''Clarke and Dawe'' (also stylized as ''Clarke & Dawe'') is an Australian

news satire News satire or news comedy is a type of parody presented in a format typical of mainstream journalism, and called a satire because of its content. News satire has been around almost as long as journalism itself, but it is particularly popular on t ...

television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...

that originally aired on the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

from 1989 to 1996 and later on ABC TV from 2000 until 2017. Almost all episodes feature comedians John Clarke and Bryan Dawe engaging in a mock interview, with Dawe playing the interviewer and Clarke playing the interviewee. The program started out on ABC Radio in 1987, after Dawe, at the time head of the ABC radio comedy unit, had approached Clarke, who had previously written mock interviews as columns for '' The Times on Sunday'', about bringing this type of comedy to radio. Clarke in turn asked Dawe if he could read the questions, finding Dawe had "a supernatural understanding of speech rhythm". Their first interviews featured Clarke as British royal

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

and American actress

Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...

. In 1989, with the support of host

Jana Wendt Jana Bohumila Wendt ( ; born 9 May 1956) is an Australian Gold Logie award-winning television journalist, reporter and writer. Early life Wendt was born in Melbourne to Czech parents who emigrated to Australia in 1949. Wendt attended Presentat ...

, ''Clarke and Dawe'' made its television debut as part of ''

A Current Affair ''A Current Affair'' may refer to: * ''A Current Affair'' (Australian TV program), 1971–present Australian current affairs program that airs on Nine Network * ''A Current Affair'' (American TV program), a 1986–1998 American television news ...

'' on the Nine Network, where the program would continue to air for eight years, until 1996. One of their episodes from this period, ''The Front Fell Off'', featuring Clarke as Australian politician Bob Collins on the topic of a 1991 oil spill off the Australian coast, garnered widespread attention years later, when the video was circulated by some on the internet as real, eventually prompting

fact-checking Fact-checking is the process of verifying factual information, in order to promote the veracity and correctness of reporting. Fact-checking can be conducted before (''ante hoc'') or after (''post hoc'') the text is published or otherwise dissem ...

website

Snopes ''Snopes'' , formerly known as the ''Urban Legends Reference Pages'', is a Fact checking, fact-checking website. It has been described as a "well-regarded reference for sorting out myths and rumors" on the Internet. The site has also been see ...

to debunk it. In 2000, the program re-emerged as part of the ''

7.30 Report ''The 7.30 Report'' is an Australian week-nightly television current affairs program, which was shown on ABC1 and ABC News 24 at from 1986 to 2011. In 2011, it evolved into '' 7.30'', a revamped current affairs program. History ''The 7.30 Repor ...

'' on ABC-TV (later renamed ABC1 and ABC TV), where it remained in place when the ''7.30 Report'' was replaced by ''

7.30 ''7.30'' is an Australian nightly television current affairs program which broadcasts on ABC and ABC News at on Monday to Thursday nights. The program is currently hosted by Sarah Ferguson. History The program first aired on 7 March 2011, re ...

'' in 2011. In 2012, plans emerged to scrap the interview format and instead feature comedian

Chas Licciardello Charles John "Chas" Licciardello (born 10 May 1977) is an Australian comedian and member of satirical team The Chaser. He's currently the co-host, with John Barron, of ''Planet America'' on ABC TV. Licciardello has appeared as a regular of '' ...

, but the program ultimately remained. The last episode aired on 20 April 2017, after Clarke's death on 9 April, having been recorded on 5 April. The episode features Clarke as Richard Shinnery, a fictional consultant for Australia's

National Broadband Network The National Broadband Network (NBN) is an Australian national wholesale open-access data network. It includes wired and radio communication components rolled out and operated by NBN Co, a Government-owned corporation. Internet service provider ...

References

External links

Official website
* on

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See also

References

External links