Peter Helliar has been doing stand-up comedy for more than 25 years, performing in front of big audiences around Australia.
But there’s one bit in his 2022 show Loopy that had him worried. He’d worked and worked on it, running it past his wife Bridget (“Brij”) and his female friends, but when it came to testing out the routine in front of a few dozen people at a small comedy club, he was a bundle of nerves.
“The air in my chest kind of disappeared for a little while,” The Project host tells TV WEEK.
Peter Helliar has been doing stand-up comedy for more than 25 years. (Image: Ten)
“My throat tightened up. It’s hard to make comedy work when you’re feeling like that because I think the audience senses fear.”
The bit that was causing Pete concern was about sexual consent. He wanted to make a serious point, while keeping it funny.
“When you’re starting out in comedy, you’re just thinking of funny things and they could be about anything,” he says.
“Then you get to the stage where you think, ‘OK, what do I actually want to say with this hour I have on stage?’
“I’ve got three boys, and I talk to them a lot about respect for women.”
“When you’re starting out in comedy, you’re just thinking of funny things and they could be about anything.” (Image: TV WEEK)
In Loopy, Pete also talks about the time his sister came out as gay to the whole family.
Again, there are jokes (“Is this because I bought the Gaytimes?”), but he had a point he wanted to make.
“We need to allow people to evolve, and that’s probably the biggest example in my life, where my God-fearing Nan – who my sister was petrified of telling she was gay – was fine with it.”
One topic that’s not new to Pete’s stand-up shows: his sex life with Brij.
For anyone who was wondering, Pete reveals in Loopy that it’s currently “pretty good”.
He’s quick to explain that when he talks about their sex life in a show, he runs it past Brij first, and she’s never stopped him.
“Brij is my main bouncing board as far as ideas, and sometimes they come directly from her.”
The couple’s three sons are now teens – Liam is 19, Aidan 17 and Oscar 13 – and Pete says they’re through the “tough years” when the kids were young and they were both tired.
All of a sudden our energy’s back, and the kids are good boys, so we start looking back with a sense of pride and going, ‘Actually, we’re a pretty good team.’
“We’re each other’s best mates. She’s my travelling companion and my drinking partner.”
Pete is also in a good place with his health and fitness. Two years ago, during the first lockdown, he managed to get his weight under 100kg because he had more time to exercise. He’s still exercising almost every day.
“I’ve got three boys, and I talk to them a lot about respect for women.” (Image: Instagram)
“I’m 46 now, and you go, ‘If I want to be here for another few decades, I need to take this stuff more seriously.'”
One thing that helps Pete keep up the fitness is what he calls the “better than nothing” session.
He’s already got another comedian onto it.
“If I’m a bit tired or, God forbid, hungover, I just go to the backyard and do what I call ‘better than nothing,'” he explains.
“It could be 10 minutes, 20 minutes, but what I’ve found is once I’m out there I actually end up doing more.
“I told Luke McGregor about it a couple of days ago, and he did it the next day.”
One topic that’s not new to Pete’s stand-up shows: his sex life with wife Brij.
(Image: Instagram) (Credit: (Image: Instagram))Pete has another busy year ahead of him, despite his sitcom How To Stay Married having come to an end.
He’s working on several shows, including another scripted series where he may play a role, but a minor one this time.
“I do love acting and I’d like to do more of it – I’d like to get asked to do more of it – but also, my schedule is pretty nightmarish.”
Not that he’s complaining.
“I do like being busy,” he says.
