| Balls of Steel | |
|---|---|
| Format | Comedy / Reality-TV |
| Starring | Craig Reucassel |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | The Comedy Channel |
| Picture format | 576i (SDTV) |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original run | 19 April 2011 – present |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Balls of Steel (UK) |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Balls of Steel Australia is an Australian comedy show (based on a UK series of the same name) hosted by The Chaser's Craig Reucassel. The show revolves around comedians who appear and present individual skits where they would perform stunts and hold their nerve during hidden camera set-ups in the presence of the Australian public.
The show premiered on the Australian subscription television channel The Comedy Channel on 19 April 2011. Ten episodes in total have been produced.[1]
Contents |
There are a total of 10 episodes. In each episode, four acts are presented by their corresponding comedian. At the end of each episode the studio audience is asked to decide which act had the biggest 'Balls of Steel' by voting on their mobile phones.
This series stars Neg Dupree, who reprises his role with the Urban Sports segment from the original UK version. The show also has Australian local versions of The Annoying Devil and Bunny Boiler. The series also features many exclusive acts only seen on this version of the show though some of them take in similar ideas and formats from many previous acts from the UK version. In addition, the show introduces a new segment called "Show Us Your Balls" where people in the audience are asked to participate and will be competing among the other comedians of the show. This segment is presented by the show's host, Craig Reucassel.
| Performer(s) | Segment name | Gimmick |
|---|---|---|
| Neg Dupree | Neg's Urban Sports Downunder | Returning to reprise his role as the inventor of the Urban Sports, Neg plays games with unsuspecting Australian victims. His segments includes new Urban Sports such as Seagulling (attracts a flock of seagulls towards people by throwing food) and Shark Attack (goes to a beach and make false alarms of shark to fool people into rushing out of the water in fear). |
| James Kerley | James Kerley's ___ Game Show/The Game Show Host From Hell | Presents a fake game show that either makes the victim undergo very unfair disadvantages or gives an unfair advantage to another player, as well as putting the victims in uncomfortable situations. One of the fake game shows was taken from Alex Zane's segment from the original UK version (The Buzzer Game) but the rest were series exclusives like the "Kerley Survey Game" based on Family Feud, "The Kerley Price Game" based on The Price is Right and "Car Of Cash", based on Cash Cab, where the victim is forced to participate in a quiz show cleverly disguised in a cab and Kerley as the driver. During the fake quiz show, Kerley makes uncomfortable stops that would leave the contestants uncomfortable, buying booze, drugs and picking up a prostitute that he receives oral sex from whilst trying to continue his game show duties. |
| Janis McGavin | Fame Whore | Proclaims herself as being famous and makes several failed publicity stunts in hopes of becoming more well known. Stunts include crashing into red carpet events asking celebrities to participate in a sex tape, selling her own 'celebrity' products and demanding privileges from people by making an excuse that she is a celebrity. |
| Ally Pinnock | Bunny Boiler | An attractive blonde bombshell who takes on various jobs as a disguise such as a photographer, personal fitness trainer or an ice cream seller in order to provoke women by flirting with their boyfriends. |
| Katia Taylor | Nude Girl | Tricks people in charge of public places into "allowing" her to disrobe – for example, by asking whether there is a dress code or by asking them (who are unaware that she is wearing nothing underneath) if she may take her coat off. The reaction of other people around the place is then caught on camera. |
| John Burgos | Annoying Devil | Wears a devil costume and annoys the general public in various ways. His pranks include disrupting people's work or leisure activities (e.g. urinating in beach waters while people are swimming). He may bring his "little devil" son to help him. |
| Nazeem Hussain | Very Foreign Correspondent | A correspondent from India, who goes undercover in Australia taking various jobs in order to observe the Australian public's attitude towards Indian people and would often try accusing them of racism at every opportunity. |
| Rhys Nicholson | Just Come Out | A desperate gay guy who goes to the public and tries to get into awkward and unwanted sexual encounters with many straight men. Not aware of the fact that he's gay he would often twist things around telling people that its a "gay code" for wanting to do something inappropriate with him leaving them in uncomfortable situations. |
| Rachael Coopes | Flatmate Wanted | Interviews many of her potential room mates who are interested in sharing an apartment with her but during the middle of the interview she would 'inadvertently' reveal some unusual fact about herself. Afterwards, she'd ask if they are still interested to move in. |
It is the highest rating show in the history of The Comedy Channel, doubling the ratings of the previous record holder The Merrick and Rosso Show.[1]. Due to the popularity of the first series, which sold to several countries including New Zealand and Great Britain, a second series premieres in January 2012. The second season cast features returning regulars The Bunny Boiler, The Very Foreign Correspondent, Neg Dupree and his Urban Sports, and Just Come Out, as well as new additions Olivia Lee from the UK series, The Misfits Stunt Crew, Short Tempered, game show legend Baby John Burgess taking over the James Kerley role and The Nude Twins.