The ABC Of….

Television ABC
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The ABC Of – Sarah Ferguson

Tuesday 26 July 8.00pm

David Wenham travels backwards in time with the new host of 7.30, Sarah Ferguson.I n this rare and open interview, she shows sides of herself viewers will not have seen before.

Famous for asking the tough questions, Sarah Ferguson has kept herself out of the spotlight for most of her career, preferring, as old-school journalists do, to avoid being the story. In this rare and open interview, she shows sides of herself viewers will not have seen before.

Sarah explains the adrenaline rush of big journalistic moments, why she’s attracted to war zones and what it’s like to interview a notorious paedophile.

She recalls her time in a domestic violence refuge and discusses the madness of the Rudd-Gillard years. But she also talks about the heartbreaking loss of her mother, why poetry is a touchstone of her life, and the moment when she fell in love with her husband Tony Jones.

Production credit: A Guesswork Television Production in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Executive Producers: Jon Casimir and Jo Long. ABC Commissioning Editor Julie Hanna. ABC Head of Factual and Culture Jennifer Collins.

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The ABC Of - John Howard

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Final episode Tuesday 2 August 8.00pm

Host David Wenham meets John Howard, the former Prime Minister and most successful Australian politician of the last 50 years. Now 82, Mr Howard is still a force to be reckoned with.

For this episode, The ABC Of research team uncovered footage of him campaigning for MP Tom Hughes in Sydney’s Campsie during the 1966 Federal Election, and of his first day in parliament in 1974, as well as a colourful This Day Tonight profile from 1978.

In this relaxed and candid conversation, Mr Howard looks back on the joys and sorrows of his political career. He talks about the long road to PM, Port Arthur, Bali, East Timor, tax reform and his trademark morning walk, as well as what it’s like to be an Ex-PM and what he spends his time on in retirement - you will be surprised by what he watches on YouTube.

Production credit: A Guesswork Television Production in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Executive Producers: Jon Casimir and Jo Long. ABC Commissioning Editor Julie Hanna. ABC Head of Factual and Culture Jennifer Collins.

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The final episode of The ABC Of… aired tonight. I hope there is more seasons to come with the show.

I know its a similar structure to One Plus One (with Jane Hutchinson, Courtney Act and Barry Cassidy). But using only ABC footage and David Wenham as interviewer gives that.upper edge.

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Good news, The ABC of… will return in 2023, with David Wenham again as interviewer.

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Returning in 2023,

The ABC Of is an interview series that brings prominent Australians face to face with their earlier selves. Each episode is built around a one-on-one conversation with host Davd Wenham, with questions inspired by the content of the video clips, all of which are drawn from the vast ABC archives. Before they sit down, the guests are unaware of the clips that have been chosen. And these video memories often travel past the choices you’d expect, the obvious markers of the guest’s CV, wending their way down delightful and surprising paths to footage that has not seen the light of day for decades. Steering each interview is David Wenham, a globally successful film and TV actor whose own ABC career dates back to early 1990s programs such as Simone De Beauvoir’s Babies, Come In Spinner, Police Rescue and G.P. as well as more recent series The Code and Les Norton. And no, we are not forgetting his turn as Diver Dan in SeaChange. At its core, The ABC Of is about how we change and how the world changes around us. It’s who we were and who we’ve become. It’s time travel without the cost and without the jet lag. A Guesswork Television Production in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Executive Producers: Jon Casimir and Jo Long. ABC Commissioning Editor Julie Hanna

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So glad that this show was not just a once-off season for ABC’s 90th birthday, and am glad its returning for a second season. David Wenham is a pretty good interviewer in this.

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Season 2 starts in May, Jennifer Collins (the ABC’s acting director, entertainment and specialist) has told TV Tonight.

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Season 2

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From Tuesday 16 May 8.00pm

The ABC Of is an interview series that brings prominent Australians face to face with their earlier selves. Each episode is built around a one-on-one conversation with host David Wenham, with questions inspired by the content of the video clips, all of which are drawn from the vast ABC archives.

Before they sit down, the guests are unaware of the clips that have been chosen. And these video memories often travel past the choices you’d expect, the obvious markers of the guest’s CV, wending their way down delightful and surprising paths to footage that has not seen the light of day for decades.

Steering each interview is David Wenham, a globally successful film and TV actor whose own ABC career dates back to early 1990s programs such as Simone De Beauvoir’s Babies, Come In Spinner, Police Rescue and G.P. as well as more recent series The Code and Les Norton. And no, we are not forgetting his turn as Diver Dan in SeaChange.

At its core, The ABC Of is about how we change and how the world changes around us. It’s who we were and who we’ve become. It’s time travel without the cost and without the jet lag.

Episode 1 – The ABC of Julia Gillard.

Production credit: A Guesswork Television Production in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Executive Producers: Jon Casimir and Jo Long. ABC Commissioning Editor Julie Hanna. Acting Head of Factual and Culture Richard Huddleston.

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Episode 2 Ian Chappell

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Tuesday 23 May 8.00pm

David Wenham travels backwards in time with the man who came to define Australian cricket, Ian Chappell. For the first time, Ian discusses his recent stroke and how it has changed this next stage of his life.

