Despite the fact that comedian Dave Hughes’ ‘splurge’ was meant to be kept completely hush hush, his $3.067 million The Block house purchase immediately made national headlines… as you do.
There was the reveal behind the winning bid, the fact that his wife, Holly, certainly did not want this on the public record and then, most recently, news that the bank ‘undervalued’ his purchase below the bidding price.
It’s been a journey and a half, so naturally, when he came into the Mamamia offices, we wanted to know exactly what happened.
Firstly, the host of the Network Ten show Hughesy, We Have a Problem would like to set one thing straight… he regrets nothing.
“There’s been a couple of misquotes saying that I’ve paid too much, I don’t believe I paid too much, I believe in the long run I will have made a good decision.
“The bank has valued it as less than, but that’s what banks do, they’re just being conservative,” he explains.
Although they’re currently leasing the Elsternwick property out – a suburb which Hughesy says is “very up and coming,” and “blue ribbon” in fact, they haven’t ruled out the idea of one day living there.
“As long as people continue to rent it out and no one sets it on fire… It’s fine” he stipulates…
So pretty much, no regrets.
And no arson, please and thank you.
LISTEN: Mia Freedman speaks to comedian Dave Hughes about marriage, sobriety, and what he values most. Post continues after audio.
However, more importantly, how does one go from keeping the deal on the down-low to have it streamed on television? Well turns out, it’s just part of the demands of hosting a daily radio show.
While he originally used an advocate at the auction, as most people do, it wasn’t until after the show that Channel 9 approached him for an interview.
“I remember watching the episode on TV and they didn’t show me at all in the auction. I thought that they had decided to keep me out of it, which was probably good,” says Hughesy.
“Then Scott Cam was talking to the other couple and went, ‘You won’t believe who bought the house before you’, and I thought… oh here we go.”
There are no hard feelings on Hughesy’s side though: “I made a decision, and I needed material for my radio show,” he says, which for those following at home, ended up being 3.067 million dollars worth of material.
However in the end, now that the bank documents have been signed, and auditions for this year’s season of The Block having already started, Hughesy is happy to report that everything is great.
Four months in and there isn’t a peeling wall, or cracked cornice in sight.
“There’s nothing shotty [with the house], there’s an illusion on TV that it looks like it’s done in a couple of weeks but the builders behind the scenes are doing everything structurally right.
“Josh [Barker] is a quality builder and Elyse [Knowles] has got great style, look at her socials and her Instagram. It’s a win,” he says.
And now we know.
You can watch Hughesy, We Have A Problem on Tuesday night at 8:30pm on Network Ten or catch up on Ten Play.