‘I’m just nervous the kids aren’t gonna like it’: Luke McGregor brings his new comedy show to Hobart

Beloved Tassie comedian Luke McGregor talks about making his younger self proud, Tasmania becoming cool, and if there’ll ever be any more Rosehaven.

Tasmania’s own Luke McGregor. Picture: Supplied

Despite being one of Australia’s most beloved comedians, Luke McGregor doesn’t think his younger self would be too happy with him for failing to become a professional cricketer.

“Little Luke wanted to be a cricketer, so I think he’d be really upset that I’m not playing professional sports,” McGregor told the Mercury.

“But I was terrible. I got two runs once, but only because it was a fast bowler. It came off my bat at a weird angle. That was my high score, I would normally get out for ducks.”

Although he may not have achieved his younger self’s dream sport career, McGregor thinks he would be pretty happy he married “the love of his life”.

“I think little Luke would be happy that I found someone to share my life with,” he said.

“I think I’ve kind of always been, you know, unlucky in love, single, nervous, et cetera. Whereas now I’m a dad, I’m married to the love of my life.”

Luke McGregor on the TV Week Logie Awards red carpet in 2024. Picture: Jonathan Ng

With the Tassie native returning to Hobart on May 10 as part of his first tour since becoming a dad, he said his new show is a celebration of his new life.

“My shows have been sort of fear-based, whereas this one’s kind of a celebration in a way. It’s more of the fun in my new situation as opposed to me being worried that I wouldn’t find someone,” he said.

“I’m very much in a position where I never thought I’d be and it feels good. I’m just nervous the kids aren’t going to like it.”

McGregor said coming home is always a nostalgic experience, often finding himself checking if the places he spent time growing up still exist.

“It’s really fun seeing what’s changed. A lot of people, when they talk about Tassie now, they’re like, ‘ooh Tassie’, it’s become very cool. Whereas when I was growing up, it was kind of like, ‘we’re gonna get to the mainland’.

“The whole purpose of leaving Tassie was to try to make comedy into a career, and coming back here it’s nice to be able to come back and say I did it.”

Famously open about his difficult experiences growing up in the Hobart suburbs, McGregor said he wasn’t too worried about performing for a hometown crowd.

“Any bullies I had at school, I ended up seeing at my school reunion and got along with them quite well,” he said.

“Except there’s one guy who threw me off a cliff when I was maybe in year seven, but I can’t remember what he looks like, so if he’s at the show at least I won’t recognise him.”

Luke McGregor, Celia Pacquola and the cast for the fifth and final season of ABC's Rosehaven.

Joking that his parents will be out of town for his homecoming, McGregor said his first port of call is having a beer at the Longley pub featured in his award-winning show Rosehaven.

While the last episode of the Tasmania-set comedy aired in 2021, McGregor hinted that it might not be the end for the hit show.

“I think a Christmas special would be fun to do and it’d be a shame not to, you know,” he said.

“At first we stopped because we sort of ran out of real estate stories, but now that we’ve had some time away from it, we’ve had time to think of new plot ideas, but it’s something we always talk about.”

Luke McGregor’s Hobart run of his comedy show “Okay, Wow” will hit the Odeon Theatre on May 10.