Tim Ferguson, tipped to host a new game show for the Nine Network, is ambivalent about the demise of the Doug Anthony Allstars. Tim, who plays David Soul look-alike Grant on the ABC satire Funky Squad, is proud that the Allstars (featuring Tim, Paul McDermott and Richard Fidler) will be remembered as one of Australia's most potent and incisive comedy acts. But while Tim loved the controversial nature of the internationally renowned Allstars, he says touring with Paul and Richard got the better of him.
"It would have been great to do another series of Viva Cabaret (their TV show) in London, but I reckon 10 years of touring and staying in motels would wear out just about anybody," he says. "We wanted to get out of it before we became old farts. You can only go so long jumping up and down and screaming on stage. That stuff was so bloody energetic."
Tim forgives those who doubt the truth of his comments, for the Allstars performed no less than four farewell tours. "I can absolutely promise there will be no Gary Glitter-type revivals," he insists.
Initially, Rob Sitch was to play the role of Gary in Funky Squad, but he skipped the project in favour of business studies at Harvard University in Massachusetts.
Tim had just completed the final tour with the Allstars when asked to join Funky Squad. "I really wanted to play Grant. This show (a celebration of cop series of the Seventies) is my childhood dream come true. I loved Starsky and Hutch, The Six Million Dollar Man and Policewoman all those years ago," Tim says. "Grant is great to play, because he's very much a Republican.
He's down on drugs and jaywalking and possesses excellent instincts. "The show is a great concept. I won't say it aloud, but these kids (the writers of the show) are the smartest in the country." Meanwhile, Tim is expected to host a new gameshow for Nine based on the British program Don't Forget Your Toothbrush. Audience members, who need a passport and toothbrush, have a chance to win an overseas trip. The catch is that they must go straight from the studio to the airport.
