Comedian Dave Hughes gets candid about interaction at Qantas Lounge

The comedian has always been candid about his past with alcohol and drugs - but one brutal interaction at the Qantas Lounge left him with a sour taste.

Comedian Dave ‘Hughesy’ Hughes has always been candid about his past with drugs and alcohol and has maintained his sobriety for a whopping 30 years.

But during his stint as MC at Tourism Australia’s flagship event Destination Australia 2022 in Melbourne today, Hughesy said people didn’t always think that was the case.

In a hilariously candid story, Hughesy admitted people often mistake his rugged look as him battling a massive hangover.

“It is great to be here and I am sober. You need to remember that,” he said.

“I may look like I'm drunk but I'm not. If you see me tomorrow morning or wandering around the streets of Melbourne I will not have a hangover, although people often assume I do.”

People sometimes think Dave Hughes is drunk or battling a hangover, the comedian admitted.

Hughesy said people regularly ask him if he’s had a “rough night”, including a Qantas staff member.

“I love Qantas, I fly Qantas all the time and they do a great job,” he prefaced the story.

“But I was at the Qantas Club one morning and, I don't drink at all by the way, I handed my frequent flyer card over to the woman behind the counter and she said ‘you must have had a rough night?’.

“I'd had nine hours sleep. I haven't had a drink since 1992.”

Hughesy clapped back at the staff member.

“I said, ‘nup, I haven’t had a rough night, but I am having a rough morning’,” he said.

“She said ‘why’, I said ‘I just met a dickh**d to be honest’.

“Anyway, she was a lovely person and we got through that.”

The comedian had a hilarious interaction with a Qantas staff member. Picture: Supplied

Hughesy has always been open about his past, speaking to news.com.au in 2018 about his experience with alcohol as a young man.

After dropping out of university and failing subject after subject of his business degree, Hughesy became unemployed and slipped in to a life of alcohol and regular marijuana use.

“I was feeling depressed as a young man,” he said.

“I was drinking too much, and when I’d drink I would get drunk. As a teenager and in my early 20s I was struggling with my own ego … that whole struggle to feel like you’re achieving things.

“Young men and young people can take life too seriously and I think drinking certainly didn’t help that … as well as smoking marijuana.”