It’s tough for a celebrity to come away from Hard Chat looking good. Lord knows why any of them would volunteer to cop Tom Gleeson’s mercilessly mocking questions as the nation watches on.
But at last, after two long years, one of them has done it; one of them has managed to crack the stony-faced comedian.
Sophie Monk. Yes, of Bardot/Kyle and Jackie O fame.
From the very beginning, the 37-year-old’s appearance on The Weekly‘s mock chat segment Wednesday night was a masterclass in self-deprecation.
“You’re an actor, singer, model, radio presenter, brand ambassador,” Gleeson began. “When you are at the airport, under immigration, do you write ‘trying to be famous?’”
“I actually have written ‘celebrity’ once,” Monk said. “But I just put ‘entertainer’, which usually [means] they think I’m a stripper.”
The audience laughed, the host pushed on.
Gleeson: “You started out as a Marilyn Monroe impersonator. She died when she was 36. You’re 37. Is that why your career died a year ago?”
Monk: “It’s doing better than it was a few years ago. That was sad. You know when you hit (gestures downward), and then you go down and up. So I’m trying to get lots of free stuff at the moment in case I lose it again.”
Love all things TV? Catch up with The Binge. Post continues...
Points for persistence to Gleeson. He latched on to Monk's career and didn't let go. The Kyle and Jackie O Show was next in the firing line. ("I've heard their show. It could kill a cat.")
But Monk's defence of the KIIS radio program and her love of pop culture is actually what broke him. Here's how it went down.
Monk: "I don’t like learning, really.”
Gleeson: “Oh, that’s why you like Kyle and Jackie O?”
Monk: "I’m not coming off super smart, am I?”
Gleeson: “Yeah, it’s almost as if you’re not.”
Monk: “People think I’m smart. But a teacher at school actually said I had a very high IQ and went and checked it. A few days later I asked her what my IQ was and she said,'No, it was low.'"
Then it happened. Gleeson not only smiled, he laughed. Properly laughed. There was even a knee-slap involved.
"Am I giving you the right sh*t?” Monk said.
“You are giving me great sh*t," Gleeson replied, chuckling. "I don't laugh during all of them, do I?"
No, Mr Gleeson. You most definitely do not.