Hey Hey It’s Saturday host Daryl Somers dedicates Victorian of the Year award to late friend John Blackman

The TV legend was named Victorian of the Year on Monday and said he was “serious” about touring highlights from the show after digitising more than two decades of old episodes.

Moments after being honoured for his charitable contributions and services to entertainment, TV legend Daryl Somers dedicated the award to his late mate, co-star John Blackman.

The Hey Hey It’s Saturday presenter said being named the Victorian of the Year was a lovely surprise after a difficult time.

“It is an honour, I’m a born-and-bred Victorian,” he said at a Melbourne Town Hall ceremony on Monday.

“You think about the highs and lows in life and this is a high for me at the end of a rather solemn week.

Daryl Somers said being named the Victorian of the Year was a lovely surprise after a difficult time. Picture: David Caird

“Last week, we laid to rest my dear friend John Blackman. John was a passionate and loyal Victorian as well.

“He is not here, but in part I’d like to dedicate this award to him because we had an endearing friendship.

“I love the guy – we went back over 50 years.”

Daryl Somers and Ossie Ostrich on the set of Hey Hey It's Saturday.

Co-stars John Blackman (left) and Daryl Somers in 1988.

Somers also revealed he was “serious” about touring highlights from the show.

The 72-year-old said he was “a performer at heart” and missed the exhilaration of live entertainment.

“I’m seriously considering going out and touring with the archives because we’ve digitised well over 20 years worth of Hey Hey,” he said.

“There are some marvellous backstories to things that happened over that time.”

Somers was the predictable star at the 173-anniversary celebration of Victoria Day, which commemorates the state’s independence from NSW.

He said while he was a “loyal” Victorian, he had worked hard to “heal the differences” between the rival states.

“I married a girl who was born in Sydney, so that’s a start,” he quipped.

Despite being off the air since 2010, Hey Hey It’s Saturday has grown in popularity on social media, gaining 100,000 Facebook followers last year. Somers also acknowledged the support of his wife, Julie da Costa, throughout his career.

As Victorian of the Year, he said it was his mission to spread “laughter”, before joking about the state’s ballooning debt. “It won’t help solve our debt problem but it will help lighten things up a little,” he said.