Bad breaks, comedy bombs and gripping TV: Best and worst of the Footy Show after 25 years on air

FROM eye-watering chilli-eating debacles to comedy meltdowns and the sickening snap of a broken arm on live television — here are the ten most memorable Footy Show moments.

THE Footy Show has finally gotten the bullet — ending a 25-year run on Australian television.

To mark the occasion, we’ve come up with the ten most memorable moments from the show — whether they be hilarious skits, tragic moments or simply gripping TV.

BELOW: OUR BEST AND WORST FOOTY SHOW INTERACTIVE

1. Andrew Johns comes clean on drug use

The most extraordinary television the Footy Show ever produced was the gripping interview with Andrew Johns in 2007, where the champion halfback opened up on his decade-long drug battle. The Newcastle hero had been caught with an ecstasy tablet in a London nightclub, but spilt his guts in a compelling interview with Gus Gould in which he admitted he’d run the gauntlet for almost his entire playing career.

2. The chilli eating debacle

Rugby league is a tough sport, and the members of the Footy Show panel endured plenty of pain during their playing careers. But that didn’t prepare Paul ‘Fatty’ Vautin, Peter Sterling and Paul ‘the Chief’ Harragon for the chilli eating challenge in 2001 when chomped down on some chillies imported from Mexico — or, according to Fatty, “directly from hell”. “They were a shandy off calling an ambulance for me… I will never eat chillies again,” said Vautin.

3. Ben Ross’ broken arm

Arm-wrestling with Wendell Sailor for charity turned into a nightmare for former NRL, Queensland and Australia prop Ben Ross, when his arm snapped on live television. Ross, who once broke his neck in a game, described the injury as ‘the most excruciating thing I’ve ever felt’. The crowd was left in stunned silence as TV audiences were immediately taken to commercial. Ross revealed last year he has permanent nerve damage in his right arm as a result.

WARNING: GRAPHIC FOOTAGE IN THE VIDEO BELOW

4. Reg Reagan

Street Talk was a Footy Show staple, and no one did it better than Reg Reagan. The Matty Johns alter-ego, who drank beers and reminisced about the good old days of the game while calling for the return of the biff, was a hit with fans.

5. Daredevil Dudes: the Vomatron

In a regular skit, panel members would put themselves in line for punishment — such as when Fatty and the Chief jumped on the Vomatron on Surfers Paradise. The ride takes you on twists and turns to churn the stomach and make you feel beyond queasy. Fat and the Chief lasted all of three seconds before they wanted to tap out. Two minutes later — with Chief screaming “NO MORE EXTREME SPORTS” it was over, and they were emptying their stomachs on the nearby grass.

6. Craig McLachlan’s stand-up disaster

The show had a longstanding history of promoting rising comedic talents like Carl Barron, Anh Do, Arj Barker and Jimeoin. But former Neighbours actor Craig McLachlan did not follow in their footsteps, famously bombing in his bid to transition from soaps to comedy. Nothing worked — until he regrettably asked the crowd ‘what’s worse than poo’ and was immediately told ‘you’ by an audience member, in what would be the only laugh of the disastrous set.

7. Jack Newton saucer scene

Former South Sydney star Mario Fenech was the butt of many jokes on the show, but this one was all on him. When filming a segment with Jack Newton — father of then Newcastle star Clint — Fenech gave the former pro golfer a cup of tea. Only one problem: it was on a saucer, and Newtown lost his right arm in a helicopter accident years prior, leaving him stranded as Fenech sipped his tea and the panel was left in stitches.

8. Yoplait anti-ad

Another staple of the show in the 1990s and early 2000s were the send-ups of popular ads at the time, and there was none better than their efforts to imitate Yoplait’s ‘it’s French for yum’ series.

9. Fatty’s close call

It was while filming an anti-ad that the show had one of its near tragic incidents — when Vautin suffered severe concussion after falling from the back of a van while filming the skit. Vautin hit his head on the pavement while wearing a sumo suit. Vautin feared he could’ve died from the fall, which left the show’s host battling depression.

10. The snake poo incident

Aussie icon Steve Irwin was also a show regular, bringing on creatures to spook the hosts. And while Fatty hated spiders, it was a snake that gave him his most memorable scene with Irwin. The host — and Penrith Panther Ryan Girdler — were being wrapped up by a large snake. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the snake chose that moment empty its bowels on Fatty’s shirt.