Hamish Blake

Hamish Donald Blake (born 11 December 1981) is an Australian comedian, television and radio presenter, actor and author. Since 2003, he has worked with Andy Lee as part of the comedy duo Hamish and Andy. The pair have performed live and on television and radio, most notably with their drive-time radio program Hamish & Andy. As a solo performer, Blake has appeared on various Australian television programs, including the Melbourne International Comedy Festival's televised 2008 Great Debate, and has been a regular guest on TV programs such as Spicks and Specks, Rove, and Thank God You're Here.

In April 2012, Blake and Lee won a Logie Award for their television program Hamish and Andy's Gap Year. Individually, Blake is a two-time winner of the Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television, winning the award in 2012 for Hamish and Andy's Gap Year and in 2022 for Lego Masters. In 2022, Blake was the recipient of the TV Week Bert Newton Award for most outstanding presenter.

Early life Blake grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Glen Waverley. He is a middle child; his older brother, Lachlan, is a solicitor, and his sister, Sophie, has completed an arts degree. His parents, Noel and Kerry, separated when Blake was 17, with his father eventually remarrying. As a child, Blake says he was a fan of British comedy such as Monty Python, Fawlty Towers and Blackadder; as a teenager, he "worshipped" comedians Tony Martin and Mick Molloy. Blake was a member of the National Boys Choir of Australia during the late 1980s. He attended primary school at Glen Waverley South Primary, while he went to high school at Caulfield Grammar School and later at St Leonard's College, graduating in 1999.

After a gap year, Blake enrolled at the University of Melbourne in a Science/Commerce double degree. Blake recalled, "I'm interested in artificial intelligence and computer science. That stuff still fascinates me," he says. However, a few weeks into the semester, he met Andy Lee, with Blake later saying: "That was the turning point. The wheels quickly fell off my academic career." Blake eventually dropped out of university to pursue a career in comedy alongside Lee. Blake's first experience with comedy was when he entered a competition at university. He was broke at the time, and he hoped to win the $500 first prize. His stand-up performance earned him third place and qualified him for a statewide universities' final, which he won. Blake says that while working on the show was a fun experience, they had little control over what happened and the way it went forward. Following the cancellation of The Hamish and Andy Show, they created a short mockumentary titled The Greystone 2800 about a couple who accidentally bought an open display home after failing to read the fine print on a housing purchase. The film won the Melbourne Comedy Festival Short Film competition and attracted the attention of comedian Rove McManus. This led to some small spots on McManus's Network Ten show Rove Live. By the beginning of 2009, the show was broadcast in all capital cities as well as many regional centres across the country.

In September 2008, it was announced that they would make a guest appearance on Ten's Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?, which was hosted by Rove McManus. In the same year they also made a guest appearance on the Australian soap opera Neighbours.

On Wednesday 19 November 2008, at 7.30 pm, Hamish and Andy aired their own one-time episode, brought to you by Rove: Hamish & Andy Re-Gifted: A Very Early Christmas Special. This was to re-present everything they had accomplished in 2008 on Rove.

Hamish and Andy have also appeared on Channel Ten's Good News Week and The Project several times.

He is a founding member of a "rock-insult" band, Coolboys and the Frontman, along with Andy Lee and Jack Post.

Solo work Blake has appeared on various Australian television series, including Spicks and Specks, Thank God You're Here, Twentysomething, Australia's Brainiest Comedian, The Librarians, The Panel, Rove, Talkin' 'bout your Generation and The Footy Show. In 2008, he was a speaker for the negative team in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival's annual televised Great Debate.

He had a monthly column in the Australian women's magazine Cosmopolitan. He was also the winner of the TV Fugly Award for Spunkiest Male TV Personality in 2008. Hamish Blake was voted the comedian of the year in 2007 by the Eather corporation. His compatriot Andy Lee was placed 14th for 2007. Blake also came first in 'Television's most powerful celebrity' for 2009; Lee came 19th.

On 20 January 2010, it was announced Hamish would be writing a column for the Herald Sun.

Hamish, along with his wife Zoë Foster Blake, has written a book on dating called Textbook Romance.

After scaling back his daily radio show to a weekly radio show and podcast, Hamish took on several new side projects. In 2011, Blake made an appearance in the ABC comedy Twentysomething, starring real-life best friends Jess Harris and Josh Schmidt. He also co-starred in his first feature film with Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords, Two Little Boys, shot in New Zealand Hamish joked: "I don't feel comfortable about cheating on Andy but now it's all out there. We've always had an open comedic relationship, but it was for one-night stands only, with no exchange of phone numbers. I've heard them [Andy and Jemaine Clement, Bret's comedic partner] whispering on the phone, plotting to do their own movie to release on the same day to sink ours."

In 2019, it was announced that Blake would be joining Nine Network's brand-new reality competition series titled Lego Masters Australia, as the series host alongside judge Ryan McNaught. In 2021, Nine announced that Blake would hast a new Lego Masters Christmas special spinoff series, titled Lego Masters Bricksmas Specials, which saw celebrities be paired up with former Lego Masters contestant over two episodes, competing for a $20,000 donation to the Kmart Wishing Tree.

