Andy Lee On Luck, Privacy, Family & Hamish [re-release]

You're listening to a MoMA Mia podcast. Mama Mea acknowledges the traditional owners of land and waters that this podcast is recorded on Hello friends, well to get you prepped for my takeover. This is a soft launch. Really, I'm dropping into your feed to share one of my favorite interviews from the series of No Filter I did last year. Andy Lee, of course needs no introduction. You know him as a beloved comedian, a host, a writer. But in this episode of No Filter, Andy opens up about himself,

Thank you. Nice to be welcomed.

It is nice to be welcomed. Imagine if I was like, what are you doing, which is actually what I did say when I walked in, because you got here before me. You know, I'm punctual, though you're more than punctual. You were unfashionably early.

It was actually annoying, sit in the car kind of guy. I would prefer to be right on time. Five minutes early is and more annoying than five minutes late. Often.

Yes, people aren't prepared for you. That's very unlike most people in showbiz. Actually, because you're very now this.

Is mindful of others, well thoughtful.

He's a goodful guy. I've never encountered it before. But because you're very left brain and right brain so creative, which doesn't always sit with order.

We organized, Yeah, Hamish, and I'd argue he's more creative than I.

Sorry, who's HAMI good of mine?

He doesn't have the organization right, but hilariously, it'll text me and go, I'm going to be either five minutes early or five minutes later, and you're.

So well organized you would know which of those he's going to be. Okay, Speaking of Hamish, it is almost impossible to talk about Andy Lee without talking about Hamish Blake. I can say no more more iconic duo because it really is. But it's a very unusual coupling. A because it seems so harmonious and organic, seems well, and also because it's lasted longer. It's been more enduring than any of your more romantic relationships, and.

His is exactly and we sleep together less than the other. Yeah, I mean I love it. It's never bothered me that for a long time I never had a surname. Actually I was kind of Hamish's surname and Andy. Yeah, and when we both walk down the street, we both get he Hamish, Hey, Andy the other person's name.

But always I get where's Hughesy? And I broke up our iconic duo to go to Italy three years ago, four years ago. Yes, so it's very much cemented in public recognition of who you are. That's also lovely. Tell me it's downsides, Oh, if there are any.

I don't actually feel the downsides at all. Maybe there's moments where you'd like to have your own identity, but I love what we do. I don't think I would have been great. It's just a pop singer. I prefer to be in a band, you know. And that's with everything, Yes, so much. Prefer doing shows, people my happy places, doing stuff with ham love, sharing the excitement and the failure. In fact, sharing failures to some of the funniest things

So what when you say sharing failure.

Got our first TV I got asked after six weeks.

When was that?

Two thousand and four?

What was it?

Show? Channel seven? Chris Lily was doing Mister g Really, Andrew Keith was on it as a Holy comedian improviser. Yeah. Someone doesn't like my individual work. It's only me that they didn't like. When someone doesn't like our work, I can look across at Hame and go, well, I find you the funniest person in the world. That person must be wrong with their opinion. It's it's an easy, nice little shell to be sitting inside. I don't mind it at all.

It's lovely. Also because within the partnership, both of you have explored different partners Yes, but you've explored different aspects of yourself and kind of I'm going to say, increasingly you are showing more sides to yourself I think, which always existed. But I'm kind of reminded of this because I remember years ago Hughsey showing me a video that you had made, and it was for one of your other great loves, the cart and Footy Club. Yes, And

Or I'm just the guy laughs at the funny guy.

Yeah, well there's that as well. We'll get onto that because that is a very interesting kind of narrative to negotiate. I imagine.

