1. Early life

2. Career
    Comedy  Television  Radio  Advertising  Acting 

3. Award

4. Personal life

5. Controversy

6. References

David William Hughes (born 26 November 1970) is an Australian stand-up comedian, radio and television presenter.

He is known for his larrikin personality, drawling Australian accent, and deadpan comedic delivery.^[1]

Hughes co-hosts Hughesy & Kate with Kate Langbroek on the Hit Network and hosts Hughesy, We Have a Problem on Network 10.

Early life

After graduating from the all-boys Christian Brothers' College, Warrnambool in 1988, where he was dux of the school,^[2] Hughes briefly studied information technology at Swinburne University in Melbourne, and then accounting at Deakin University in Warrnambool before dropping out to eventually pursue a career in comedy.^[3]

Career

Comedy

After leaving university, it was seven years before Hughes found work as a stand-up comedian and he did a variety of jobs including working at an abattoir, as a bricklayer's labourer and a shop assistant.^[3]

After dreaming about being a comedian since he was a youngster, his first comedy gig came at age 22 when he was living in Perth doing labouring jobs and he decided, "I'm going to have a crack". Appearing onstage he acknowledges that he was "just horrible" but after three attempts over six months he gained his confidence and went on to become a headline act.^[3]

He is a regular performer at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Some of his shows have been released on CD (Dave Hughes: Whatever), and on DVD (Dave Hughes, Live, Dave Hughes - Handy^[4] and David Hughes - Pointless).

Television

Hughes co-hosted the ABC comedy talk show The Glass House along with Wil Anderson and Corinne Grant. However, it was axed in 2006 amid political controversy.^[5]

He has had guest spots on television programs The Fat, Rove Live, The Panel, Thank God You're Here, The Project, Studio 10, Under Melbourne Tonight^[6], Spicks & Specks and Have You Been Paying Attention?.

In the AFL season he is a part of the Network Ten Saturday night show Before The Game alongside Mick Molloy, Lehmo, Andy Maher and Neroli Meadows.

Hughes worked on Australian television show Rove in 2007, with a weekly "Hughesy Loses It" segment. In 2008–09, the segment evolved into a recurring segment known as "Help me Hughesy," where he would rant about a given topic.^[7]

On 20 July 2009, Hughes began co-hosting the half-hour Channel 10 show The 7PM Project, which later expanded to become the hour-long The Project. His regular co-hosts were Charlie Pickering, and Carrie Bickmore. In June 2011, Hughes was one of the few people to be granted a one-on-one interview with the Dalai Lama during his visit to Australia.^[8]

In December 2013, Hughes resigned from his full-time position on The Project to return to stand-up comedy. Hughes will, however, appear once a week on the show from wherever he is around the country. Hughes is quoted as saying, "It's definitely a tough decision, as we have had so many unbelievable moments on the desk. You meet some of the biggest stars in the world and chat with them and have some wonderful times". Hughes later said in an interview in 2016 that he left The Project stating "The news cycle rarely changes. Nothing changes in so long. To sit there and talk about the same things every night, it was too much."^[9]

Hughes will begin a year-long round of stand-up engagements around Australia, in Adelaide in February 2014, where he and his family will be based for five weeks before moving onto other venues.^[10]{{Update inline|date=January 2018}}

In October 2014, Hughes guest-starred in an episode of ABC-TV's Julia Zemiro's Home Delivery, in which Zemiro accompanied Hughes back to his home-town of Warrnambool to reminisce about his childhood and to explore what influenced him to embark on a career in comedy.^[11]

In October 2017, it was announced that Hughes would be returning to Network Ten to host a new panel show, Hughesy, We Have a Problem.^[12][13]

Radio

In December 2001, Hughes joined comedians Kate Langbroek and Dave O'Neil to co-host a weekday breakfast program Hughesy, Kate & Dave from 6am to 9am on Melbourne's Nova 100. In the past, he has worked for the Triple M network of Australian active rock radio stations. Dave O'Neil later left the station to join Vega 91.5.

Advertising

In 2005, Hughes appeared in a series of television commercials for the Australian car manufacturer Holden.

Acting

Early in his career, Hughes had a brief appearance in an episode of Neighbours in 1998 playing a farmer named Knuckles who punched the character of Harold Bishop (Ian Smith) in the face and became embroiled in a scandalous relationship with Toadie (Ryan Moloney).

Hughes has also appeared in Ed Kavalee's comedy films Scumbus, which aired on Ch-10 in 2012 and the yet-to-screen Border Protection Squad.

Award

In 2007 Hughes won an ARIA Award for Best Comedy Release for the DVD, Dave Hughes, Live (Liberation Music).^[14]

Personal life

He married Holly Ife, a reporter with the Herald Sun, on 31 December 2006.^[15] They have three children together.^[16][17][18]

He gave up drinking alcohol when he was 22 after deciding that it had become a bad influence in his life.^[19]

Hughes is a keen supporter of the Carlton football team in the AFL^[20] and even asked the Dalai Lama to bless Carlton: after doing so, the Dalai Lama commented: "It probably won't do much."^[8]

Controversy

During the 2007 Logie Awards, which he co-hosted with Adam Hills and Fifi Box, Hughes referred to radio shock-jock Kyle Sandilands as a "massive dickhead" to applause and laughter from the audience. Later that year, when interviewed on Enough Rope with Andrew Denton, Sandilands said of Hughes, "I hate him – the next time I see him I'm going to punch him in the throat."^[21] Hughes retorted by releasing an official apology, which said in part that Hughes was "sincerely and deeply sorry that Kyle Sandilands is a massive dickhead" and that "massive dickheads have the same rights as normal people."^[22]

References

• Charles Ainsworth Mitchell
• Charles Aitken (actor)
• Charles A. Keeler
• Charles A. Keith
• Charles Akindiji Akinola
• Charles A. Lane
• Charles Albert (boxer)
• Charles Albert Browne, Jr.
• Charles Albert d'Arnoux
• Charles Albert de Longueval, Count of Bucquoy
• Charles Albert Eric Goodhart
• Charles Albert Harrison
• Charles Albert III, Prince of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfurst
• Charles Albert III, Prince of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst
• Charles Albert II, Prince of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfurst
• Charles Albert II, Prince of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst
• Charles Albertine
• Charles Albert Whitcombe
• Charles Albone
• Charles Alden
• Charles Alderson
• Charles Alexander (Brandenburg-Ansbach-Bayreuth)
• Charles Alexander Carnegie
• Charles Alexander de Sybourg
• Charles Alexander Harvin