When Australian Idol hopeful Luke Dickens missed the birth of his first child to finish taping a live verdict show this month, his choice focused attention on the pressure contestants face to succeed in reality talent quests.
Luke had hoped to finish filming in Sydney before little Jordan arrived, but his partner Brooke Rodgers went into labour two months early.
While he caught a plane home to Canberra as soon as the show finished, flight delays meant he missed his son’s birth by 20 minutes.
Luke says that to pull out of the show would have focused unnecessary public attention on the birth when they didn’t know how things were going to pan out. Now Luke is more than making up for not being there and declares Jordan is “a little gem. He’s just beautiful.”
We asked Idol judge Ian “Dicko” Dickson and radio host Kate Langbroek if they thought any singing competition could be worth missing such a once-in-a-lifetime event…
To read what Dicko and Kate’s have to say about Luke’s decision, see this week’s Woman’s Day (on sale Oct 27).
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