Well, I mean, like you say negotiate, it sounds like you have to do something about it. But if you're really comfortable just I mean, I think people naturally felt that with any comic duo, that has to be a straight guy and a funny guy. Yes, Hamish and I never felt that. I think Hamish is funnier if you wanted to try and do the mass of it. But that's never been Our goal is to try and make him laugh, and he tries to make me laugh, and so I think people would try to slot you into

Well, you know, the thing is it kind of reminds me of in every group of girls, ye friendship group, there's always an impossibly hot girl. So individually all those girls in the group might be hot, but you know that there's always one. Yes, you kind of love it as well, because who doesn't love to have a hot friend. But you're hot friend, You're the hot guy. Your friend is ludicrously hot, and so it does. It kind of

Yes, no, I hear what you're saying there. But I think what's lucky for both hamishon for me and our relationship is the ego is not huge of either of us, I don't think, and that probably what makes it work. Hamish is so laid back, he just wants to do fun things.

He's very lovable.

Yeah, And so I found the right partner. And I mean neither of us were even going to go down this path until we met the UNI and we were making each other's laugh and we said we should be doing this in front of more people. So just in meeting him changed the whole trajectory of my life, but also what I was interested in, what I ended up doing, even though I did have some interesting performance and entertainment I was never going to do.

You were studying Commerce.

Arts commercience and we met at UNI, which is so strange because neither of us went very often.

It's kind of like a lunar eclipse, right, But can you remember when you met?

Yeah? It was really odd because the year before in a Quantity of Methods class, which is so boring.

What is that? Yeah, I can't I'm already asleep.

Yes, I hadn't gone for the entire semester and realized I was going to fail. And you got one percent hitch point per tutorial you attended. So I went to the tenth of ten tutorials.

To claw back the ten percent.

Well call back, the one was one per attendance.

Okay.

I got in there and the guy's doing the roll call and he goes past Andrew Lee and I say, no, no, I'm here, I'm here, I'm here, and he said right for the first time, and he was a bit shirty at me. I said, yes, but can I quickly make a speech to the class? And he was kind of a laid back tutor, and he said, yeah, get up. So I got up, and I said, I haven't come for this entire semester for the good of everyone here.

And when you say I wanted to do it with you, what did you start doing?

Haimer took a lot of convincing. Ham was very studious. He was doing advanced mathematics, advanced physics, like book smart stuff. And you, I know, it's a wow moment because I know, because you look at him and he's not street smart. It's always like I always say, he's the dumbest smart guy I know. So good were hunting type stuff. I went to a few of his lectures and they've got these stupid equations on the door.

Not even any numbers, just letters.

Letters and strokes and so on. And because I'd shifted, I was doing kind of product and brand management and consumer behavior and stuff, and you didn't really have to rock up. You could still pass. And Hamish was getting taken away by me. His parents and grandparents didn't like me because.

They're like, you're bad, you were the bad.

Bad influence. He took some convincing because he was really studious. He wanted to do was doing computer science and he wanted to go to that path. And I was like, well, this is really fun what you're doing this.

And what did you think this was going to be.

Well, we were on the radio first at cin FM Student Youth Network. We pretended we were enrolled in r MIT when we're from Melbourne Union. We went out out the road and jumped on their airways and then I got a connection for us to have our show on Channel thirty one Community TV. And it was after five half hour episodes of Channel thirty one, we got offered

But it did last longer than the five episodes on Channel three. So you were doing my favorite concept in showbiz, which is failing upwards, just just just but that was probably the last failure.

I mean, oh, I've had other thing. I mean, I did a show called The Cube that she didn't catch five on Channel ten even though I loved it. It depends what you measure failure on. I mean, I don't know aligne failure with people not watching it or not making money on it or all that stuff.

What do you consider failure just not enjoying yourself?

Yeah, it's been a while. I mean I was certainly more ambitious back in the day, but now it's just whatever project I want to do, it just has to be fun while doing it, because it's in the lap of the gods as to whether things work out or not. You know, there's so many ways of project can be ruined or not getting or not spark. If you've put something out that you're proud of and you enjoy doing it,

Oh my goodness.