David Wenham travels backwards in time with the man who came to define Australian cricket, Ian Chappell. Ian shares his vivid memories of the SCG crowds in the 1970s - where everyone carried an esky of beer - and spins tales of teammates, including footage of close friend Rod Marsh that has to be seen to be believed.

The journey begins with an archival treasure discovered by The ABC Of research team, 1969 footage of Ian’s grandfather, Vic Richardson, just before his death. Ian reflects on how his forebears shaped the moral compass that has made him the unflinching champion of fair play for half a century, on the field as captain and off the field as a special representative for UNHCR. For the first time the sporting legend discusses the stroke he suffered 18 months ago and how it has changed this next stage of his life.

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Episode 3 Miranda Tapsell

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Tuesday 30 May 8.00pm

David Wenham looks at the life of Miranda Tapsell - actor, filmmaker and a leader of the new generation of First Nations’ creatives. She opens up about motherhood and the power of Play School - it will give you goosebumps.

This week on The ABC Of, David Wenham takes the photo album down from the ABC shelf to look at the life of Miranda Tapsell - actor, filmmaker and a leader of the new generation of First Nations’ creatives. The Larrakia-Tiwi woman achieved global recognition on the Cannes red carpet with her first film, The Sapphires, and has been forging a new path for Indigenous performers ever since.

Thanks to the wealth of the ABC Archive, we see a teenaged Miranda just finishing high school become the powerful woman who started a national conversation about race on Get Krack!n. Miranda talks about her roles in iconic series like Redfern Now and Bluey. She opens up about her experience of mixed-race

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Episode 4 Jack Thompson

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Tuesday 6 June 8.00pm

David Wenham tracks back through the ABC archival life of Jack Thompson, the beloved face of Australia’s film renaissance and arguably our first real movie star. This frank, revealing interview will surprise anyone who thinks they know this giant of Australian cinema.

Among stories of pivotal roles like Sunday Too Far Away and The Sum of Us, Jack talks about the roles he didn’t get, the meaning of poetry in his life and why he did that centrefold. For the first time, we show Jack footage of himself at the first ever Garma Festival in 1999 and Jack speaks passionately about his views on an Indigenous voice to parliament. A 1962 recording of Jack’s adoptive father, John Thompson, prompts an emotional tribute from this grateful son.

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Accompanying article

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Episode 5 Wendy Harmer

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Tuesday 13 June 8.00pm

This week on The ABC Of, David Wenham sits down with the grande dame of Australian comedy, Wendy Harmer. She’s been on our screens for the better part of four decades, smashing stereotypes with every step.

Wendy reminisces about her part in the genre-defining comedy programs The Gillies Report and The Big Gig, where she was also the first woman to host a comedy show in Australian television history. She’s gone on to be a globally successful author, top rating radio host and television documentary maker with Stuff.

But success is just the top line of her story - Wendy talks about navigating a public career while having been born with a facial difference and how she’s found love and healing after a childhood marked by poverty and sadness.

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Episode 6 Greig Pickhaver

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Tuesday 20 June 8.00pm

David Wenham talks to Greig Pickhaver, who for decades has defined and defiled the Australian character with his alter ego, HG Nelson. Greig speaks openly about being unable to read and the enduring partnership of Roy and HG.

This week on The ABC Of, David Wenham goes fishing in the ABC Archival life of Greig Pickhaver, who for more than 40 years has defined and defiled the Australian character with his inimitable alter ego, HG Nelson.

As Greig admits, HG always asks the questions and Roy always gives the answers. In The ABC Of, we see Greig without the cloak of his character, speaking openly about his inability to read due to dyslexia and how that has uniquely fuelled his love of language. Greig lets us into the inner workings of his professional partnership with John Doyle, he speaks passionately about what it means to be and sound Australian and reminds us that every part of life is, at its essence, sport.

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Episode 7 Germaine Greer

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Final Episode

Tuesday 27 June 8.00pm

This week on The ABC Of, David Wenham takes controversial world-renowned feminist Germaine Greer on a journey through her ABC archival life. In this rare and open interview, she shows sides of herself viewers will not have seen before.

Now 84, Germaine Greer is still a force to be reckoned with. Germaine shot to global prominence - and notoriety - in 1970 with the publication of The Female Eunuch. But the The ABC Of uncovered vision from well before her fame, from 1959 of Germaine at 20, working behind the scenes on an Alan Hopgood play. In a uniquely reflective interview, Germaine talks about her troubled childhood and wild youth, remembers her good friend, the late Clive James, and shares her fears now she is living in aged care.

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The Greig Pickhaver episode was great to watch. While most of the episode was about Roy and HG (also mentioning the duo hosting The Dream on Seven during Sydney 2000 Olympics), it also revealed that Greig lived in Melbourne in 1970s and early 1980s, participating in local theatre and working as a 3RRR presenter.

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The Season 2 Finale aired tonight. Such a simple show, yet very enjoyable. Altough it was a show that was only to be aired last year for ABC’s 90th birthday, i am glad that the second season aired this year. I hope there is more to come

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UPDATED:

The ABC is yet to decide the future of the show, despite an earlier tweet by host David Wenham that the show has been axed.

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