Rove McManus to host live life drawing class with nude models on SBS

Rove McManus is set to host a two-hour special on SBS tonight that will feature a mix of celebrity pals and naked models.

Rove McManus is set to appear on TV tonight with a bunch of naked people, and he’s teased “you will see some full-frontal action”.

The triple Gold Logie winner is the host of Life Drawing Life, a live two-hour event airing at 8.30pm tonight on SBS.

The show is basically a massive life drawing class featuring nude models. A couple of leading art experts will guide viewers through a series of life drawing exercises before attempting to capture a challenging final scene.

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Viewers at home will be encouraged to draw along and can even have their artwork featured on screen during the live show.

News.com.au caught up with Rove ahead of the show to find out what viewers can expect and how they can get involved.

Rove is set to host Life Drawing Live on SBS.

You’ll be joined in studio by some “famous faces” throughout the broadcast. Who will they be?

Absolutely. I’ll be joined by actors Claudia Karvan and Hunter Page-Lochard, as well as chef Adam Liaw, each of whom, in addition to having famous faces and skills in other fields of expertise, also have some experience when it comes to drawing, but it will be interesting to see to what level that shows itself once we get under way.

Also joining in will be comedian Susie Youssef who has almost no experience at all, which I think is a wonderful example of how it shouldn’t matter how much drawing you’ve done in the past, this is a fun idea that you can get into regardless. Maybe her stick figures will win out at the end of the night.

How many models will there be and will there be a mix of male and female models?

There will be five life models in total, some of which will be posing for one of our drawing exercises and some will take part in more than one. The models will be diverse in regards to not only gender but also background, age and experience. I’m really excited to shake up people’s notions of what a nude model is by the end of the show.

Obviously there will be nudity, but how graphic will it be?

This is SBS, so of course there will be nudity. I’m pretty sure it’s in the charter. But also, nude models are fairly standard when it comes to a life drawing class, even one for television purposes so naturally we will follow suit.

Even though it will vary in the level of nudity you will see, I can definitely promise you will see some full-frontal action. Thankfully, none of which will be from me.

If you’re a bit of a prude, you might want to skip this show. Picture: SBS

You’d like viewers at home to draw the models as well. How will that work?

Yes, the hope is that this can be a really fun interactive viewing experience in these weird lockdown times. All you need is a pencil, or preferably charcoal if you can get some, and paper. For those wanting to participate at home, there’ll be a Pose Cam that will provide an uninterrupted stream of the life models via sbs.com.au/lifedrawinglive. If you’d like to see your artwork on live TV, you can also share a picture on social media using #SBSLifeDrawingLive where you could see it pop up during the show and have it analysed by our experts.

Have you ever posed nude or done a life drawing class?

I’ve never posed, but I studied a fine art degree, so I am no stranger to life drawing and have certainly drawn my fair share of bum cheeks. Having said that, most of the drawing I do nowadays is illustrating silly cartoons for my children’s books so I feel a bit rusty. Because of that I think it’s safe to say that even though I will be in full ‘host-mode’ I’ll also be game to jump in and get a proper run drawing more of the serious subject matter like we will have for this.

I think that’s the best part of this show – Life Drawing Live gives everyone at home a chance to sharpen their pencils and have a go no matter what stage you’re at. Even if you just want to sit back and watch, there’ll be plenty to learn and enjoy along the way as well.

Life Drawing Live premieres Saturday, July 4, 8.30pm on SBS and SBS On Demand. It streams live across Australia on SBS On Demand and live on SBS at 8.30pm AEST with a delay in WA, NT and SA