Yes, And so Robin Williams knocked on our door, were sitting our chain room and said he I'm Robin. And that was really special. And then straight after it they were like, we loved it. We want you to stay here, we want you to do this, and we we were saying, oh, well, we've got a radio show, and they said, we'll move the radio show. You can do the radio show from la and we just want to go home. We've done the caravan trip.

Yeah.

Yeah, So we said we won't do a segment next week, we'll do one the week after for you, but we just need to fly back. We flew back. We end up doing another segment for the Letto Show, which went really well, and they said we need an answer by the end of that week. They need an answer to it.

So it was that real American as you would imagine it.

It was absolutely you imagine it. As soon as we walked off stage, producers were sitting there they'd seen the reaction from the audience on that first segment and just took us and walked us straight out the back and said, hey, Jay, want to speak to at the end of it. That was fantastic. What can we talk about next? You know, like it was just immediate. You do ghost if you remember that basically a primary school yard trick of just walking behind someone close to.

Them until to see how long you can do it until that night.

This is before TikTok and before you know Instagram, So all these silly little ideas we had. They seemed more novel, I reckon than these days. We see probably a hundred of them every minute of the TikTok. I was driving down to Kill the road and I rang Haimer said, Oh, and Ego and me, We're like, this could be great, this could be America. I said, I rank. Haym said, what are you thinking? And he said I think we'd only do it to be more famous. And he said

That's hard to answer, isn't it.

And he said I don't And I just love making the stuff here with our friends. We're still making our stuff with our mates. UNI. Yeah, andrek would be more fun. I was like, no, I don't think it would be more fun. He's like, I guess that's our answer.

Oh my goodness. So who told your manager?

There's been many times our manager has gone, you're fucking kidding me? Yeah, yeah, but you're sure, boys are You're sure? But that's you know. We left Drive Radio at its peak, and we stopped Gap Year at its peak, and we only get two seasons of True Story, and that was going great and it was because we just want to try more and more things. And again Haim would go, hey, this becoming more run of the mill. We need to ourselves and I was a bit the same.

Well, there is, you're both kind of adrenaline junkies in the sense of adrenaline being generated from ideas as well. Doesn't have to have that physical overture tour agree. So along the way you've had this core group of friends, collabory drawers and that seems to have been a constant.

It was great because we had a company called Radio Karate, which is the name of our Channel thirty one show, and it was Hamish and I and Ryan and Tim, which are two mates from Hamish's school.

And so Ryan Shelton I know, right, yeah, and.

He was schoolmates with him, and Tim was also schoolmate with year run it kind of be outsider, ah, and so it was great that we said, these guys can film with us. They're passionate about it. The best thing about failing is that you can just reassess and start again, and.

You've got nothing to lose.

Yes, And so we got a good bounce on the failure because the press decided to even though they were writing about how bad the show was a week before, it gets asked and they flip it and they go, oh, oh, these twenty one year olds. How dare they put two twenty one year olds on prime time and only.

Give them six weeks not to support them.

Channel seven's you know the worst, all that stuff. So we get this halo from having a pretty poor show. The show had its faults, and what's great about that is if they just let it run for ten weeks and the season finished.

Would have come to a natural, natural remarkable exactly. Yeah.

Right, So we're kind of grateful. I'm very grateful that seven acts us because you suddenly can use that momentum and spirit into something else. Now we were doing it was called the ham Machinery Show, but it wasn't ours. It wasn't our ideas. Some of our ideas, but we need to do a lot of other people's ideas and all that kind of stuff exactly the show that we would put together. And that is not a great feeling.

That is not a great feeling because, as my mother sees, the camel is a horse designed by a committee. Yes, you know, and sometimes you're watching shows and you're like you can feel or watching a movie you can feel the executives involved.

Yeah, and we didn't know better. But what feels awful is someone saying, hey, your show's shit, and you're like, well, it's not really. It wasn't really our idea, like realize very quickly, Hey, your name's on it, you're on the billboard, it's yours. So we incorporated our own company then there and said would only.

Make it's incredible, We'll only make our own stuff. Who thought of that?