In October 2022, Blake launched a podcast called How Other Dads Dad with Hamish Blake. The first season saw guests such as fellow fathers Rob Sitch, Adam Hills, Stan Grant, Max Gawn, Dave Hughes, and Ben Lee.

Filmography Actor Year Title Role Notes 2006 Real Stories Various 8 episodes 2008 Neighbours Fred 1 episode 2009 The Librarians Jake Jackson 1 episode 2010 I Love You Too Patrick 2012 Two Little Boys Deano 2011–2013 Twentysomething Billy 12 episodes 2015 Now Add Honey Alex Kilstein 2016 Molly Television Crew TV miniseries The Wrong Girl Hamilton 2018 Ralph Breaks the Internet Pyro (voice) 2021–present Bluey Jack's Dad (voice)

As himself Year Title Notes 2004 Royal Children's Hospital Good Friday Appeal 2004 TV movie documentary 2004 Hamish & Andy 6 episodes 2005 Australia's Brainiest Kid 1 episode 2006 Dancing with the Stars 1 episode 2006 The 20th Annual ARIA Awards Host 2007 The 2007 TV Week Movie Awards Host 2007 Live Earth Documentary 2007 'Little Britain' Down Under 2007 The Panel 1 episode 2008 Thank God You're Here 2 episodes, UK TV series 2008 The 50th Annual TV Week Logie Awards 2008 The Footy Show 1 episode 2009 Australia Unites: The Victorian Bushfire Appeal 2006–2009 Thank God You're Here 10 episodes 2009 The Chaser's War on Everything 1 episode 2009 The Making of 'The Librarians Video documentary short 2009 The Jay Leno Show 2 episodes 2005–2009 Rove Live 40 episodes 2010 Sleuth 101 1 episode 2010 50th Annual TV Week Logie Awards 2010 Good News Week 1 episode 2010 The Graham Norton Show 1 episode 2009–2010 Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation 3 episodes 2009–2010 The Project 20 episodes 2011 Hamish & Andy's Gap Year 20 Episodes 2005–2011 Spicks & Specks 53 episodes 2012 Fashion News Live 1 episode 2012 Adam Hills Tonight 1 episode 2012 The 54th Annual TV Week Logie Award Co-host 2012 The Silic & Lee Show at the Logies: Red Carpet Special 2012 2012 Hamish & Andy's Euro Gap Year 7 episodes 2012 Today 1 episode 2009–2012 Hamish & Andy's Caravan of Courage 4 episodes, 4 part series 2013 The Ryzza Mae Show 1 episode, uncredited 2013 Hamish & Andy's Gap Year Asia 6 episodes 2014 Hamish & Andy's Gap Year South America 6 episodes 2017–2018 True Story with Hamish & Andy 20 episodes 2019 Hamish and Andy's "Perfect" Holiday 3 episodes 2019 Hard Quiz 1 episode 2019–present Lego Masters Australia Host 2021–present Lego Masters Bricksmas Specials 2024 The Assembly 1 episode, guest

Writer Year Title Episode/s Written 2004 Hamish & Andy 6 2006 Real Stories 8 2005–2009 Rove Live 40 2011 Hamish & Andy's Gap Year 10 2012 Hamish & Andy's Euro Gap Year 7 2009–2012 Caravan of Courage 4 2013 Hamish & Andy's Gap Year Asia 6 2014 Hamish & Andy's Gap Year South America 6 Years Title Episodes 2006–2010; 2015–2017 Hamish & Andy (radio show) 2,420+ 2018–presentHamish & Andy (podcast)232+ 2006 How Other Dads Dad 19+

E. J. Whitten Legends Game In 2008 and 2009, Blake and working partner Lee played in the E. J. Whitten Legends Game. Lee played for Victoria, while Blake played for the All-Stars. Blake scored the winning goal for the All-Stars in 2008, and he kicked an additional two goals in 2009.

Mr. New York State 2011 As part of a stunt for the TV series Hamish and Andy's Gap Year, Andy entered Hamish into the Mr. New York State bodybuilding competition in the Heavyweight division. Due to a technicality in which Blake was the only contestant over —the minimum requirement for a Heavyweight contender—he was awarded the title of Mr. New York State 2011 in the Heavyweight division.

Year Award Category Result 2011Mr. New York State Heavyweight division

Awards and nominations In the 2024 King's Birthday Honours list, Blake was bestowed a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) "for service to the arts as an entertainer, and to the community".

Year Award Category Result 2011 Logie Awards Most Popular Presenter 2012 Most Popular Personality on TV 2013 Most Popular TV Presenter Most Popular Personality on TV 2014 Most Popular Presenter 2015 Most Popular Personality on TV 2022 Bert Newton Award for Most Popular Presenter Most Popular Personality on TV 2023 Most Popular Personality on TV Bert Newton Award for Most Popular Presenter 2025 Gold Logie — Most Popular Personality on Australian Television