The radio announcer who took on Eddie McGuire

Put this in your diary particularly if you think you might need a loan.

101.7 7HOFM‘s Kevin “Johnno” Johnson will make his debut on Nine’s Millionaire Hot Seat with Eddie McGuire on Thursday August 25th.

Unlike Kyle and Jackie O, Johnno’s wage in Hobart is unlikely to be a number preceding six zeroes, so why not hit the game show circuit to beef up the coffers.

radioinfo caught up with Johnno to find out about his experience on the show but we will have to wait until the 25th to see if he cut the mustard and walked away a millionaire.

What made you apply?

“It was one of those bucket-list things I wanted to tick off. For years I’ve been watching these game shows and, like a lot of us, laughed at some of the wrong answers given. Eventually you start to think that you might be in with a chance, as much as anyone else,” he says.
 
Were you surprised when you got the call up?

“I was. I applied online 2 years ago. The website didn’t even look like it was the right one, so I just did it on a whim. It’s a series of questions you have to answer, and of course in our business everything is content, so I filmed it.” 

 

 

 

“Then I’d pretty much forgotten about it, until I got an email out of the blue inviting me to an audition in Melbourne in April. So you go along with about 300 other people, they put you through another test of 30 questions – those who get below a certain point of correct answers are waved goodbye. For the remainder, you have a 60 second audition in front of a camera where you have to tell a story you might share on the show.

“Even after all that, they don’t guarantee you’ll get on the show – it’s all about the mix of professions and personalities. Another few months went by, you start watching the show and think ‘Did I see that person at my audition?’ And then the phone call came to say I’d made it on. That’s when it became real.”
 
What’s your special interest area in terms of trivia?

“In the application form (after you get the call to be on the show) they ask for your best and worst subjects.”

  • Johnno’s Subject Strengths: Music, TV, History, World Knowledge.
  • Johnno’s Subject Weaknesses: Sport, Mathematics, Science, Politics. 

Is it more stressful trying to answer questions with a studio audience and Eddie in front of you than over a game of Trivial Pursuit at home?

“For me, Trivial Pursuit is WAY more stressful. Probably because with the board game you’re playing for honour against people you know. On the show, you feel like you’re playing against yourself. And you can’t tip the board over in protest.

“They actually do an excellent job at easing any nerves you might have. They tape 8 episodes in a day, and it’s a full day from 8am til about 6 or 7pm (‘interstaters’ like me get to leave at 5pm to catch planes). They take you through the rehearsals, where to sit, where to walk, they give you a few questions in the Hot Seat with ‘Fake Eddie’, and if you’re not in the first couple of episodes you get to sit in the audience. So by the time my episode came up (the 5th of the day), I was relatively relaxed.”
 
We don’t know the outcome but if you won a million what would you do?

“It would be split between a mortgage for a house, and travelling. Two places I am desperate to take my wife and son: Longreach in Central West QLD where I had my first radio job. I’d love to get back there after 25 years – it’s such a different place and had a huge impact on me just starting out. I’m sure my wife and son would be totally bored by it, but I don’t care – this is Daddy’s money!

“The other place would be Hawaii. I did a live broadcast from there for a week in 2012, and loved the place.

“They also ask you ‘what is the most outrageous thing that you would buy with the money’:

“The wedding ring I failed to buy for my wife when we got married. We had no money. Our 1999 wedding in the UK cost us about 150 pounds. I bought a new suit jacket, she bought a scarf and black Stetson hat – not because she was into country – she just liked hats. Then we had to pay the Registry Office, and buy lunch for a few close friends and family. That’s all we could afford. But then for the night reception, all our friends from work paid for their own meals, they pooled enough money for our honeymoon, and bought us a wedding cake. We probably had the world’s first ‘Go Fund Me’ wedding! So I guess after all these years I’d better get that ring. Maybe.
 
Do you have any anecdotes from the recording you’d like to share?

“Everyone asks me about Eddie – what was he like? Well no matter what you think of him, he’s actually very good at what he does. To maintain that level of enthusiasm show after show, contestant after contestant, you realise that he is a master host, and knows how to find the best in people.
 
“A few days before taping, my wife said to me ‘You’ll have to wave to the camera like they do at the start of the show’. It was then that we realised I can’t wave without looking like an idiot. The more I practiced, the worse I got. And again, like everything, it became content.”

 

 

 

“From a radio point of view we can learn a lot about the way they handle the contestants. The producers don’t seem to treat it as a game show, they see it as an entertainment show – so they’re always on the lookout for those points of difference in their contestants, the fun stories, or the stories that play on the emotions.

“The only other questions people want to know are: Do they fly you over? Yes they fly you and your ‘supporter’ to Melbourne, put you up in a hotel, and all transfers are taken care of. And they feed you on the day too!”

Good luck Johnno.

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