Daniel Widdowson is an Australian radio, theatre, television and film actor, artistic director and writer, who was an

Australian of the Year The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Governmentowned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the State and Territo ...

finalist at age 19 for contributions to the arts, finalist in the Young Australian Playwright's awards, and recipient of the Collins Bookseller's Arts award. He hosted and wrote for popular children's show Saturday Disney in 2000, a gig that lasted seven years. In that time he also played the handyman sidekick on

Ground Force ''Ground Force'' was a British garden makeover television series originally broadcast by the BBC between 1997 and 2005. The series was originally hosted by Alan Titchmarsh, Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Walsh. Production The series was created b ...

and wrote scripts for Home & Away. Moving into radio in 2007, he formed half the team of Hope Breakfast on

Hope 103.2 Hope 103.2 is a Christian Radio station in Sydney, Australia, transmitting on the FM dial at 103.2 MHz. Founded as 2CBA by the Rev. Vernon Turner, it commenced broadcasting on 5 March 1979 as one of the first community radio stations and c ...

. Having penned several documentaries, children's dramas, and stage plays, Daniel became a member of the Australian Writer's Guild. In 2016 he and his wife Leia established Salt House Theatre Company on the Central Coast, NSW. Due to the success of Daniel's stage adaptation of Pride & Prejudice he was invited to become an ambassador for the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation.

Current day

Daniel currently works as the artistic director for Salt House Theatre Company, whilst producing and performing other in works in television, film, radio, and theatre.

TV career

Dan is best known as Disney Dan, former host of Saturday Disney kids program from 2000 to 2007. He has worked on Home & Away,

The Big Arvo ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

, The One, Sunrise, and has made several guest appearances.

Radio career

Dan's radio career started at Hope 103.2 Sydney formerly

2CBA Hope 103.2 is a Christian Radio station in Sydney, Australia, transmitting on the FM dial at 103.2 MHz. Founded as 2CBA by the Rev. Vernon Turner, it commenced broadcasting on 5 March 1979 as one of the first community radio stations and c ...

. With his exposure on Disney Dan, Aaron Wright from the breakfast team invited Dan to join the station as co-host at the suggestion of Stephen "Supertech" Wilkinson. His foray into radio began in 2007 as half of the comedy breakfast team Aaron and Dan on Sydney Radio Station

with Aaron Wright. When asked how he broke into Radio Dan responded, 'Aaron asked me.' He presented and produced local radio on

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...

for three years from 2011 to 2013. During this time he also ran the island's television station, TVNI.

Film

Primarily a presenter, Daniel has also guest starred in various films including the American film ''

Suing the Devil ''Suing the Devil'' is a 2010 Christian thriller film which was released in 2011. It was written and directed by Tim Chey and stars Malcolm McDowell and Tom Sizemore. Plot Luke O'Brien (Bart Bronson), a washed-up salesman turned night law stu ...

''. And in 2018's feature Xavier's Harvest.

Writer

Dan was one of the writers for the TV Series

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip ...

. Early 2010 Dan finished an illicit drug edu-doco in partnership with the Centre for Customs and Excise Studies at the University of Canberra, explaining the origins of major drugs and the effects they have on the human body. Late 2010 he underwent a 6-month method acting assignment with a professional

body builder Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses o ...

for a body builder doco, spending 6 months in the life of a body builder, eating measured amounts six times a day, consuming protein content, working out six days a week, the same routine as a professional body builder.

Film/TV

Writer/awards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Widdowson, Dan Living people Australian television presenters Year of birth missing (living people)