The Cheap Seats: Melanie Bracewell, Tim McDonald on that Albo F-bomb heard across the ditch
Rubbing shoulders with a trio of Hollywood stars moments before presenting at a major award show would be enough to intimidate the most self-assured person - but for Tim McDonald and Melanie Bracewell there’s one thing that tops it.
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Rubbing shoulders with a trio of Hollywood’s biggest names in a Green Room moments before presenting at one of the nation’s biggest award shows would be enough to intimidate the most self-assured person.
For Tim McDonald and Melanie Bracewell, co-hosts of The Cheap Seats on Network Ten, the threat of sausage roll crumbs spilling on your designer threads tops it – but only just.
“Immediately we thought, ‘What we are doing in this room?’”, McDonald, 30, says while explaining how one acts when in the presence of Ron Howard, Harry Connick Jr and homegrown darling Margot Robbie at last February’s AACTA Awards.
“We sat very nervously in the back corner and assumed that security were going to come in and take us away, but the weird thing was we were so hungry – we obviously saw Ron, Margot and Harry – but we were more excited to see the plate of sausage rolls in the corner.
“Most of the nerves were that we would get flaky pastry crumbs on our expensive outfits that we had absolutely rented, so that’s where the real nerves kicked in for us.”
Even McDonald’s shaky, albeit endearing, attempt to open an envelope under the intense gaze of A-listers and media personalities – some of whom have been the butt of their jokes – couldn’t throw the pair off. Instead it became part of their act and drew roars of laughter from within the auditorium as though they’ve been at the top of their game for decades.
Four years into the gig now and it’s just one of the many delightful plot twists which the duo – now fast becoming some of Australia’s favourite on-screen talent – have embraced since The Cheap Seats debuted to little fanfare in 2021. The sheer enormity of such moments, be it dropping a casual f-bomb on-air while in the company of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese or chatting with the original red Wiggle Murray Cook, is not lost on the pair.
“The whole thing has been just such a whirlwind,” New Zealand-born Bracewell, 28, tells VWeekend as faint squeaks from a rubber toy – which her adorable pooch Charles wrestles – echo in the background.
“We kind of have to pinch ourselves every time we do an episode because we’re like, how does the network let us do all this stupid stuff.”
In many ways, a program which poked fun at the weekly news cycle was a foolproof concept.
But handing over the reins to Bracewell and McDonald, who at the time were still relatively unknown beyond their respective stints on Have You Been Paying Attention, was fraught with risk.
“We had rose-tinted glasses for the first couple of episodes,” Bracewell reflects, noting the pair’s on-screen presence perhaps didn’t hit the mark straight off the bat.
“You watch it back and it looks like we don’t like each other, we were just so nervous. We’d been given this opportunity and we just kept thinking, ‘We’d better not screw it up!’”
The brainchild of Working Dog, famed for earlier productions such as Russell Coight’s All Aussie Adventures and Thank God You’re Here, was to many industry insiders bound for success given its likeness to The Panel which aired for seven seasons between 1998 and 2007.
“We write in one of the rooms at the Working Dog offices, and you put your head up for a second and look at all of the accolades and all of the awards that are surrounding you,” Bracewell says. “There’s a letter from Neil Armstrong on the wall, so you know we are in a very illustrious, awarded studio, and we really do not want to ruin this for them. We don’t want our show to be the one where they go: ‘We dropped the ball with The Cheap Seats, but at least they managed to get back on course.’
“That’s the pressure of doing a show with Working Dog. You have all the support and you have all of the talent around you. It’s just basically don’t f--k up.”
It’s proven a worthwhile gamble for network bosses with the show crowned Most Outstanding Entertainment Program at last year’s Logies.
Asked what makes a clip funny, McDonald concedes: “There’s no real science to it.
“It’s sort of like launching a missile on a submarine, which for Australian readers is a ship that will never get built here. We’ve got two keys so if we find something and we both think it’s funny, we turn the keys and then that tends to work. Occasionally, there’ll be stuff that we’re not sure about that the audience loves, and there’ll be stuff that we think is absolute gold, and it goes down like a lead balloon, but even four years in there’s no way of knowing.”
The duo, who became fast friends during their early spots on Have You Been Paying Attention, are busy gearing up to launch their fourth season on April 30.
“We completely detest each other, and we just have to grin and bear it through this,” Bracewell, who wraps up her month-long stint at Melbourne’s International Comedy Festival, jokes. “Tim is genuinely one of the nicest people I have ever met in my life, and not even just in show business because the bar for niceness in show business can be quite low.”
McDonald, not to be outdone, remains adamant that he has the “best seat in the house”.
“I get to sit next to one of the funniest, quickest, sharpest, most brilliant performers. She brings so much to our show and I bring her swipe card so without me she wouldn’t be able to get into the building,” he says.
Bracewell, an outstanding comedian who recently delighted crowds across the UK and in coming months heads off to Edinburgh Fringe Festival, unpacks it perfectly when asked why the show continues to resonate with viewers.
