houses Australia'' (2008–20). He has also hosted other shows including ''The Party Garden'', ''Charlie and the Flower Show'' an ...

James Tobin James Tobin (March 5, 1918 – March 11, 2002) was an American economist who served on the Council of Economic Advisers and consulted with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and taught at Harvard and Yale Universities. He devel ...

and Melissa King joined the show as presenters. Albone's partner Juliet Love is the show's designer and decorator and joined the show in 2021.

Presenters

Hosts

(2005–present) * Graham Ross (2004) *

Noni Hazlehurst Leonie Elva "Noni" Hazlehurst , (born 17 August 1953) is an Australian actress, director, writer, presenter and broadcaster who has appeared on television and radio, in dramas, mini-series and made for television films, as well also on stag ...

(1995–2004) *

John Jarratt John Jarratt is an Australian television film actor, producer and director and TV presenter who rose to fame through his work in the Australian New Wave. He has appeared in a number of film roles including '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (1975), ' ...

(1995–98)

Food

(2007–present) * "Fast Ed"

(2004–present) *

Pete Evans Peter Daryl Evans (born 29 August 1973) is an Australian chef, and former television presenter, who was a former judge of the competitive cooking show ''My Kitchen Rules''. Evans has been heavily criticised for spreading misinformation about ...

(2018–2020) * Maeve O'Meara (2000–2007) * Belinda Jeffrey (1996–2000)

Gardening

* Graham Ross (1996–present) *

(2020–present) * Melissa King (2020–present) * Jason Hodges (2005–2019) ''(Landscaping)'' * Linda Ross (1996–2000) * Colm O'Leary (1996-1996)

Architecture

* Peter Coulqhoun (2003–present) *

Grahame Bond Grahame John Bond AM (born 21 November 1943) is an Australian actor, writer, director, musician and composer, known primarily for his role as Aunty Jack. Early career Bond began his career in entertainment at University of Sydney in the 1960s ...

(1998–2002) * Tony Fragar (1996)

Decorating

* Juliet Love (2021–present) * Tara Dennis (2006–2020) * Lissanne Oliver (2005) * Gwen Jones Palmer (2004) *

Monica Trapaga Monica Maria Trápaga (born 1965) is an Australian entertainment presenter, jazz singer and actress. She was a presenter on the Australian children's series, '' Play School'', from 1990 to 1998; and had provided the vocals to the theme of ''Bana ...

(1997–2003) * Fiona Connolly (1996–2004) ''(Craft)'' * Sandy de Beyer (1996) *

(1995)

DIY

* Adam Dovile (2015–present) * Rob Palmer (2004–2014) * Scott McGregor (1999–2003) *

(1995–1998)

Motoring & Technology

(2020–present)

Health & Fitness

* Sam Wood (2020–2021)

Pets

* Harry Cooper (2004–present) *

(1995–2003)

Better Living (consumer advice)

(1995–1997)

Broadcast

The program originally aired on Tuesdays at 7:30 pm and ran back to back with '' The Great Outdoors'' until the travel program was moved to Mondays early in the 2000s. It then aired before ''Room For Improvement'', which was hosted by then-

presenter Scott McGregor. ''Better Homes'' was moved to Saturday nights at 7.30 pm in 2004, before being shifted to 6.30pm. Both timeslots were reportedly disastrous for ratings and the show struggled immensely against

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

on other networks. In 2005, it was shifted to 7:30pm on Friday nights, where it has enjoyed ratings success since. It is now the longest-running Australian TV lifestyle program and the highest rating show on Australian TV. It was often among the top 10 rating programs in Australia during the 1990s, sometimes with audiences in excess of two million. From 2007 until 2011, the

showed ''Better Homes and Gardens'' at 7:30 pm., prior to its coverage of Friday Night

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

starting at 8:30 pm. This was a very successful timeslot for the show, but the scheduling was unpopular amongst football fans on the east coast, because it meant that the football was shown on a one-hour delayed telecast (except for matches in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, which were live due to the time difference). Sports fans and media continually called for Seven to shift ''Better Homes and Gardens'' and show the football

live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of albums ...

, but Seven preferred to leave the show in its top-rating timeslot, moving it only for particularly large matches. ''Better Homes and Gardens'' was forced into a new timeslot at the start of the 2012 AFL season, as the new AFL Broadcast Rights deal forced Seven to show the football live on Friday nights. ''Better Homes'' now airs in all states on Friday nights at 7:00 pm on Channel 7 when 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 ...

is not on and 7Two when the AFL is on.

References

External links

''Better Homes and Gardens'' (Australian)

Better Homes and Gardens on 7plus
{{Seven Network programming 1995 Australian television series debuts 2000s Australian television series 2010s Australian television series Australian non-fiction television series English-language television shows Gardening television Seven Network original programming Television shows based on magazines Television shows set in Melbourne Television series by Seven Productions