Oh, I think it was a bit of a collective.

I don't think it was Andy Lay. I don't think it was. There's no way Hamish's going, well, let's corporate a company, because he doesn't think like that.

Does he Hame definitely participates in all that stuff.

Oh no, I know, but I would think in the leading of that that that's more. You, that's more would.

Say that he like I do love that side of things. You know, we even talk about that as far as even ideas go. Hame would have brilliant ideas, but I'd know how to package them. Yeah right, yeah, and so I'd hear them and go, oh my god, this is great. This is how we serve it.

Yeah.

So like he'd have all the ingredients ready to go and I could just plait it up. But he always felt that my strength was knowing exactly how people want to eat this, like knowing exactly how people want to hear it exactly. So that's what made the partnership so fun and exciting because the parts that maybe doesn't come as naturally to him, even though he's very good at them, the parts don't come as naturally to me, even though I can play in that area complimentary.

Because I think that's a secret of any relationship, romant or otherwise, is that people are always like it got to find someone who's got you know, the same interest as you know, No, what's the point of that. Actually find someone who's got complimentary aspects of their personality.

But you know you're Cal Pilkington. You might have heard of him. Oh I love Carl from Ricky Jay's podcast, I'm going to paraphrase, but he said something about a relationship which I just it absolutely sat with me. And he was talking about romantic relationships, but he said, I think the best relationship is when you're walking exactly your path and they're walking exactly their path, and you look over and you're still side by side. Yeah. Right, And it's all words that effect in his acts.

Can you do the accent?

So I feel that with Haim. I feel that all the time. Is it like we're both doing exactly what we want to do and then you turn around and you're like, oh, you're still here. Great. And if I'm doing exactly what I want to do and I'm in trouble or i'msure about it on a personal level, I turn around and go, hey, can you help me with this? He's like, of course, oh, can I get your thoughts? And that's on our individual pursuits and then together we did them as well.

Because you were mentioning Tim and Ryan and you know, Ryan did this incredible podcast which I'm sure you've heard. The imperfect for anyone who's ever had a friend that they've loved and been really tired too. He talks about very generously and beautifully and respectfully about when you came on the scene, but that he was displaced and how he then when he saw the magic of you guys,

Really?

Always are amazing like that, aren't they?

Well, we're very busy, Like, let's get that straight. We're doing Drive. We're doing five days a week of drive radio where Haim and I were getting early and national. How many ideas can be put in this and a lot of ideas involve traveling out of the studio and consume our whole lives and some like that. And a period of that time, ry I was off on Nova I think against.

It right, doing drama.

So yeah, so there were elements of it all. I was sad that he felt that way, Like I like, when did.

You know when you heard that you never see a woman would have been onto that straight away because I think we understand you know, we live in different for me.

Though, because I'm not childhood buddies at Ryan.

No, No, I wouldn't tell.

We're close friends. But it all started to a business relationship or a comedy fun relationship. So I'm not picking up on nuanced things. And our relationship didn't change.

No, And he never had an issue with you. It wasn't an issue with you. He loves you. The problem was he also loves Hamish and Hamish's got a new love who's Andy.

Yes, I think it'd be peculiar for me to be able to take up on that. I mean, my friends didn't like Hamish either because they were protective of their friendship with me, and they're like, hey, who's this other guy coming along? Think they started and I hate Hamish club for a while. They hate T shirts.

Oh that would be great, So that's that was you should have worn that to that.

So I get the natural feeling that we're all protective about people, people that were around, and we feel like we shouldn't be. And then you realize when you grow up and have family and kids, you just forget about all your friends and anyways. But during twenty year old, your friendship group is your family. Yeah, in fact, your family's probably annoying. You really are strong, so I could see how that would be challenging.

But also I love the raw honesty of it, because going back to the discussion we had about you need a certain amount of ego to do what you do,

He rang me before it, and he felt that he wanted to say it out loud, and obviously it had played in his mind for a long time. And so whatever Ryan needed to do, you know, as a friend, whatever he needed to do to try and resolve that, super supportive of it, because no one wants to know you.

