Rove McManus takes a dig at Steve Price and his views on climate change with TV drawing

What started as a few jokes about Rove’s latest venture morphed into a new children’s character that had everyone laughing - even Steve Price.

Comedian Rove McManus has taken aim at controversial commentator Steve Price and his views on climate change while promoting his latest children’s book on The Project.

“What amazes me about this, you did the illustrations!” exclaimed host Waleed Aly on Monday evening’s show.

“Obviously you’ve been doing this for a very long time because these are proper, professional-level illustrations.”

McManus, 45, replied: “They’re not just drawings, Waleed, they are illustrations.”

“So if you’re looking for a guy to do a drawing of a hideous monster licking mud off its feet, I’m your guy. I’m all class.”

Rove McManus. Picture: The Sunday Project

The audience chuckled throughout the beginning of the segment before fellow host Carrie Bickmore put in a request.

“Do you think you could knock one up for us while we’re doing the show now?” she asked.

“How about a tap-dancing wombat … juggling fruit?”

McManus said he felt like they’d reduced him to “one of those people, at like the boardwalk or something, or at a bad children’s fete going ‘Yeah, I’ll draw you, you like rollerskating?”.

“Yeah, we have,” Bickmore conceded.

Hosts Waleed Aly and Carrie Bickmore were eager to see the drawing. Picture: The Sunday Project

The panel told him to stop stalling and asked McManus to detail his passion for drawing.

“How long are we here for?” radio broadcaster Price asked, expressing his regular disdain.

McManus said he used to draw characters off the television and had a box of “cut-outs” that he would play with.

Price, 64, interjected: “Exciting childhood, wow, getting pictures out of a box.”

But McManus was having none of it.

“What were you doing, Steve?” he asked.

“Were you denying climate change?”

Price replied: “Just keep drawing, smartie.”

Price has previously aired his strong views on climate change and the environment, letting loose in a bizarre on-air rant about the single-use plastic bag ban, saying he uses them to pick up his dog’s faeces.

After a federal government pledge this year, he said providing foreign aid to smaller countries “off the basis of the fact that climate change is going to mean they sink is disingenuous”.

Price also blasted Warringah MP Zali Steggall for focusing on climate change in her maiden speech earlier this year, saying issues such as agriculture don’t impact her Sydney electorate.

The sledges were being fired across the panel tonight. Picture: The Sunday Project

McManus kept chatting about his new book, Disgusting McGrossface, revealing the idea came about when his daughter, Ruby, asked about someone who had dropped rubbish next to a bin.

“From the bin to the car park, this character was born,” he said.

Price again interjected “Absolutely inspirational” to which McManus replied “Wait a minute, I’m changing my drawing”.

What followed was further banter between the two men about the spelling in the title of his first book, Rocky Lobstar #1: Rocky to the Rescue.

“He’s a lob-STAR, Steve, it’s a play on words,” McManus said.

“It’s actually quite clever when you think about it.”

Aly joked: “Steve hated playing with words when he was a kid, too, so don’t worry about it.”

Tommy Little (R) knew what was coming. Picture: The Sunday Project

One very satisfied illustrator. Picture: The Sunday Project

The segment ended with the big reveal.

“I had to do a tap-dancing wombat juggling fruit,” McManus said.

“I did Steve Price as a tap-dancing wombat.”

The television and radio personality spun his sketchbook around to reveal the drawing, featuring a speech bubble from the bespectacled wombat’s mouth reading “Climate Change Shmimate Change!”

“Can you sign it for me?” Price replied.

Rove said: “Done, it’s an original.

“Steve the Cranky Wombat, coming soon.”

The finished product. Picture: The Sunday Project

“Can you sign it for me?” Steve Price asked. Picture: The Sunday Project