Thomas Williams (born 16 October 1970, Sydney) is an Australian television personality and radio presenter.
Williams had previously been a co-host of ''
The Daily Edition
''The Daily Edition'' was an Australian afternoon entertainment show on the Seven Network which was first broadcast on 17 June 2013 and ended on 26 June 2020. The show featured a combination of live breaking news, as well as live interviews wi ...
'' and a long-time presenter for the
Seven Sport
Seven Sport is the brand and production department under which all sporting events on the Seven Network are broadcast. It broadcasts some of Australia's most prominent sporting events, such as the AFL, cricket, the Olympics and Paralympics, as ...
team.
Career
Williams graduated from the
Jesuit
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, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
St Aloysius' College and worked as a construction worker, model and competed in surf lifesaving championships. One of Williams' first appearances on television was in the video clip of
Melissa Tkautz
Melissa Natalie Tkautz (born 24 January 1974) is an Australian actress, singer, model, and presenter. She played the role of Nikki Spencer on the popular Australian TV soap opera '' E Street'', from September 1990 to May 1993. During the early ...
's debut song "
Read My Lips".
The turning point in Williams' life occurred in 2000, when he phoned into a radio show hosted by comic duo
Merrick & Rosso
Merrick and Rosso were an Australian comedy duo, composed of Merrick Watts (Merrick) and Tim Ross (Rosso). The duo began in stand up comedy, and first came together when they teamed up for what was intended to be a one-off comedy show in 1996. The ...
. His style interested them so much that he was given a regular segment on the show, which eventually led to an on-air role as a builder on the Seven Network renovation show ''
Room for Improvement''. This was followed by a stint as a presenter on long-running travel show ''
The Great Outdoors'' in mid-2001.
Williams would go on to host, present or participate in a number of programs during the 2000s for Seven. Williams appeared on a celebrity special of ''
The Weakest Link
''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which The Weakest Link (British game show), first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host ...
'' in which he was voted off in the first round. In 2005, Williams hosted the fifth season of ''
The Mole – The Amazing Game''; however some fans called for the return of former host,
Grant Bowler
Grant Bowler (born 18 July 1968) is a New Zealand-Australian actor and television presenter who has worked in American, Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian film, television, and theatre.
He is known for playing the role of Constable Wayne ...
. With the new series, Williams brought the concept of live eliminations, from 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 ...
's Martin Place studios in Sydney.
In 2005, Williams was one of several
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 ...
celebrities who starred in ''
Dancing with the Stars
''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...
''. In the show's finale, Williams danced shirtless with partner Kym Johnson and he was voted the winner.
During his time at ''The Great Outdoors'' and over the course of the series Williams emerged as
sex symbol
A sex symbol or icon is a person or character widely considered sexually attractive.Pam Cook, "The trouble with sex: Diana Dors and the Blonde bombshell phenomenon", In: Bruce Babinigton (ed.), ''British Stars and Stardom: From Alma Taylor to ...
.
He joined
Seven Sport
Seven Sport is the brand and production department under which all sporting events on the Seven Network are broadcast. It broadcasts some of Australia's most prominent sporting events, such as the AFL, cricket, the Olympics and Paralympics, as ...
in 2008 as a roving reporter for the Beijing Olympics and would continue in this role to date, showcasing the colour and features at other network events including the Australian Open. In April 2009, Williams relieved as sport presenter on
Nova 969 during Merrick & Rosso with Kate Ritchie, whilst Marto was having surgery.
In 2010, Williams co-hosted ''
Australia's Greatest Athlete
''Australia's Greatest Athlete'' is an Australian television program that debuted in 2009. The first season was broadcast on the Nine Network and was hosted by Andrew Voss and Michael Slater, with Ricky Ponting as a sideline commentator. The sec ...
'' with
Mark Beretta
Mark Beretta (born 16 June 1966) is an Australian journalist, best known as a sports reporter on Seven Network program ''Sunrise''.
In July 2008, Beretta began presenting ''Seven Early News'' sport alongside Natalie Barr at 5.30 am, which le ...
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 ...
and also co-hosted ''No Leave, No Life'' with
Rachel Finch. In March 2011, Williams joined
Classic Rock FM presenting Saturday mornings with Kate Mac. In June 2013, Williams was announced as co-host of a new afternoon entertainment program, ''
The Daily Edition
''The Daily Edition'' was an Australian afternoon entertainment show on the Seven Network which was first broadcast on 17 June 2013 and ended on 26 June 2020. The show featured a combination of live breaking news, as well as live interviews wi ...
'' alongside
Sally Obermeder
Sally Obermeder (born 17 August 1973) is an Australian media personality and television presenter.
Career Swiish
In November 2012, Obermeder launched ''swiish.com'', a lifestyle blog.http://swiish.com/ Swiish – Sally Obermeder's lifestyle ...
,
Kris Smith
Kris Smith (born 20 August 1978) is an English Australian model, television presenter and former professional rugby league footballer.
Career Rugby league
In England, Smith played for a number of British Super League clubs including the Leed ...
and
Monique Wright
Monique Wright (born 18 May 1973) is an Australian journalist and television presenter.
Wright is currently co-host of ''Weekend Sunrise''. .
In December 2018, Williams announced his resignation from 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 ...
. He switched careers to real estate in 2019. After six months at LJ Hooker Avnu, Williams quit the Mosman estate agency.
In 2020, Williams appeared in the
sixth season of the Australian version of ''
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''. In June, Williams briefly returned to the Seven Network to present the final three episodes of ''
The Daily Edition
''The Daily Edition'' was an Australian afternoon entertainment show on the Seven Network which was first broadcast on 17 June 2013 and ended on 26 June 2020. The show featured a combination of live breaking news, as well as live interviews wi ...
'' following
Ryan Phelan
Ryan Phelan is an Australian television journalist, media personality and presenter.
Phelan has previously presented news updates on ''The Morning Show'' and was co-host of '' The Daily Edition''.
Career
Phelan’s television career starte ...
's dismissal from the network.
Williams has also been a regular contributor to entertainment and lifestyle website Live4 since 2012.
Since 2020, Williams has been an operating partner of Australian
property technology Property technology (also known as proptech, PropTech, prop-tech, and real estate technology) is used to refer to the application of information technology and platform economics to the real estate industry. Property technology overlaps with financ ...
company Asset Reports.
In February 2021, it was announced Williams is a contestant on Seven's ''
Dancing with the Stars: All Stars''.
Personal life
In February 2012, Williams announced his engagement to fashion designer Rachel Gilbert.
In July 2013, Williams announced on ''
The Daily Edition
''The Daily Edition'' was an Australian afternoon entertainment show on the Seven Network which was first broadcast on 17 June 2013 and ended on 26 June 2020. The show featured a combination of live breaking news, as well as live interviews wi ...
'' that his wife Rachel was pregnant with their first child. On 8 January 2014, Rachel gave birth to a daughter.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Tom
1970 births
Australian male television actors
Australian radio presenters
Australian game show hosts
Dancing with the Stars (Australian TV series) winners
People educated at St Aloysius' College (Sydney)
People from Sydney
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (Australian TV series) participants
Living people