Don't want to live with that.

It's super hard to go. I didn't, you know, I can't remember the exactly the words he said, but like to be super hard to go. I don't want you to succeed. I'm having trouble with you. My friend's succeeding. I mean that's because Ry is such a lovely person, so a thing a battle, and he would have regretted about.

It still to come. I ask Andy how it feels to be the butt of jokes, like when people say he's less funny than Hamish, which people love to do.

I think it would be more hurtful if I felt like it was true.

And does he want a wedding and a baby and all those things we're all supposed to want stay with us, you know when and you've said you've never really had those feelings towards Hamish because quite frankly, it's hard to imagine who could. But I'm struck by this narrative, which is partly humorous but also is a bit snarky towards you from not badly, but you know you said before you know that Hamish is the guy, and you're the less funny guy, and you might have been the more

Both Hamish and Andy are here tonight. Hamish won the Gold Logi last year for the second time and he's nominated again this year, and Andy his mates with Hamish.

I'm just like, uh, it kind of feels like a joke that's sort of run its course. Do other people care more about that than you do?

Oh? I don't know what other people think that. I don't care about it at all.

Well, I was sitting a table of people that kind of went, oh.

I think it would be more hurtful if I felt like it was true. I mean, arrogance here we go, I shit there and go. I mean I make the same jokes. I think I make a joke. Believe you do it.

I hear you do it on the one hundred, And it's just like sometimes if that got me on a bad day, yeah, I'd be like, oh.

Yeah, No, I'm really aware of my skill set and very comfortable with how it's it, so it's still fine. Maybe it does change when you have individual success, you know, yes, with my kids books or the hundred or my work on this train open all these things. If I had just done Hamish and Andy and then then you never worked for me again, You're right, and I wanted to keep a sying it. You know, some people go off and they're quite comfortable in that space. I think that

It's funny you mentioned your kid's books because they are such a phenomenon and in fact, a very affirming phenomenon of you and your talents. There's a series do not Open this book that came out just in time for my youngest to just love it, of Love Love, and now there's a whole series of them, do not open this book ever. I told you, do not open this fucking book. That's one for grown ups. Anyway, When you're selling that book in Australia and there's so many celebrities

How many countries we're in thirty five languages, okay, so that's obviously a lot more countries, okay.

And how many books have you sold Andy Lee to people who do not know who Andy Lee is.

Well, we've sold over three million around the world. But holy moll, I know which way you're heading with that, and I totally agree. I actually had a meeting about this morning about another part of this project and with the books and amplifying it the books, I fell into it and again this is luck.

Was it for your nephew? Yeah?

I wrote one book on a plane forty minutes for my nephew for his birthday. And my best mate from high school Hawks, he's a book publisher and they make test books up all the time, so he was going to make one test book for me. I was going to give it to my nephew for his first birthday. Hawks argue with me to publish them, and I said, no, no,

Co Wow King George.

So they've got a little school fun for all my nephews and nieces. But yeah, so lovely. I was super chuffed with how it went overseas because exactly what you said. I thought, well, I'm going to sell this, but do people like the book or is it just because Andy Lee from or Andy from Hamish Andy it's attached to this and then to see them travel and when people have no idea who I am, and in Rome last year doing a book signing.

They think you're just a book author.

Yeah, it's just really strange and great and you go, okay, there's something here and the idea. So absolutely I was tough with that. I'm really proud of that, and it gave it far more substance for sure.

Tell me about the conversation you had to have with your sister when you had to say George was going to get the royalties? Yes, what number sales were you in where you went? This number is actually getting a bit too much for little George.

Oh, we sold hundreds of thousand years. But my sister's just this is the harder part. My sister's a writer, and she's a kid's book writer, no young she writes young novels.

Thats why I year from twelve on with Ye Yes.

