Mark Holden reveals what went on behind the scenes of Australian Idol
BLOW ups, fights and sackings — and that’s just the judges. Mark Holden explains what killed the once popular reality show.
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BLOW ups, fights and sackings — and that’s only the judges.
Mark Holden has revealed the good, the bad and the downright ugly moments behind Australian Idol.
In his new memoir My Idol Years he reveals more about his feud with fellow judge Ian ‘Dicko’ Dickson as well as the pain of being sacked from the show he loved.
The now 63-year-old barrister also reveals how two fictional suburban housewives from Fountain Gate ultimately put the final nail in the coffin for Australian Idol.
“The year before was our fourth season, it was really massive and we were the money spinner for 10,” he said.
“But then in 2007, Kath & Kim and Channel 7 went over us like tsunami.
“Kath & Kim destroyed Idol, we never recovered from it.
“We thought once the series ended we would be all right but then the repeats wiped us out.”
Holden said he decided to write everything down from that year as he had a feeling something wasn’t right but had no idea he’d be sacked.
“I didn’t know it was going to be my last year but kind of felt something,” he said.
“2006 was a great year was just me, it was me, Kyle (Sandilands) and Marcia.”
Holden said Channel 10 had offered him a multiple year deal and mentioned they were thinking of bringing Dicko onto the show.
And that’s when he said things started to change.
“I felt that Dicko and I could be Hamish and Andy senior,” he said.
“I thought we could be Abbott and Costello, they didn’t like each other particularly but sometimes when people work together things happen and it works.”
The two had a falling out in 2008 when Holden was sacked from the judging line-up for the reality show’s sixth season, a move he blames on Dicko.
Dicko rejected the claim that he had a hand in Holden’s sacking and told the Herald Sun: “If Mark has painted me as a Machiavellian figure he is giving me a little too much credit”.
“It was a slap in the face,” Holden said of his sacking and his worst Idol moment.
“It was an enormous shock to me. It was humiliating, it was public. I loved doing Idol, and I have a real genuine love for singers and singing.”
He also said he didn’t expect to get canned because of the multi-year deal he had signed.
“That meant they wanted me out so badly they were prepared to pay me not to be there,” he said.
“But it was fantastic once the pain passed. They still owed me a large pile of money, it was kind of my Alan Bond moment.”
Dicko was a judge on Australian Idol for the first two seasons before jumping ship to rival station Channel Seven.
He returned to Channel 10 in 2007 for the fifth season of Idol.
Australian Idol began in 2003 wound up in 2009 after seven seasons.
Here’s what else Holden had to say about his time on the show and what happened after it all ended.
BEST IDOL MOMENT
Holden said there were so many good moments on the show including the discovery of so much talent,
“The moment Guy Sebastian walked in the room was definitely one and when Anthony Callea sang The Prayer (in 2004) I gave him the grand royal touchdown, he got the only one.”
ON HOW THE TOUCHDOWN WAS BORN
Holden said he came up with the move in 2003 and was inspired by the rugby World Cup fever and of course US football.
“It just erupted in the ether of the World Cup and people loved it,” he said.
“To this day people still ask me for a touchdown.”
WHO HE LIKED MOST
Of the judges Holden has high praise for Marcia Hines, who he described as a “hardworking fantastic woman who really is as nice as she seemed”.
But he also has a lot of kind words for fellow judge Kyle Sandilands.
“I really got to like Kyle,” he said.
“People have a negative view of him, but he’s a hardworking guy and more vulnerable as a bloke when you get to know him.”
He also singled out artists including Jessica Mauboy, Lisa Mitchell, Paulini Curuenavuli and Prinnie Stevens for becoming some of the country’s greatest entertainers.
WHO HE LIKED THE LEAST
It goes without saying, Dicko was his least favourite judge but Holden admits in the past year his views toward him have softened.
“In this past year I really, really got to like Dicko,” he said.
“Our feud was quite real, he moved me around like a chess piece. I was more than aware I was playing with fire, but I thought we could be a team. He never had that in his mind.
“We were looking at things in a different way and I just got outplayed.”
ON RATINGS LOSS
“When ratings are bad it’s crippling, it affects everything, it hurts” he said.
“Being on a TV show is a wild ride.”
IDOL’S SPECIAL GIFT
According to Holden it’s incredibly hard for Australian artists to break out these days and shows like Idol, X Factor of The Voice, is a gift for some in particular.
“They cut out the record company and go straight to the public,” he said.
Holden said artists like Dami Im and Guy Sebastian might not get a go otherwise because the record industry was still “white dominated.”
“Audiences will react to talent and feeling,” he said.
“When I saw Casey Donovan sing she made me feel. There’s just something about Casey.”
ON THAT BOBO THE CLOWN SAGA
When Holden appeared on Dancing with the Stars in 2014, he had no idea the fallout that would follow after his bizarre appearance as Bobo the Clown.
His behaviour was also blamed as a large part of why he was booted off the show.
But it was the social media reaction he was shocked most by.
“When Idol came out we really didn’t have this intrusive social media,” he said.
“I know it’s a part of our life, but the vitriol — there was an avalanche of hate (after Bobo).
“It did affect me because I had never been exposed to that anger and pain and I kinda lost my mojo after that.”
WHAT HE’S DOING NOW
Holden always had a dream of working in the legal profession and in 2009 graduated with a law degree and was admitted to the Victorian Bar where he currently practises as a barrister.
He said looking back his sacking from Idol was a blessing as it allowed him to follow the course he’s now on.
Originally published as Mark Holden reveals what went on behind the scenes of Australian Idol
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