🕋 ANDY LEE TALKS HONESTLY ABOUT 'THE CUBE!' 🕋

Welcome back to TV Reload. My name's Benjamin Norris and this is another bonus episode taking a look at Channel ten's new game show, The Cube. We certainly have a special guest in Andy Lee. While you normally would find him alongside Hamish Blake, today we'll be talking to Andy alone. Why because he is out on his own hosting the newest game show, The Cube, now on Channel ten Wednesdays at seven thirty. Andy's been a household name for as

People don't know the UK version of The Cube tne going for quite some time.

He is the talented TV host, comedian and author.

I had seen the show before and loved it, and so that's why I jumped at the opportunity to host out I Am a Cube because we didn't want everybody accidentally just walking out with a quarter of a million Devin games between you and a quarter of a million dollars. You know who is the ultimate Cube host, Phillip Schofield or Andy Lee? The Cube isn't your average skilled teast.

How are you mate, You're well well?

I will pumped for everyone to see this week's episode of the Cube. Last week started really strongly, which is.

Nice and like the Cuba is such a great opportunity for Ossie's to watch TV with their family. What shows do you remember watching with your parents?

Oh, well, we had a system at our house bend where if you were naughty, very rarely meat, but if you were naughty, you've got ticks on the board, and three ticks met, you weren't able to watch your favorite TV show and you could say at the start of the week, what your show is going to be?

And so the ones I would nominate would.

Be the comedy Company that was that was in the early eighties, and It's a Knockout, which were yeah, which were like very important to see. My sisters was young Talent time if she didn't need her dinner, you know, three nights in a row. There was no young talment time for her. And then when I got a little bit older, the Late Show, even though it probably was not so much family fun, my mom and dad would

I think I just realized that we're the same age because I watched every single one of those shows. We never had ticks on the board, though we were allowed to get away with whatever, right, right.

Which is why you're the delinquent you are today.

Did you watch much of the British version to sort of get prepared or were you sort of worried watching that that you'd feel like you're impersonating it?

Yeah, great question.

So yeah, people don't know the UK version of the qu Tine going for quite some time, almost thirteen years, I think, not thirteen seasons, they had some time off. So yeah, I had seen the show before and loved it, and so that's why I jumped at the opportunity to host ours. But what you say is a good question, because you get myself. I got myself familiar with it, and then there was a point where I had to go, Okay, I don't want to watch any more of this because

Somewhere in the middle. Did you send them a message and be like, have you got any tips or anything like that, or just didn't reach out to them.

No, I didn't reach out to them. I should have. Actually, I saw someone tweet very earlier you know who.

Is the ultimate cube host, Phillip Schofield or Andy Lee and tagged him in that post. So I wrote back, Phillip Schofield is always the sense and I'm merely the grasshopper, and I look forward to meeting him at the top of some hill in some temple where he passes on all the skills that's required to be the host of the kids.

And did he ever respond or did you just sit there waiting for him to respond and it never happened?

Great question. I haven't actually gone back it out of look.

I'll go and look for you.

Yeah, please do. Yeah, you can break it to me.

I'll give it a like so that he gets another opportunity to see it.

That'd be nice.

Did you get to help with any of these challenges? I mean the best thing about this is that it's quite simple, but then the stress of being put in this cube and giving you that timeframe and the money. But did you know you doing the show and say I've got a few.

Ideas, no, with this format the game, and when they purchased it, the game with thirty seven games, which we ended up using thirty of them, and there's certainly times where I would say, I'm not sure if this game's

As much as I'd love that, yeah, ring the network and half million.

Dollars later, the network might go, Okay, that's the last time we ever played this guy.

Have you heard that story where they gave away half a million dollars on Who Wants to Bear a Millionaire? And Eddie maguire was like, got a phone call from the network saying, what are you doing? They can't keep giving away money like this.

Yeah. I also heard that Eddie was convinced that someone was cheating.

Once you have to ask it about it, but I've heard it may be roomor maybe fact that he was convinced they couldn't pint on them, but he was convinced that someone was cheating one.