And she's got some amazing brands starring All of Black was one of hers. She was the writer from Zach Powell Books and it.

Goes Yes, another bigger hit in our family, Zach Powell.

Yes, and she's got Girl Geeks another one at the moment, which is girls and technology and science and that stuff. So she's done a great and amazing work in the space and that definitely was a worry for me to go al. You're so talented. People should look up a books because they're so great. Thankfully it wasn't a head to head. There's a different category, yeah, right, but you know, we're going to book awards together and my sister's there and I go with her. Was great to a friend around.

Because you know, that's interesting because sometimes it's hard within a family when the spotlight is shone on one particular member. And your parents both of her I've met beautiful Margaret and Michael. They seem to navigate that really beautifully, like they turn up at your shows. The first time I ever met you, I think you were with your dad and I remember the other At the filming of the hundred, someone in the audience asked a question about you and

They're very Oh they're the best people. My dad's the best person. Yeah, I think to be a full time care really yeah, yeah, they're both primary school teachers.

Yeah, what happened to your mum?

She had a rare disease called cerebral vasculatis, so a blood so it's like a series of strokes, but of strokes normally and a arterie it's in the veins so it's smaller and cerebral. She had it in the brain. So she was the first to survive in Australia.

I think really when was that six?

So she's given two weeks to live in ninety six really and two weeks again at some point.

So you were still at school then, so you would have been like year teen.

Or yeah, yeah, I was, I was year I think it was year nine going to year ten. Happened over the Christmas holidays. She just forgot how to walk, talk, who we all were, and then was in hospital for a long time. Months and month.

Wow, how is that for a teenage boy.

Well, my sister calls me the tin man. Really, I've actually become a lot more emotional in my old age.

Actually, Well, I think I have this theory that the less this is born from my husband's dad, classic old Ossie Brian Brian Lewis of Sunshine who I love. The less sentimental they are in the youth, the more sentimental they get through life.

Yep, I'm certainly feeling that. But at the time, that was probably the first my sister and I was a relationship split. During that time, it was much harder for my sister. She was becoming a woman. Yeah right, Yeah, it doesn't have a mum around, and we would go into the hospital and have to introduce yourself to your mum every day and so that she.

Pleased to meet you.

And that's tiresome.

Yeah.

Dad just went like they'd raise pretty good kids. So it was just like every man for himself. All have to dig in here, make your own lunches, get yourself to school, and will work out what's going on. I probably put my brother, not probably, I put my brother, my brother and sister a little out of joint because I went, Okay, here's the roster. You're on this. Yeah, I probably tried to solve it through. Yeah.

Well, and admin is required when you're trying to save the life of someone. Believe me, I know it's essential.

However, you don't want your brother telling you that you've got to do this and that and this is your turn to do the And so they became a lot closer, my older brother and my sister during that period.

Imagine the conversation then.

Oh wow, yeah so and then Mum just snapped out of it. Weirdly, they don't really know why. There's since been a few more cases. I think it was the I'm don't make up the figures, but there's only been twenty cases in Australia. Yeah, So she tried to came home, and then she came home and we were it was a different family. We spent four to six months saying Hi, I'm Andy Margaret, and I'd been introducing dad as Michael, and so I started calling my dad Michael. We stopped

Hospital because it was a bit too much.

That's the only time I was pissed off.

Right, It's like they fuck you, yeah.

Right, I've done this right, and you don't even want to be at a very response.

Because now as an adult you understand, and as a mother, I'm like, oh my goodness that actually now just thinking about it is making me cry because it's like.

And she'd missed my sister important parts of she's growing up and yeah, it was yeah, and she's going through rehabbing doing this stuff anyway, but you know, at least you could be around, you know, which is so unfair and selfish.

For someone who has.

Just lost kind of five months of her life but also just gone backwards. She's forty three or something and then became a seven year old. Yeah, and you know, she's on a walker and she's can't speak for her on her match, she can't do basic mass and all these things, and she has to be cared for and then she doesn't even want to be around it. It was just it was just I can't imagine would have been for mum. Oh you know, I haven't really and your dad, but dad who was staunch dad about five Whether we

They've got that five and she.

