‘Absolutely terrifying’: Why you’ll never catch Celia Pacquola stepping through the blue door

The closest Celia Pacquola has come to walking through the big blue door of infinite comic possibility on the set of Thank God You’re Here was when her sister surprised her in costume at her own front door.

“That was super cute,” says Pacquola, who returns to host the second season of Working Dog’s reboot of its popular theatresports show. “Last season, they were coming over to my place for dinner. And they did a Thank God You’re Here on me! I opened the door to them and the scenario was [that] it was an awards night, and I was on the red carpet, and I was getting an award. My niece Evelyn, who was 10, had written a full script, and my sister was in a feather boa and had picked up the fish and chips dressed like that.”

Celia Pacquola returns for the second season of Thank God You’re Here.

Strictly a “writer-comedian”, Pacquola prefers her performances scripted, edited and polished, including her stand-up routines. Her 2024 Melbourne International Comedy Festival show, I’m As Surprised As You Are, marked her return to the live circuit after a five-year break of lockdowns and caring for her 2-year-old daughter, Eleanor, with Irish photographer Dara Munnis.

The thought of lurching into an improvised sketch – or worse, a full show, as Wil Anderson did with his successful 2022 touring experiment Whatchu Talkin’ ’Bout Wil? – fills Pacquola with dread. So she is relieved to be pushing her comedian friends once again into the Thank God You’re Here tableaux, to test their wit and imagination.

“I have no improvisational background,” she says, laughing. “I find it absolutely terrifying.”

She was, however, once in the live audience, when Shane Bourne hosted Seven’s revival of Ten’s format in 2009. A fledgling comic at the time, Pacquola had come along to watch her flatmate and fellow comic Felicity Ward. “Maybe if they’d done one more season, it would have been my time.”

Celia Pacquola names Marty Sheargold (right) and his performance as a child’s entertainer as one of her 2023 highlights.

Hamish Blake, Anne Edmonds, Frankie McNair and Sam Pang appear in the first episode of the new season. The identities of the guest judges remains a closely guarded secret. With some episodes still left to film, Pacquola promises “an exciting mix – big names, fan favourites who have done the series early on, comedians who are at the top of their games right now, and exciting up-and-comers. That’s part of why everyone loved the show back in the day – it was a place where people could announce themselves, as well as having people who are super famous who are prepared for us to see them out of their element.”

Her personal highlights from last season include Virginia Gay riding a bicycle prop across the stage, Marty Sheargold’s response to being cast against type, and the unpredictability of Ross Noble.

“I thought Marty was going to be grumpy and filthy and he wasn’t,” Pacquola says.

“He leaned right into it, he was cheerful and joyous, and it was even funnier to watch him genuinely put on a children’s entertainer hat. He was one where I thought he might be a bit bluer, a bit dark.

“The other [highlight] was Ross Noble. You have to try and keep [him] on track because he’s such a whirlwind. He’s hilarious. He can go anywhere on a tangent. I’d be nervous if I was doing an improvised scene with Ross Noble, the king of tangents and riffing.”

Pacquola returns to the Logie Awards on August 18, for the first time since her 2019 nomination for Rosehaven. With Thank God You’re Here up for a gong (along with Have You Been Paying Attention?, on which she is a regular), and Pacquola also nominated for Utopia (against Kitty Flanagan, Danielle Walker, Denise Scott, Kate Box and Madeleine Sami), the comedian might be thankful for her sister’s red-carpet dress rehearsal.

“I’m flattered, and I’d love to win, but look at that category,” she says. “I’ve got the wonderful [Thank God You’re Here] stylist Karinda Mutabazi, who finds all my incredible suits, finding me something to wear at the Logies. I’m just excited to go.”

Thank God You’re Here returns on Wednesday, August 14, on Ten.

Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.