Dave Hughes Reveals This A-Lister Was His Worst Interview Ever

Dave Hughes is an Australian comedian and radio host who had a career which lasted over two decades. Dave was recently the co-host of a morning radio show in Sydney. However, after declining ratings and other issues, the show was canned. Dave would go on to say that the cancelation was actually a blessing in disguise, as he wasn’t very happy with the gig.

This led Dave to pursue other ventures, like his latest move into reality television. He isn’t the first radio personality to head into the reality world. Howard Stern famously judged America’s Got Talent while still juggling his radio career. Dave is currently starring in the latest season of I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! He is joined by a star-studded cast, which includes internet personality Max Baledge. Max asked Dave who his worst celebrity encounter was, and Dave’s answer did not disappoint.

Dave Hughes Revealed Ben Stiller Was The Worst Celebrity Encounter He Ever Had

Dave Hughes, the Australian comedian and radio host, is one of the latest celebrities to join the cast of I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! Dave made sure to deliver the goods when his campmate Max Balegde asked him to spill some tea about his celebrity encounters. Max has started his own talk show, That’s So Camp, so his curiosity makes perfect sense. Max asked Dave to recall the many celebrities he had interviewed over the years. He asked, “I want you to be honest – who was the rudest?”

“If we’re going to be honest … it hurts me to say it, but it’s … Ben Stiller,” Dave admitted. “I was a big fan, and he was just a pain in the a**.”

Dave then joked that he might have just “ruined his Hollywood career” by calling Ben out during the show. He didn’t give any specifics regarding the actual encounter. This caused viewers to be left with more questions than answers.

Former MAFS star Samantha Moitzi was among the first of the season’s contestants to be evicted. Samantha supported the Butterfly Foundation during her time on the show. “They provide support for eating disorders and body image issues because over 1.1 million Australians are living with an eating disorder. Less than a third of those receive treatment or support, me being one of them,” she said.

Sigrid Thornton shocked viewers by joining the cast, since she has a career that has spanned 40 years, yet has never done reality television before. She later explained her decision to join the show during an interview with news.com.au prior to her appearance.

“I felt like if I was going to say yes to a challenge like this, then this was the time for me. I mean, I’ve never done reality television; I’ve never done anything remotely like this,” she told the outlet. “But I don’t hold any particular judgement around it; I’ve removed all potential judgement because I don’t know what it’s going to be. All I know is that it will be extraordinary, exciting, unexpected, and I hope a little bit wonderful.”

Max is supporting the LGBTQ+ youth education charity Minus18. He had a memorable moment on the show when he discussed his coming out experience. “I remember the exact moment that I realized that I was gay,” he said. “I remember thinking I would just keep it to myself forever and I just thought, ‘That’s just what I’m going to do.’”

Max then references the Manchester Arena bombing which killed 22 people and injured over 1,000 others. To the surprise of viewers, Max revealed he was in attendance at the concert with his younger sister.

“It took a real big thing for me to [come out]. I don’t know if you remember, there was a terrorist attack in Manchester at a concert. I was there with my little sister, who I love very much. And I’m not a parent, obviously, but it was just me and her there. I remember in that moment feeling like I have the responsibility of someone’s life in my hands,” Max continued.

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Thankfully, he and his sister were able to exit the venue safely. However, the experience inspired Max to let his family know the truth about his sexuality. He felt he was “robbing” them of seeing who he really was. “I just think that the work that Minus18 do, if I’d just learned in school that you can be gay and live a happy, healthy, normal life, from a young age I think it wouldn’t have taken something as dark as that to make me take that step to be myself,” Max added.

Dave Said He Was Happy His Radio Show Ended, Because He Wasn’t Happy Doing It

Dave’s move into the world of reality television came after his radio show came to an end. Rather than be upset about the decision, Dave decided to look on the bright side by viewing it as a career change that was long overdue. He previously hosted the Sydney 2DayFM breakfast show. Due to increasingly low ratings and “commitment issues,” The Hughesy, Ed & Erin breakfast show ended in August 2024.

“I am very happy not to be on commercial radio this year,” Dave revealed to the Herald Sun in his first interview since the show ended. “To be honest, I am sick to death of the songs. I don’t want to hear the same seven songs every morning for the rest of my life.”

Dave, along with co-hosts Ed Kavalee and Erin Molan, managed only a 3.6 market share in its last ratings survey. However, Dave hasn’t completely trashed the radio format. He said that radio “is something I have done for a long time and it has been lucrative for decades … I have made wise investments.”

“I am absolutely happy to have a break for a long time. I have had the same experience every year for 20 years and why? There is no need now,” he continued. “I should do what I want to do and that is partly why I am going into the jungle, for the fun of it and for something different.”

Dave also revealed part of the trouble he had was being “torn” between two cities. He said it was very difficult to commute to Sydney each week to do the show. “Initially the intention was to move to Sydney, but it just did not happen,” he explained. “Firstly there was Covid and my family was settled in Melbourne, my wife enjoyed her job and my kids were enjoying their school, so after a while we realized I was not going to move.”

According to Dave, he was “basically pretending to live in Sydney for three and half years,” which he considered “exhausting.” Dave also spoke to news.com.au, where he admitted that “the whole concept” of commercial radio just didn’t appeal to him anymore. “I just don’t need it, if you know what I mean? I don’t need to be doing that or doing full-time radio. And look, it may never happen again, to be honest.”

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Before he landed the 2DayFM hosting gig in 2021, Dave and his former co-host Kate Langbroek were very successful across many different stations in a career that lasted over 20 years.

Dave Moved Into The Reality TV World Following The End Of His Radio Show

Dave was one of the first celebrities announced to be joining the cast of I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! At the time, comedian Kitty Flanagan, former Bachelorette Georgia Love and Married at First Sight star Ella Ding were rumored to be joining the show as well. Robert Irwin and Julia Morris once again served as hosts. Reggie Bird, who won Big Brother twice, and Matty J, known for his time on The Bachelor, were also announced as cast members.

Dave actually rejected several offers to be on I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! prior to agreeing to join the cast for season 11. A “star of the silver screen” was teased by producers without mentioning the person’s name. Fans rightly guessed Sigrid as the cast member. However, there were others who theorized that it might have been Bump creator Claudia Karvan.

When it came to “the British girl,” fans suggested Amelia Dimoldenberg from Chicken Shop Date. Other guesses were Jordana Grace and Maddie Grace Jepson. Another big hint producers dropped for fans was that a cast member would be an “influencer with a taste for love.” A lot of fans began throwing out names of major reality stars, including Ella Ding, Georgia Love or Jessika Power from MAFS. “She’s conquered one house, but can she conquer camp?,” was another teaser producers dropped online, which many believe was Reggie.

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Producers also leaked online that “reality royalty” would be joining the cast. This led fans to speculate that it could be Drag Race Down Under contestant Kween Kong. Another cast member was hinted at as a “real life” hero that might “need to be rescued.” Some believed this was a reference to Bondi rescue star Bruce “Hoppo” Hopkins. Dave was hinted at as the “comedy genius” prior to being announced, with many fans correctly guessing him.