Didn't want to go out and see anyone because she couldn't converse properly, and she is, you know, couldn't walk properly, and she was marassed. So she just cut off a lot of those social outlets. And close friends stick around. But naturally we keep saying no to people, invite you to things. Yeah, and so then Dad loses all of that. And so in a situation where Dad's living a very different life than he was and what signed up for. And you know when people say in sickness and health.

Yeah, no one sickness, no one means that. It's like for rich or for Paora.

I didn't mean Poora exactly. It's a true test of that. And Dad and I were drive him back from somewhere one day and he said, I want to talk to you about something, and what year would this been? I know, whole lot later it's about your mother, And in my head, I've gone, he's found someone else. Oh, it probably speaks to me. I'm like, he's done really well for half a decade doing this, but I can't keep doing I totally get it, and so I'm getting ready for him

Think I mean, obviously bad example would say no, but that doesn't encapsulate all of you. Do you think you are your father? Oh no, I mean very few people could be your dad.

Yeah, but I also don't think anyone knows whether they can. I mean in practice, how do you test that? How can you honestly say I do exactly the same thing. I'd care for Beck through thick and things.

Yeah, yeah, it's very hard.

I'd like to think I would, and I certainly have a lot of my dad's morals, share a lot of his interests, and hopefully some of his kind bones. But I think it'd be pretty arrogant to say, oh yeah, I'll do that in a pinch.

I think it's easier to always pass judgment on people in certain situations when they move on, when you don't know what it means to be caring for someone or to lose someone, or you know, the other idea. We always have a people who are chronically ill or is that they're somehow saintly, Whereas when people are chronically ill, often they're the opposite of that, because they're fighting for their life and they're frightened and they're yeah, they're angry. Yeah, they're angry.

They're angry, and it can come out in really terrible ways. Now again, to my mum's credit, she just doesn't complain. And I'm like, oh god, I'd be complaining, would really complaining if it took that much time for me to get out of beer every day and put all these you know, and I know these people are farwer situations, and I'm also very lucky to stay around, of.

Course, but it still doesn't mean that problems are not problems. Yeah, stick around, because up next, I asked Andy if he wants.

Kids, and I love being available to people. I do definitely worry that having my own family means that I give that.

Up because you're so family oriented. You know what, I have to ask you whether you're inclined to have your own family.

Yeah, I mean I'm asked this a lot.

Oh well, I can imagine that you are, because women also get asked. It's just a thing because in life there are certain transitions that happen. They're not guaranteed, they're not necessary. But because you are who you are, you're very family oriented, you're loyal, you're quite good looking. Well maybe they would, I don't know, But how do you feel about that?

I'd gone through something I thought I would definitely want, then I went through patches if I don't think I want this at all, and then I'm in trying to.

Which is like pretty common for the common. Yeah.

One thing I do love about not currently having kids is how available I am to my family. Yes. Now, Mum and Dad wire down the beach house one day and they said, ah, when you're going to start a family, And I said, you realize you wouldn't be here in this beach house if I've.

Got both, Like, yeah, but you know what I would say.

They would be happy with that.

Yeah, we give it up son, we'd give it up.

And I spend so much time with them, I think because of that, and I spend time with my nephews because of that. And I love being available to people. That's something that I love with friends, love being a reliable source to call upon. I do definitely worry that having my own family means that I give that up. Now, that could be the right decision at some point. People think that's selfless, but it's not. I get a lot of self worth. If anyone calls, I'm happy to go and work out what we need to do.

Yeah, but do you think that having kids would preclude from doing that.

It does.

Actual I'm mentally going through when I've been available.

Okay, not to say that it's not the reason not to, and but I think these are things go through my mind and all my friends and family when they've had their own kids. It's a really time and not tough as in, it's not rewarding. It's just a lot.