You know what was really good about the first episode that I liked was that you had like a matship with these guys straight away, and you really went with them on the journey. Do you spend much time to build a relationship with them? Like It was so amazing to watch because we don't really see that on these sorts of shows, but you really seem to connect and go with them on that journey.

There you go.

Game number one, David just put your arm in there that size and displays half the balls. I think, what are you.

Thinking about this game?

Got a person in mind that you think might be better off going in for.

This type of game?

I think, Ellie, you'll you'll do better, honestly, think that.

If you guys are ready, Ellie specifically yes for two thousand dollars end of the queue you've got this?

Is there a time that you spend with these contestants before they before it all the magic happens.

We discussed that and we went with no. I didn't even meet them until they walk up. So that casting is an amazing job because all the different duos were really fun and likable, and that it gets intense for some of them. There's some bickering that goes on, and I kind of played therapist at times, which I understand when there's money on the line and this money means a.

Lot to people.

But yeah, I really thought Ellie and David were just wonderful chaps. If you hadn't seen episode one, you should. People should go back and watch it. Because a lot of feedback I got from friends, family, and even public saying these guys are just so nice, so genuine, and we entered the show saying, let's not try and change people. Let's not give them a tag, you know, or a headline as to what type of person they are. And a lot of shows at the moment almost make character

You really do. I mean I was watching it and just thinking it was great right that. As I said, you don't really see that journey a lot of the time, you know, with hosts, they don't really get that opportunity to connect like that. And I think it's probably one of the most magical things about it. It's such a great show. Because Australians last year we spent a lot of time in Lockdown. I kind of felt like this was a bit of a tip of the hat to Ozzie's watching the show, what did you do to try?

I did invent little skill games around the house.

At one point I was trying to hit a tennis ball over the roof of my house and then runs through the house and catch the ball on the other side of the house, which I was successful. That was two hours of next day filming me, which you wouldn't.

She never gets back, but I tell you what she would.

She wouldn't have been that patient if we weren't in lockdown.

I'm imagining that you played board games with Rebecca. I want to know, are you a good winner or a good loser.

A bad loser, a ball loser. No, I don't depend on play. I've decided that is how I react if I playing against someone like with Beck.

I don't mind Beck winning.

She says she's bad at board games and she often chokes at the end because of her own nerves. So when she actually is triumphant, I get excited for her because she just loves it so much.

So I found that across the board.

I'm playing golf against someone or any sports games if they are an underdog and they're really nice. I'm not not so fussed if they beat me, but if I'm up against someone arrogant, I'll do everything i can to make sure they want.

Well, it's nice that you'll like that with Rebecca. I'm sure she appreciates it. A lot of people are asking you about you know, what did Hamish have to say about you doing this show? What sort of advice did he give? But I guess we haven't really heard what he thought of the first episode. Did he watch the first episode? And what was his feedback?

Great question.

Haim's away at the moment on holidays, and I think he's got very little reception.

I've tried to call him a couple of times.

He said, your textback saying mate, very dodgy reception here at the moment.

I apologize. So we charded briefly this morning.

He was extremely complimentary and he was awesome and the leader because I mean, we talk about all our you know, obviously these are more public facing, high profile solo projects, but we've always had lots of tiny projects that we do on the side that we're passionate about. And he's the first and I go to straight away to go, hey, I think you're doing this, what do you reckon? And his advice is always strong, so it was super helpful

But it was when I went back to my little hut on the.

Side of the stage where Hay would normally be and we'd be laughing and mucking about in between in the ad breaks, etc. That's where I certainly felt like like, ah, yeah, this is different.

But you know what's so funny about the two of you doing like with Hami's doing Lego Masters and you're now doing the Cube. It made me think about some of the other shows that had been offered to you to host over the years, Like I can remember one in particular that they wanted you to both do and you turned down. Are there any shows that you can tell me that you turned down that they asked you to host?

It's not really kosher, and the thing to do is just to say that the shows you may have.

Turned down over the run, but I'll give you one.

Look, Hay and I, the main reason for not doing Project Is along the run was because we were doing our own stuff together.

