It’s time to frost those tips and stretch whichever arm you ‘touchdown’ with, because former Australian Idol host Osher Günsberg (formerly Andrew G) wants to bring the reality show back to life in 2018, and he’s already got a bunch of the OG judges on board.
Earlier this week, Andrew G Günsberg apparently managed to convince Ian ‘Dicko’ Dickson and Mark ‘Touchdown’ Holden to return to the show, and he’s just secured Dicko’s replacement Kyle Sandilands as well (they’re just sorting out how much Kyle will get paid).
Günsberg, who currently works at Brisbane radio station Hit105, gave Sandilands a call today, to chat about the possibility of Idol making a return in 2018 now that The X Factor Australia has up and died.
“The other day, I don’t know if you heard, X Factor got cancelled… There’s a gaping chasm in the prime time lineup for singing shows now,” Günsberg told Sandilands.
“Can I attach you to the revamped re-pitch of Australian Idol 2018?”
“100 percent!” Sandilands replied. “Idol was my favourite one!”
Went it came time to talk money, Sandilands went in hard, saying that he was being paid $1 million per season back in Idol‘s glory days, before he “got fired”.
Things are still pretty light-hearted at this point, and there are still two crucial people still missing from the Idol equation — maternal OG judge Marcia Hines and Günsberg’s former hosting buddy James Mathison.
Australian Idol‘s debut season launched a bitter rivalry between winner Guy Sebastian and runner-up Shannon Noll in 2003. The show went on to air six more seasons, including its potentially final one in 2009.
Meanwhile, The X Factor Australia was recently axed by the Seven Network, leaving Nine’s The Voice as the only big-name singing show currently being broadcast.
Hear Andrew G’s Günsberg’s full chat with Kyle Sandilands about Australian Idol 2018, below.