Well it should be, it has to be.

And it's beautiful, but it's all consuming, and you go into your insular shelves and you ask for help, particularly with young kids, everywhere, like you need to because you need support group, and so naturally people turn inwards when they have their own.

Kids, and you're still outwards.

I think so at the moment, I love Beck, Yeah I could, and I think she'd be an amazing mom.

And what does she think? Does she think she'd be an amazing mum?

Yeah? I think.

You know what, Let's watch this space. Let's reconvene this time next year, because come on, a year and a half. But when I asked that, it's partly there's a thing that happens. I always think when people have kids, as you used to say, everyone wants you to join the misery club. Right, there's a terrible thing to sight. But before you have kids, you can see the downside and the data and the whatever.

But there's no rub between Beck and I on that front because Vexel doesn't want them now, yes, like this is the misconception. It's like if we post a picture of us somewhere, everyone's like, oh, haven't.

You're a tease you tease paper with that, don't pretend you don't.

I put a photo off of me and my partner and everyone's like, are you cage?

Like no, I'm saying to hurt Beck, hide the third finger on your left hand.

The time, I was a tease and I'm not allowed to play this joke anymore. But anytime I saw paparazzi, I'd get down on one knee. So we beat the baggage at Melbourne Airport and the pats would be there, and so I'd get down on one knee and pretend to propose. I was picking up dog Poo Wonder and saw paparazzi, so I pretended to propose, and Beck said that job that choke.

No, no, no, no, I've got to tell you something else. So when I knew that I was talking to you today, I sent hay mission message, my dear, And this is kind of quite deep, but it's you know, we lost cal Wilson. The fraternity lost Cayl Wilson. And when I was at her funeral and also at her memorial, I was struck by how much she would have loved it, and how she would have heard things that she never heard when she was alive and had a position in all of our hearts and in the broader comedy community

Free special.

There's more. It's I don't know why I'm so moved by this, but I love it. I love it for you. I owe him a huge debt for hundreds of things. But the older I get, the more I see and value that initial change in the trajectory of my life and the seedling of challenging what may be possible. We've been through adventures and highs and lows that no one but us will understand or possibly care about, and it feels five hundred times more fun to have experienced it

Amazing, Yeah, pretty cool.

It's beautiful, isn't it.

Yeah, But I always promise myself I don't cry on podcasts because.

Why not?

Why not?

Why not? What is life? Life is laughter and laugh.

Because it faily male article or something, and that's not where I want this to be. But it's special what I love about. I mean, it's so lovely for him to say it publicly, but we've also said those things to each other the privately.

Get down on one may but.

I know that sounds odd, bad, and I connect constantly about those things. He hasn't put that as beautifully as that before, but maybe he has. But yeah, we're not afraid to tell each other how we're feeling in good times and bad. But people are, and I don't think too many mates get the opportunity to do that, as in men while they're living, while they're living, and so I'm really grateful for that. That's obviously lovely words.

They're beautiful words. They're richly deserved. You're a treasure, Andy Lee, you really are, you really are. Thank you for sharing yourself with us.

Well, it took us a while to get here, like two and a half years.

Why did it take so long. You're elusive. I don't think you like to do this sort of.

I can no, no, but I promised me that I do it at some point. That's the other thing. If I ever say I'll do something to anyone ever, I can't notot do it.

Oh, I want to get you to tell me you'll do something.

No. Well, often people get the often the raw other answer. We just know I'm never going to do that, which I have no problem saying to about spaces. But apologies to me that I hadn't got around to it. But now, but I'm so glad I got to do with you, Katie, because we know each other very well.

I loved it. I know you better now. I'm not surprised by anything. Thank goodness, Andy, Lay, thank you chears Well. That was such a great conversation. I loved getting a look inside what goes on in Andy's head. I think the sign of a good conversation is when aspects of it stay with you long after the conversation is finished, and that was the case with Andy. I thought about him a lot, and I thought about his take on