The Cube host Andy Lee spills on bizarre gift Hamish Blake sent him

Andy Lee has opened up about the bizarre gift Hamish Blake sent him on the first day of filming his new TV show, The Cube.

Andy Lee has opened up about the bizarre gift Hamish Blake sent him on the first day of filming his new TV show, The Cube.

Andy hosts the Australian version of the game show which premieres on Channel 10 tonight at 7.30pm.

The premise of the show is simple: Players are placed in a small Perspex cube and have to win seven different games in order to take home $250,000.

Speaking to news.com.au, Andy said he first saw the game show when he was in China with Hamish in 2013.

“We’d been on our feet all day so we went for a foot massage,” Andy said. “They had a big TV in front of the foot massage area and we sat there watching the Chinese version of the show.

“They kept bringing us watermelon as we watched, and even though we didn’t realise what they were saying, you could tell what was going on with the games.

“We got heavily invested in the games,” Andy said.

Hamish and Andy in Asia in 2013.

The lads were so engrossed in the show that they didn’t realise how much watermelon they were eating.

“We walked out of there and our bellies were so full of watermelon,” Andy said. “We felt sick.”

Fast forward to 2021, and Hamish knew exactly what to send Andy to wish him luck on his first day of filming.

“The very first show of The Cube, I got in the dressing room and Hamish had sent me a box of beers and giant watermelon,” Andy said. “The note said, ‘This is nothing compared to how much we ate, but at least you can nibble on it throughout the series.’”

WHY HOSTING WAS STRESSFUL

The Cube is similar to Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? in that if a contestant successfully completes one challenge, they go on to complete for a larger sum of money in the next game.

If they complete seven games they walk away with $250,000, but if they lose all nine lives (lose a game, lose a life) they go home with nothing.

“I found that when I was hosting I became very invested in the people playing, much more than a host should normally be,” Andy told news.com.au. “It’s actually really stressful.

The Cube host Andy Lee with two contestants.

“There were certain times where the producer would be saying to me, ‘OK, it would be good for the show if the contestant were to keep going.’ But the contestants were telling me how much the money means to them and what position they’re in in life and I’d be going under my breath to the producers, ‘I’m not going to say that – I think they should leave!’

“We had some funny back and forth in regards to that stuff,” Andy said.

SHOW SECRET

The ‘Cube’ speaks to Andy and the contestants during each episode and is voiced by a female, but Andy won’t say who.

“It’s meant to be a secret,” Andy told news.com.au. “But I’ll tell you this: It’s a famous actress of yesteryear who is still a very good actress now.”

Andy Lee hosts The Cube on Channel 10.

The Cube kicks off tonight on Channel 10 at 7.30pm