What explains UK TV’s love affair with Australia?
Opinion
Stephen Arnell examines the UK trend for antipodean imports and looks ahead to the the return of Neighbours on Amazon’s Freevee.
Notwithstanding the recent Ashes series controversies, it appears that Monty Python’s ‘Bruces Prayer’ appears more appropriate than ever, as UK broadcasters and streamers go all in for shows from Down Under.
Recent months have seen comedies Fisk (ITVX), Colin from Accounts (BBC2) and Bump (BBC1) all find a home in the UK, as have dramas The Newsreader (BBC2), Doctor Doctor (Drama), and The Heights (BBC1), whilst courtroom series The Twelve and true crime drama Underbelly: Vanishing Act were picked up by ITVX, in a drive to secure exclusive product to increase subscriptions.
And it’s not just imports. UK co-produced shows set in Australia have also mushroomed, with Ten Pound Poms/The Tourist (BBC1), Lie with Me/The Heat (C5), and The End (Sky Atlantic).
Queen of Dross
One show I find hard to believe was greenlit is BBC One’s recent sitcom Queen of Oz, which stars Catherine ‘Gran’ Tate as Georgiana, a disgraced member of the British royal family sent to rule Australia as Queen. Both patronising to Australians (in theory), and to the average UK viewer. Obviously, someone in BBC Comedy relished the idea of commissioning a show which would one-up David Jason’s The Royal Bodyguard (2011-12) in sheer unadulterated crappiness.
In comparison, King Ralph (1991) and Splitting Heirs (1993) appear to be veritable Citizen Kanes of this particular comedic subgenre.
Of course, there have always been waves of popularity with Australian shows, going back to the days of Skippy the Bush Kangaroo (1968-70), The Galloping Gourmet (1968-72), The Sullivans (1976-1983), and thence into the 80s/90s with Sons & Daughters, Prisoner: Cell Block H, The Young Doctors, A Country Practice, Neighbours, Home & Away, Boys from the Bush (a BBC production), Water Rats, Halifax f.p.m, The Flying Doctors and others.
Meet Leo Wanker
Australian humour only really appeared to catch on with the late Barry Humphries’ Dame Edna Specials, and Kath & Kim in the early 2000s. Unless, like me, you have fond memories of Channel 4’s 1980s re-runs of The Paul Hogan Show, featuring inept stuntman Leo Wanker, an Ocker version of Bob Einstein’s Super Dave.
In the UK, the Australian comedy show Balls of Steel was adapted by C4 into a show fronted by Mark Dolan, who, in a distinct career swerve, now rants tiresomely about ‘wokeness’ on weekday evenings for Ofcom-investigated GB News.
Incidentally, the C4 show featured a friendly acquaintance of mine, Chris Stapp, playing ‘New Zealand’s top stuntman’ Randy Campbell, another Super Dave throwback. Chris originated the character for New Zealand’s Back of the Y (2001-08), which handily brings us to Australia’s neighbour.
New Zealand hasn’t the scale of home-grown TV production to rival Australia, but I did notice the recent TVNZ comedy-drama Under the Vines (2021-) which currently plays on Acorn in the UK. Weirdly enough, it’s executive produced by my former ITV colleague Brendan Dahill, and stars UK actor Charles Edwards, the memorably useless elf lord/jeweller-in-training Celebrimbor (AKA ‘Kelly Brimbor’) in Amazon’s godawful The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022).
Nightmare on Ramsey Street
Back to Australia; Neighbours is returning soon on Amazon’s Freevee streamer, necessitating another ‘final’ visit by Guy Pearce to Erinsborough, this time to ‘respectfully’ bid the show goodbye (again). Personally, I would insist on his character going out in a hail of bullets after torching a jam-packed Lassiter’s on re-opening night. Which would chime with Pearce’s waspish observation that Freevee’s decision to reboot the show was “A painful reminder that the things we love can be snatched away, never to return… unless Amazon comes in to save the day and makes our finale look like a rather expensive exercise.”
And in a bizarre piece of casting, Mischa Barton (The OC) has an ‘extended guest role’ as ‘dynamic and unpredictable’ character Reece Sinclair. Make of that what you will, a kind of reverse career trajectory to previous Neighbours actors such as Margot ‘Barbie’ Robbie.
Still, if Hart to Hart’s Stefanie Powers can rock up in BBC One’s daytime soap Doctors, maybe not so strange.
Incidentally, Pearce recalled fellow Neighbours 2022 finale returnee Margot Robbie had sent the cast and producers 37 bottles of Champagne. “I don’t want to say [it was a] waste of time. But still, I’m sure that Margot will be happy,” Pearce told the Radio Times.
What’s the appeal of Australian TV?
For UK broadcasters, it’s relatively cheap, and needs no subtitling or dubbing, although some may say a few shows could occasionally benefit from it.
In terms of audiences, the sunny climes, slightly old-fashioned societal attitudes, and less sophisticated humour appeals to UK viewers out of step with British broadcasters alleged emphasis on diversity and progressive values.
Personally speaking, with the exception of Hoges (Paul Hogan), I only really enjoyed Richard Roxburgh’s comedy-drama Rake (2010-18), and even that unfortunately conformed to my depressing preconception of the general coarseness of life in the British Empire’s former penal colonies.
Stephen Arnell began his career at the BBC, moving to ITV where he launched and managed digital channels. He continues to consult for streamers and broadcasters on editorial strategy. He currently writes for The Spectator, The Independent, and The Guardian on film, TV and cultural issues. He is also a writer/producer (including Bob Fosse: It’s Showtime for Sky Arts) and novelist.