Dave Hughes has been making audiences laugh for more than two decades. Born in the Victorian coastal town of Warrnambool, the larrikinโs deadpan Aussie humour has made โโHughesyโ, as heโs affectionately known, a household name.
Moving from the comedy circuit to radio and TV gigs, including The Project and his own show Hughesy, We Have A Problem, the comedian has won over audiences everywhere, except for one important place: at home.
Daveโs kids Rafferty, 10, Sadie, eight, and Tess, six, are proving his toughest critics to date.
โThey have a pretty good sense of humour and they get the jokes โ but theyโre not easily impressed,โ Dave, 49, tells TV WEEK.
But he doesnโt take it to heartโฆmuch. Based in Melbourne with wife Holly, 40, and his kids, Dave recalls a recent dress-up party son Rafferty attended dressed as singer Tones And I. His effort won praise from the ARIA-winning artist herself.
โI showed him sheโd called him โa little legendโ on Instagram,โ Dave says.
โBut he couldnโt care less! So maybe they are impressed [with me] and just donโt want me to know.โ
Daveโs most recent role as a panellist on the Network 10 hit show The Masked Singer alongside Jackie O, Dannii Minogue and Lindsay Lohan earned him brownie points with the kids.
โThey actually watched that โ itโs a great family show,โ he says. โThey werenโt, however, impressed with my dancing.
I was having a dance, trying to get a laugh, and they said, โDad, your dances are stupid.'โ
To which he quips, in typical droll style, โI know, but my โstupid dancesโ are paying for your iPad!โ

Hughesy with fellow Masked Singer judges, host Osher and winner of the competition, Cody Simpson. Supplied
While Rafferty, Sadie and Tess are good at taking their dad down a peg, Dave says theyโre even better at providing him with comedy anecdotes.
Heโs said he wouldnโt mind a fourth child โbecause theyโre good for material, but my wife says thatโs not a good enough reasonโ.
Now hosting a third season of Hughesy, We Have A Problem, Dave recalls how his six-year-old daughter appeared on the show.
โShe came on, pointed her Star Wars gun in my face and asked: โDo you want to see Jesus?'โ he says with a laugh.
There are plenty more problems to solve โ and laughs to be had โ in the showโs new season.
โItโs nuts โ itโs more stuff where I canโt believe we just did that on TV,โ Dave explains. โItโs a lot of oversharing and laughing at everyoneโs expense โ and our own โ which is great.โ
This year is shaping up to be huge for Dave, not just with the return of Hughesy, but also thanks to season two of The Masked Singer, a comedy tour, and a milestone birthday to celebrate: the comedian is turning the big 5-0.
โI know 50 is a big one โ people keep winding me up about how it makes me old and Iโm like, โShut up!'โ he says. โAt least Iโll get jokes out of it. As long as I get jokes out of something, itโs alright.โ
While Dave is โdealing withโ the somewhat daunting notion of turning 50, it seems his career wonโt be slowing down anytime soon.
โRight now, Iโm in holiday mode, thinking, โI donโt have a stand-up gig tonight โ thatโs annoying,'โ he says.
โI love it; I love stand-up comedy and making audiences laugh.โ