Jono, Ben & Megan - The Podcast - Jeremy Wells Almost Hooked Up With Kurt Kobain's Wife!

Episode Date: August 14, 2023

Taskmaster NZ is out now and we caught up with the host/hottest man in NZ... Jeremy Wells!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ah, g'day Jono, how are you? Lovely to see you mate. Always got a magnificent all year round tan. He does, yeah you do. Look at this pasty thing you're staring at now. Why can't you be my co-host Jeremy? That's so nice of you to notice my all year round tan. I've actually been overseas, that's why.

Actually a lot of people ask me, do you sunbed? That's probably about the sixth most popular question to ask me from people I've never met before. Yeah, do you sunbed? That's probably about the sixth most popular question to ask me from people I've never met before. Yeah, do you sunbed? I wouldn't say sunbed. You've just got nice skin. You've got good skin. Well, it's like asking a Maori if they sunbed.

You know, people don't tend to do that. But for some reason, people will ask me if I sunbed. But no, I don't sunbed. You don't sunbed? I've never been in a sunbed in my life. Well, they're very cancerous too, aren't they, sunbeds? I don't think they're that good for you. I think they are not popular anymore.

I love it when you go to the Gold Coast and the bloody leathery old people have just been baking there for 40 years. I know, those raisins. Although I think around your neck, that's where you can do whatever you want to your face, of course, nowadays, with all sorts of injections and all sorts of things like that.

But the neck, the neck is the window to time. You can't get away from the neck. It is, you're right. Now, Taskmaster, back again. Last night was the first episode. Two episodes a week at 7.30, which is great on TVNZ. So you are kind of not really impressed all the time with some of the contestants, but deep down, are you actually impressed, or is that? I am. No no i'm not deep down impressed with them at all i'm not i'm often

disappointed because i think what you get with a lot of contestants is they immediately look at the task and they think of the first thing that comes to their mind oftentimes the first thing comes to your mind is fine at the time because it'll just get through the task and you'll do it and then you'll go home and and you'll go back to the task and you'll do it and then you'll go home and you'll go back to your family and you'll have dinner and do all that sort of stuff but when you come to watch it in the cold light of day it doesn't always stand up and

you will notice in this series the ones that take the short route through and then the ones that think about a little bit more and then there are some that are big Taskmaster fans that turn up on the show and then there are others who don't know the first thing about Taskmaster or like Bubba, for example. Bubba is the Tina from Turners.

Tina from Turners. Great New Zealander. However, she wasn't really aware of the premise of the show, and it wasn't until episode, well, you'll find out, that she actually works out that I'm the actual taskmaster. Oh, so she had never seen the show. No, I think she's quite, yeah, I read an article with her over the weekend. She's like, yeah, never seen it.

No, I don't think she's seen much, to be honest. Did she think she might have a watch of the episode before going on to it or just went in cold, raw dog? Full cold, raw dog. Actually, interestingly, in the past, the people that have done that, Matt Heath was exactly the same, didn't want to know anything about the show. And then Lee Hart. Now, the pattern that starts to emerge when you've watched those other seasons

is those are the people who do the worst. And so they think that they've got this particular tactic that's going to work, but it generally doesn't. It's got such a huge fan base, Taskmaster, internationally, because there's versions of it all over the world. And I understand the New Zealand one's got a huge cult following overseas. Oddly enough, it does. And I didn't really know that until I went to Canada this year.

And I arrived at the airport, and I'm there with my family, and I've just got off the international flight, and I'm going on to a domestic flight and I'm getting going through the check-in and the woman behind the counter says Jeremy Wells in this Canadian accent and I said yes and I was not expecting that in Canada or anything like that nothing I said yes and she said I'm a fan of Taskmaster I watch you and I was like wow I've been in Canada for maybe an hour. Wow. And I thought, oh, wow, this is going to be an experience where lots of Canadians come up to me and know who I am. Not one other person. That's a good start.

That's a great start. Now, Jeremy Wells gave ChatGPT a task, actually, because Taskmaster, of coming up with entertaining questions for you. Oh, yes. Radio host Jeremy Wells. So let's throw one at you right now. Yes. They said, absolutely.

Here are three entertaining questions. We may not get through all three. It's so polite. Chat GPT is so polite. Yeah. And it won't say anything mean. For a radio interview with Jeremy Wells. So let's go this one.

Jeremy, we all know you've had some pretty wild on-air moments and unconventional interviews. If you were to host a talk show on a desert island with only three guests, living, dead or fictional, who would your dream trio be? That's a great question. So I was like, okay, we'll fire it your way. That is such a good question. Well, you would be remiss if you left Jesus out.

He deserves a chat show. So you'd talk to Jesus? You'd have to go Jesus. In a New Zealand sense, you'd be also crazy probably if you didn't go coupe because he saw a lot of things that other people didn't see. I'd love to know about those original voyages over here. That would be absolutely fascinating.

