Inside former Hey Dad! actor Robert Hughes’ life, career and jail time

Convicted child offender Robert Hughes — most well-known for his role in Aussie sitcom Hey Dad! — has been released from jail after serving eight years. Here’s how it all came about.

Robert Hughes, now aged 73, has been released on parole after spending eight years in jail for sexually abusing four young girls dating back to the 1980s and 1990s.

The disgraced actor, who still proclaims his innocence, was jailed in 2014 after being convicted of 10 sexual and indecent assault charges, including against actress Sarah Monahan, who played his on-screen daughter in the TV show.

She made the accusations against him public in 2010, leading to an investigation, his arrest at his London home in 2012 and then he was eventually found guilty and incarcerated.

Here’s how it all unfolded.

Early life and career

Robert Lindsay Hughes was born in Sydney on August 19, 1948 and grew up in Crows Nest.

He pursued journalism out of school and worked as a cadet at The Sydney Morning Herald before moving into the entertainment industry.

He was also a talented bass player.

Actor Robert Hughes became well-known for his role in the sitcom Hey Dad!

Robert Hughes on set with his on-screen daughter, played by Sarah Monahan.

Although his acting career spanned 30 years in TV, film and theatre, he was most well-known for his role as Martin Kelly in Aussie sitcom Hey Dad! from 1987 to 1994.

His wife Robyn Gardiner is an acclaimed celebrity agent. They married in 1974 and had one daughter, Jessica.

He was a dual citizen of Australia and Britain before he denounced his Australian citizenship in 2019.

Charged and convicted

In 2010, Hey Dad! actress Sarah Monahan made public her accusations against Hughes, claiming he sexually abused her in the 1980s and 1990s when he played Martin Kelly and she played his youngest daughter Jenny in the sitcom.

Monahan made the bombshell allegations on Channel 9’s A Current Affair.

Sarah Monahan’s bombshell interview on A Current Affair. Picture: Channel 9

Cast of the TV show Hey Dad! including Robert Hughes, Sarah Monahan (sitting on his lap) and Simone Buchanan (to Hughes’ left).

Hughes was arrested at the luxury London apartment he shared with his wife Robyn in August 2012 following a two-year investigation by NSW Police Sex Crimes Squad.

On April 7, 2014 he was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault, seven counts of indecent assault and one count of committing an act of indecency.

When the jury delivered its verdict, Hughes shouted out: “I am innocent.”

While his wife was in court to hear the verdict, and was present during the six-week trial, she was not in court when he was sentenced the following month.

Hughes is supported by his wife Robyn Gardiner (left) and his daughter Jessica (right) at his 2014 trial. Picture: AAP/Dan Himbrechts

Judge Peter Zahra, who died suddenly in May 2022, presided over the case and in his lengthy judgment described him as a sexual predator.

Judge Zahra said Hughes had “exploited the naivety and youth” of his victims “to ensure their compliance”.

Hughes was sentenced to a maximum of 10 years and nine months’ jail, with a non-parole period of six years.

He was in protective custody in prison, with The Sunday Telegraph revealing in August 2015 inmates threw urine and faeces at the Hey Dad! star inside Goulburn Jail.

Hughes was previously twice denied parole before being granted it on June 2, 2022 and will be deported to the UK under strict parole conditions.

Life after prison

In 2014, The Daily Telegraph reported Robyn Gardiner — who claimed Hollywood stars like Cate Blanchett and Anthony LaPaglia as clients — was declared bankrupt in Singapore, with one of her companies owning $28 million.

The Hey Dad! cast (back from left) Ben Oxenbould, Julie McGregor, Robert Hughes and (front from left) Sarah Monahan, Mathew Krok and Rachael Beck in 1992.

She had to sell her talent company RGM and Hughes’ lawyer at the time said the couple were “ruined” and “broke”.

Now that Hughes is out of jail, she has arranged for him to live with her in London but their financial situation is not clear.

Sarah Monahan

She played his fictional daughter in Hey Dad! and years after the sexual abuse at the hands of Hughes, Sarah Monahan is still traumatised.

In an exclusive interview with The Saturday Telegraph in 2016, Monahan revealed she contemplated suicide during the high-profile trial where she gave evidence over four days detailing being molested on set by Hughes.

She also slammed Australian actress Cate Blanchett for praising Robyn Gardiner in her Oscars acceptance speech at the time of the trial.

And after it was announced he would get parole on June 2, 2022, the former child star spoke exclusively to The Daily Telegraph saying: “I am not scared of him anymore.”

She went on to say: “We took convicts from the UK for years, it is their turn to take one back.”