Yeah, it took up a lot of our time.

So it was never a slight on the quality of shows that were presented to us to do, although some of the times it was sometimes like, I don't think this is a good show. Often I was wrong, But Hay and I, when Darryl Summons finished up on Dance the Stars got asked to host Dance with the Stars after Darryl SMS. I don't know when that was. It would have been a late two thousands.

Yeah, it's late. I think it's two thousand and nine that he walked away, because I think that was two thousand and five that it launched and he did four seasons of it. He should have done it though, and taken his trailer because he had a huge trailer that he wanted while he was.

Making Yeah, exactly. He went old school with his TV demands.

So yeah, HAYM and I got off of that and did not have to think long to say no because neither of us dance, so we don't. And I like the show just was not the type of show for two twenty year old fellows to suddenly do. And I think they went with Dan McPherson, which was a much better, much better person to go with.

Oh, I know, he's great and he did a good job of that. I think he made it his own. I mean, the worst thing about going into Darryl Summers's shoes is doing that thing that you know, this is not good podcasting, but the silence thing that Darryl used to do.

When he cut the band off, when he yeah, he raved his hands in front of his chest to cut the band off. That was that was actually one thing I did want to do. That was the only thing that drew me to the projecty to cut in August, We're off with my an.

You know what was funny though, the one show that I heard about and it might I might be so dead wrong with this, and a turn of events meant that I ended up on that show. But I remember being at the logis that year that it was about to be announced who was hosting Big Brother, and there was rumors that they'd asked you both to do it,

Yeah, I mean, I still I mean, particularly the early season Big Brother, I'm still fascinating, because you know.

It was it's like the early seasons of anything.

People learn the tricks, they learn what they had meant to do on television, and they go in and suddenly they're preparing it, portraying a very different look and feel or often the exact same of look and feel that we've seen already. And you know, I would say that that's the challenge for a lot of these shows that rely on reality contestants doing the same thing is that we kind of work our way through all the different combinations of you know, how a couple, how a couple

What's a funny story that was kind of like the take home like something after working on the show that you consider around the dinner table and you know, tell your friends, I.

Mean everything, I mean, everything went relatively smoothly on set.

I must admit.

The part that I've found a little bit funny is when a contestant is asking for clarification of a rule from me, and they need to be really specific because you know they might have they might be going fifty thousand dollars and risking twenty thousand dollars to do it because there's no safe zones in the show. They'd often ask and I would just make it up what I thought the rule might be, so they might say, hey, am I allowed to hold.

The ball in both hands? And it's like, yeah, you can do that, and then.

Alex in my ear would be going no, no, no, no, no, don't say that. Don't And very often during the show I'd have to go stop, everyone, stop, I've lied again, and the audience would laugh, and I say, I've got a terrible habit of just making up the rules. If someone's asking for parification, now let me actually get the right rule, because I want to make sure that we

Have they said much about series two, because you know, I guess we're one episode in and I loved it. I mean, I can honestly show you I don't actually bite my nails or I peeled them all off. A lot of people talked about the slow mo, people like, oh, there's too much SlowMo and all this sort of stuff. That was the thing that got me.

Yeah, and that's good.

I mean, it's always good to get criticism, particularly from the public. We looked at that with regards to upcoming episodes. Did we overdo the intensity or the editors and so on? And I think that we can balance that out a little bit. But I did have other people saying to me that they loved all the slow mo and bullet time because it made things super intense.

Just like in Jack Bauer and twenty four.

It's only meant to take place in a day, but the last thirty seconds before the bomb went off used to do about three hours of television. So there's certainly ways to make things feel more intense. And yeah, I actually love that about the show. But I think we're going to balance it moving forward.

Maybe balance it out. But you know, it's so weird as well if you're looking at social media as being like the guide to changing these sorts of things up. I mean, it's not the vox pop that's necessarily that accurate that all Australians are thinking that, do you know

No, not at all.

I mean I think there's ten times more likely to have a negative comment about anything on social media than a positive one. So yes, you've got to take all these things with the grain of salt.

But I didn't.