“People can see through someone presenting a character that isn’t themselves, who are putting up this front that they are a perfect professional,” she says.
“I think that’s why a lot of the clips on our show are just journalists where that facade slips for a moment and you see a real person. And I think those are always slightly entertaining.”
Speaking of entertainment, it’s probably time to circle back to the hilarious f-bomb heard right across the ditch.
“Firstly, we didn’t think we’d get the Prime Minister on the show and I definitely didn’t think Mel would drop an f-bomb at him. But once the AFP officers finished raiding the set it was all good,” McDonald quips.
Bracewell, clearly at ease rolling with the punches of studio television, credits the comedy gold to a falling mic pack which almost pulled her from a chair. “It’s just one of those moments where the filter just completely dissipates and you forget that you’re sitting with the Prime Minister,” she explains.
So, how do the hilarious duo navigate the ruthless world of cancel culture when their bread and butter revolves largely around having a laugh at someone else’s expense?
Their ethos to never punch down undoubtedly helps.
“They’re not really the areas that we like to play in,” McDonald proudly says of the show that rated No.1 in its timeslot last year. “We’re definitely not the edgiest show out there, it’s really the stuff we find that tickles our fancy that we tend to go with and that tends to be in a, hopefully, fairly safe area. But if you spoke to Mel off-air we would absolutely be cancelled, some of the things she comes out with … you just can’t say those things anymore in 2024.”
They poke fun at each other as much as they do others and that, perhaps, is what continues to charm their viewers each Tuesday night.
“Tim always gets constructive feedback during photoshoots,” a bemused Bracewell says, revealing her co-host’s ongoing struggles about where to place his hands.
“He could also maybe be a bit nicer to me on the show, too. We don’t need to keep bringing up my visa issues.”
McDonald’s quick wit certainly doesn’t let him down when asked if he had any constructive feedback of his own.
“I know Mel’s working through her issues, and what I will say is that anger management affects a wide variety of people so I’m not going to comment on that,” he jokes.
“On a personal note, it’d be great if she was occasionally in the country because she’s always touring around. She’s been in London and soon Edinburgh so it would be great to catch up.”
Before finding success as a comedian, Bracewell made ends meet as an entertainer at children’s parties, regularly belting out Let it Go while cosplaying Elsa from Disney’s box office smash Frozen.
Learning how to manage those overzealous parents seemingly proved the perfect training ground on how to best tackle the unpredictable world of live stand-up.
“I had this moment of delusion to sign up for an open mic night, and then it’s almost like you get this hangover effect immediately,” she recalls.
“ … It was just a very frightening experience. I was hanging out with my friend at her uni hall and eating her food, like, ‘Ah! I’m so nervous’.”
“So many colleagues say they can’t eat before a gig but I’m eating a whole burger.”
… And suddenly, the unlikely decision to munch on sausage rolls before presenting at the AACTAs in February makes total sense.
Then a social media producer at Working Dog, McDonald’s equally brilliant comedic chops were only discovered by fortunate coincidence while filling in for a production rehearsal on HYBPA.
“I was terrible at everything else, so there had to be something I was good at,” the Melbourne native reflects when asked if he ever envisioned kicking such career goals.
“I’m lucky I found a path like this because I’d be a terrible accountant, there’s not a lot I could do. Obviously, Olympic weightlifter, bodybuilder, sure.”
Opportunities have come in thick and fast ever since, claiming his rightful spot among Ten’s commentary team for the Melbourne Grand Prix, as well as co-hosting F1 podcast The Reserve Drivers alongside good friend Luke Rocca.
“It’s my happy place,” McDonald says, listing the chance to interview Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo among a growing list of his career highlights.
“This year was my second year on the commentary team. It’s just the best, it’s my favourite four days of the year … It’s my Christmas Eve,” he says.
“I was actually into F1 before I realised there was a race in Melbourne, and then I used to go and sit on the stand on the hills about 100 people back just to hear the sounds of it.”
But could we see him joining his good mate Bracewell to tackle live stand-up?
“Well, Mel has often pulled me aside and she’s very generous with her time and she’s often given great advice. I think the last time it was something along the lines of: Don’t do it,” he says.
“No, it’s not on my radar at the moment. I love going to see it and watch people like Mel, she’s an absolute pro and I’m in awe every time I see one of her shows whenever I’m contractually obligated to go, with a full-price ticket might I add.”
Even with their good-natured banter, it’s clear just how much the pair have bonded, and how immensely passionate they are about their work.
“If you’re always thinking about it and you really want to try it out, starting the youngest you can is the best thing you could do because then you already feel fully formed,” Bracewell suggests to those keen to have a crack at the industry. “But in the same sentence, I will say also, it’s never too late. That’s one of the great things about comedy.”
McDonald concurs: “Find people who are like-minded and you enjoy hanging out with because if you find something that you enjoy doing, and work with great people, it will always go well.”
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