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Former NRL star’s new TV gig
When former NRL journeyman Dennis Scott was sent the link to apply for a hosting role on Foxtel’s wildly-popular lifestyle series Selling Houses Australia, he admits “I thought it was a gee-up.”
www.news.com.au
He’s got dimples the size of potholes and a winning track record as an NRL star. This is TV’s new gardening guru.
Holly Byrnes- National TV editor
https://twitter.com/byrnesh
Wendy Moore and Dennis Scott join veteran Andrew Winter as the dream team on Foxtel’s hit show ahead of its 14th season.
When former NRL journeyman Dennis Scott was sent the link to apply for a hosting role on Foxtel’s wildly-popular lifestyle series Selling Houses Australia, he admits “I thought it was a gee-up.”
The landscape gardener had only ever appeared on the field during his playing career, but a friend thought a media gig might suit the handsome dad with dimples like potholes.
“He’s a really good friend and he said ‘mate, this is suited to you’ but I thought ‘that cheeky p***k’,” Scott told News Corp Australia, with a laugh.
But with his two daughters, Matilda, 16, and Poppy, 13, in mind, the 44-year-old backed himself to give it a go.
Scott — played for Brisbane Broncos, Canterbury Bulldogs and Melbourne Storm before retiring in search of a new career — said: “I never want to look back and go ‘What if?’ and I want to try and set an example for my daughters. You’ve just got to have a go. So here I am … I’ve gone from daggy dad to a bit uber-cool, at the moment,” he laughed.
Replacing Charlie Albone, the long-time garden guru on the property program, country Queensland-born Scott has been welcomed to the show by Gold Logie-nominated presenter Andrew Winter and their LifeStyle Channel boss and former House Rules judge, Wendy Moore.
Dennis Scott, who is part of the new Selling Houses Australia crew. Picture: Tim Hunter.
Moore is making her own small-screen return in place of design expert Shaynna Blaze, who exited the show last season.
Moore predicts Scott will be a hit on the TV landscape, with his charm and team spirit.
“He’s just got such a loveable, relatable personality and is so Australian,” she said, causing the British Winter to quip “so the opposite of me.”
Moore added: “I think his designs will be spot on to how people want to live.”
Scott, who owns Lush Landscape Solutions in Brisbane, said he looked forward to the camaraderie of a building crew and production team.
“Everyone is here to have fun and if you didn’t, you’d go batty. We’re trained to achieve the impossible within four days. So whether you’ve got to pick up a shovel, or a broom, or do something, that’s just what you do,” he explained.
Wendy Moore, who is also part of the new Selling Houses Australia crew. Picture: Tim Hunter.
“The team environment is going to be really quite enjoyable and that’s something I’ve missed since leaving football.”
As well as his new TV gig, Scott will also appear in News Corp publications as a landscaping expert. He is already well-known to many readers from his footy career, which he decided to end after numerous injuries.
The new SHA line-up will make their on-screen debut as a trio next year, but begin filming next week for Season 14 — with a booming real estate market throwing up sales surprises, post-COVID.
“The biggest challenge we’ve got in Season 14,” Winter said, “is the booming market. We really do have a strong market in regional areas as well as the cities, so we’re all a bit nervous but we’re 60 per cent cast and the diversity of properties and stories and owners is fantastic.”
Known for his on-screen sledging, Winter said he’d happily share the show’s female fandom with his new co-star, teasing Scott: “He can have the ‘mum’ audience and I’ll still be huge in aged living in Dubbo. That’s my demographic and you haven’t got a chance in there, mate.”
