with Peter Laud.
(Taken from the West Magazine)
The aforementioned Stuart Littlemore made
much in a recent program about the evils
of contra which sees bookworm Caroline Baum
(of Between the Lines) and Paul McDermott
(of Good News Week)wearing some smart gear
in exchange for a mention in the credits.
Littlemore sees sinister implications in the
practise. But do viewers really care who
dresses these luminaries?
Entertainment/ Television- April 28, 1997
Mikey Measures Up
Does size really matter? Not to roly-poly radio and TV star Mikey Robbins, above. He firmly believes that what’s inside far outweighs the packaging.
"Fortunately for me, I tend to be witty and handsome so my weight never holds me back," jokes the breakfast radio host
and regular wag on the ABC’s TV comedy quiz Good News Week.
Brave words indeed. Sydney-based tailor Bill Jones ,above right,
from the 102-year-old GA Zink and Sons, recently got the measure of Mikey for a smart new suit to wear on the TV show. When Bill announced Mikey’s waist was 7.5cm smaller than
last year, Mikey’s grin was almost as wide as his girth.
While no-one could say he’s wasting away, he’s making
a determined effort to shape up. Over the last few weeks, Mikey has cut dairy products out of his diet and is going
for a walk every evening.
"I’m never going to break the four-minute mile but it would be great to go up a flight of stairs without gasping for breath," he says. "In you teens, losing weight is about vanity. As you get older, it becomes a health issue.
"But I firmly believe men shouldn’t weigh themselves- they need to judge things by waist measurement. You can’t go by weight alone because men carry a lot of wind around, a
lot more than women. My girlfriend certainly agrees with that too."
Mikey has always been an outsized star. At the age of 10,
his mum sent him along to weight Watchers to shed a few unwanted
kilos. It had a profound affect on him- but not quiet in the way she intended.
"There was me and a whole bunch of obese 45-year-old women," he says, with a grin. "They all used to mother me.
I think that was the start of my Oedipus complex."
"I’ve always been big: at nine, I was nine stone, at 10, 10 stone. By the age of 21, I was 22 stone- I’d got ahead of myself there. My weight has bounced up and down ever since."
As his girth expanded, so has Mikey’s career. He’s now in
his sixth year of JJJ’s The Breakfast Show, which he presents
with Good News Week host Paul McDermott and Steven "Sandman" Abbott. He’s also a regular on Elle McFeast’s specials and has
written two best-selling books. And he makes a cameo appearance
in the new Australian film Blackrock. Not bad for an ex-kitchen
hand from Newcastle who was made to whistle as he worked- so his colleagues could make sure he wasn’t eating.
But size has it’s benefits. It means he gets to have his
suits specially handmade, just like this his father and grandfather
before him, while the ABC pays half the cost. Whether the
station owns the jacket, the pants or half of both, he’s never
quite worked out.
Story: Sue Williams
Aria Aftermath.
*Taken from the Article in The West Australian
September 25 1997*
The show was compered by the best choice
in years in Paul McDermott,who was joined
by Mikey Robbins, both from Triple J’s
breakfast shift. It was possibly an ironic
choice given their jibes at commercial radio,
the mightiest supporters of Savage Garden.