I saw that on social media and wasn't two phased. But when there's people that I love and trust in the industry who reached out and chatted about it and they had a similar note, that's I'm like, oh, okay, there could be something in that, But.

Not to the other thing. You've got to hold your nerve on.

With the Car's TV shows, I'm going to know what you are, and you certainly don't chase the tale trying to please everybody. And we know that that's our show that we want to dramatize the intensity of singular games, but then keep them real for all the reactions and the pressure.

Well, one thing for sure, though, there was so much positivity for you hosting the show like it was. It was really quite lovely to watch because social media can be quite cruel. But I reckon there was like one hundred percent like a ninety nine on Rotten Tomatoes that people were so supportive.

Yeah, that was really nice. I mean, I'm probably a pretty unoffensive host though, and I've also had I was lucky enough of a very strong format to lean on, so if I was in doubt, yeah, throw them in the game. But I also feel that, however, however bad your host is, you make up with with cameras, and so when when Channel ten got one hundred and forty cameras to shoot this, I was like, yeah, Okay, they know exactly the deficiencies of the babe person they've gotten Chad.

I just also thought that the thing that was amazing from your hosting skills is and no disrespect to anyone else hosting a show, but these days people are almost parrotying the idea of hosting a show where they're putting something on, and I felt like you were so authentic not to go and lean into those sort of over dramatizing, which I think is hard to do because you know, you think I'm hosting a show, I've got to try and be like Osha Ginsburg or someone where I think

Oh that's nice to hear, because I mustn't mean I was a bit worried after it, going have I just.

Have I not given it enough game show or like I was.

Concerned a little bit to go cheap as have I undersold the show anyway, because the energy I'm giving is probably not up there with the energy a lot of other game show hosts do bring their pretty big and I didn't really want to do that. So I was kind of glad that it came across okay without diminishing the excitement of show, the energy of the show. It was more just the other thing is I just really wanted them to win. I found myself just you know, with all the contestants, I'm just real.

Lying to them, creating your own rules, hoping that they're going to win.

Yeah, I just so, I just yeah, I became pretty invested in the in the games and the people pretty quickly. And it was more mainly at the end of an episode where I'd go shit, Alex, is that alright? Because I just I don't remember working at all or doing any housekeeping. I feel like I just was barracking for them and stepping in through the games.

Yeah, just to finish it off. We've seen episode one. There's plenty more to look forward to throughout the series. Is there something you can tease us with?

This week is pretty awesome because a seventy year old grandmother played to their grandson.

Oh that's cute. It's the show that has you on the edge of your seat.

I can do this, Hayden. I think you can. Then, I'm pretty confident in.

You, I must admit. When she walked up, I kind of like in my head was going, all right, I better practice my well done. You gave it a shot, but you won nothing speech. But she is good. So yeah, I was sitting there thinking she wouldn't be around very long and we'd be working on her. I'd be busy trying to remember the names of the next contestants. But she was just so calm And it's funny the games.

And she was parallel to anyone in the camp.

I reckon on the show with how calm and really clear she was and how she attacked all the games, and yeah, it was nice.

To see that. You know, you don't have to be young athletic to go really deep. You just have to be able to hold your nerve.

Would you have been able to play with either of your grandmothers? Could you imagine being in that situation? Were they even? Were they calm nerved?

Not currently? Because both of the dead. So we were very weird.

Oh god, we've gone to a dark place. We've gone to a dark place, abandoned.

I saw your face. I started to see your reactions.

Are they dead?

Are they not dead? They're both dead?

Well, okay, I'm back at I'm back here. I'm back here with the awkwardness.

My my mom's mom, Nana, she would have been fearless and skillful enough to do it. My my my grandma on my dad's side. Manie, Ah, she's lovely, but I'm not going to back her skills.

God, rest the what are you supposed to say at this point? Anyway? Congratulations made on the show. It's so fantastic. I think it's I'm just gonna sit there and watch it all. I'm gonna get some some band aids to put on my fingernails, just so that just so that I don't tear them all off, but congratulations.

Thanks so much for taking the time, but good to see you.