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Telethon 2021: Rove McManus set to join Telethon for the first time this weekend

Headshot of Rangi Hirini
Rangi HiriniThe West Australian
Perth raised Gold Logie winner Rove McManus will be one of the stars at this weekend's fundraising Telethon broadcast which is being held at Crown in Burswood.
Camera IconPerth raised Gold Logie winner Rove McManus will be one of the stars at this weekend's fundraising Telethon broadcast which is being held at Crown in Burswood. Credit: Jackson Flindell/The West Australian

Rove McManus says one of his bucket-list items will be ticked off this weekend as he joins Telethon for the first time.

The comedian— who grew up in Perth— said he watched the telecast as a child and was excited to finally be part of the festivities.

“I did not think that this was something that was ever going to happen, because I’ve floated around every other network except for Seven,” he told The West.

“And I was just never really here at this time of year.

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“It’s a shame, the circumstances we’ve all found ourselves in, but if one of the positives is that I get to be on Telethon then — it sounds stupid — but it’s a very big tick off a bucket-list item for me.”

Although it’s been a while since he graced our TV screens, McManus said he’s excited to be back and thrives off live television.

“It’ll be fun, and I’ll be sitting with my wife (Tasma Walton) which will make it easy and with Ben Elton a fellow comedian and friend, so if anything, it’ll be just a lovely catch up with cameras in front of a television audience,” he said.

And don’t be surprised if this triple Gold Logie-winning star shows off his acerbic skills. McManus says he’ll make a point of wrongly pronouncing WA suburbs and town as a homage to the interstate Channel 7 talent who have struggled in previous years.

“One of my favourite things, when I was younger, was watching all the talent from the east coast come over and just butcher names like Joondalup, Mandurah, Carine, and Cockburn,” he laughed.

Telethon kicks off tonight at 6.30pm on Channel 7 live from Crown Perth.

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