Steve Bedwell rejected history making radio deal for Tim Smith

Steve Bedwell was at the top of his radio game when he was offered a history making million dollar contract. But there was a catch, he would have to shaft his mate.

Sacked Showbiz: Steve Bedwell

Comedian and writer Steve Bedwell has revealed he turned down a history making million dollar radio contract for the sake of friendship.

Bedwell and Tim Smith were one of Melbourne’s most successful radio teams at Triple M between 1997 - 2002.

After going to number one in the FM morning shift they moved to breakfast in 1998 where their successful run continued.

Steve Bedwell and Tim Smith reunited recently.

Bedwell has revealed he was offered Melbourne’s first $1 million FM radio contract in 2000, but there was a catch - he had to shaft his co-host Smith.

“Just after we signed (a new contract) in 2000, I got called into Peter Harvey’s office one night at Austereo and Jeff Allis was there too and Grant Tothill, who was the current program director and they said ‘how would you like to have the (breakfast) show named after you?’,” Bedwell told the Herald Sun Sacked: Showbiz podcast.

“I said ‘no, it is Timbo and Bedders,’ and they said ‘No, it becomes your show and you get the first million dollar FM contract in Melbourne. We have them in Sydney, we have not had one in Melbourne yet. You would get it.’

“And I still had to turn around and say ‘no.’

“I could not do that to Tim. We had been through so much, we had done so much that it did not seem the right thing to do.

“I did not get the million I just kept my normal contract.”

Bedwell was diagnosed as bipolar in 2007 and said up until that time would often spend huge sums maniacally.

“There is a famous artist called Josh Agle who paints under the name of Shag and his prints are very popular,” Bedwell said.

“He was coming to Australia to do an opening at a gallery in the city and it came out in the newspaper that the three biggest collectors of his art in the world were Whoopi Goldberg, Ben Stiller and me.

The Timbo and Bedders breakfast show.

“I was buying his art as soon as I could get it. Whatever came to Australia I bought.

“I would go out and buy a BMW M3 and two weeks later trade it in on another one and lose $50 grand.

“It was outrageous stuff.

“Now I look back and it is nothing I talk about with any pride.

“I talk about it with a sense of shame and a sense of loss and misfortune that I was not diagnosed until well after these days were over.

“An early diagnosis could have changed things completely.”

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