Was Jesus, sorry, Jesus, have we got a clothes Jesus or this is loincloths Jesus? I don't think we need to put him on a cross nude. I think he can actually just turn up in clothes. In a suit, nice suit for a talk chat show. I'm fine with that. Before you name the third one, what do you can actually just turn up in clothes. In a suit, nice suit for a talk chat show. I'm fine with that. Before you name the third one, while you think about that, I do remember an interview with you and Courtney Love, the singer

from Hole, who was Kurt Cobain's wife. Yeah. That was out of control. Would you have Courtney Love back on the show? Well, you know what, maybe I could, because there isn't a week that goes by that I don't regret. I feel like I had an opportunity there.

She fancied me. Or maybe she was mocking me when she was fancying me. I'm not sure. I still don't know. I was terrified. You were getting some vibes. So I had an opportunity potentially to go there. And I do regret that.

Is that your one regret? That is one of my few regrets in life. So you've got Jesus, Courtney Love, and Coupe. And Coupe. Yeah. Is that just to finish the unfinished business with Courtney? Well, yeah. I mean, I was stupid not to.

At least I should have had a pash. What did she propose? Well, she was coming on to me quite heavily. Like, really coming on to me. And I was so terrified, because it was one of my first interviews I'd ever done. Is this how they all go? I'm not questioning. I've just been focused on the after. I mean, the other part about it was, I think it was one of my first interviews I'd ever done. Is this how they all go? I'm not questioning it. I've just been focused on the after.

I mean, the other part about it was, I think it was 1998 or 1999. So Kurt, at that stage, was only five years dead. And so she's already moving on to random interviewers. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I'm surprised the great Sir Richard Hadley hasn't featured in your chat show three.

I know you can recite word for word the Richard Hadley video. What's the Richard Hadley video? July 1951. I was one of five boys my mum and dad raised and I suppose I was lucky enough to be brought up in a family cricket environment with my dad playing in Captaining New Zealand at cricket. I played for all the underage rep signs in Canterbury. Certainly enjoyed that style

of cricket. 1971. I could go on. He does, he does. That fills out a lot of time on the ACC or to the Culture Collective. I watched that video a lot when I could go on. He does, he does. That fills out a lot of time on the ACC, or to the Culture Collective. I watched that video a lot when I was growing up. Because you are a huge cricketing fan. Would you say he out-crickets you, Ben? Oh, definitely.

Oh, really? Yeah, definitely. I mean, we both love our cricket, but I couldn't recite that Richard Hadley video, word for word. But that's my only trick. That's a great trick. That's all I know,

is Richard Hadley's career from 1972 through to 1990 because that's when that video stopped. Have you met the great man and what does he think of your antics? Well, I have actually. I sat beside him at a lunch once and I had on one side of me Richard Hadley and on the other side of me Waka Yunus. Oh, wow. And Stephen Fleming very kindly knew that I was a big fan of both

and he set it up so I sat beside them. And, oh man, I was just, I thought if I died right at this moment, I'd be a happy man. And I got to ask Richard Telly the question that I've always wanted to ask him, which was, why did you change the skip at the beginning of your runner from a leg around the back with a hitch up of the pant to just a brush of the hand on the front of the pan and a skip forwards like a little trot like a little horse and um and he said nobody's

ever asked me that before and i said okay and he goes well it's because he used to he used to play in county cricket and part of the deal was you weren't allowed to run in from more by more than 15 paces also that was giving him a sort of run-up before he could do a run-up. That was giving him a little bit of a sort of a chop that would get him into his run-up. And he said he developed it from there. And he said, no, dear Russell. And I thought, oh, there we go. And then I punished him for the next two hours.

I was like, now the floodgates have opened. Because the interesting thing, when I was growing up, Richard Hadley, his aunt lived in the house that i that we bought the house off richard hadley's aunt and so as a little kid i dreamed that richard hadley and he that he played backyard cricket and where i played backyard cricket and so i got to ask richard hadley i said oh you know did you ever did you ever go in your holidays to to this place in wikiaven and he said yeah absolutely i know it well i said did you ever go in your holidays to this place in Wickihaven? And he said, yeah, absolutely.

I know it well. I said, did you ever play cricket? He goes, yep. We used to play a lot of cricket there in the summer. I was like, oh, wow. Jeez, that would have got you some good social currency at school too. Oh, man. Well, nobody in those days, nobody knew anything.

So you could sort of make up lies. Yeah, true. There was a lot of that we think. But for me, it was a little bit like St. Peter with the laying on of hands from Jesus. I'd been in a place, a hallowed place, where Richard and Lee had been. It was Richard at the end of the two hours, like, whoa, that was a hell of a luncheon.

He was drunk, actually. He was knocking the room. Just trying to, we're going to get another drink. Oh, he's still here. Oh, I'm going to get another drink. Jeremy Wells, we love your work. Back again tonight on TVNZ Taskmaster. Thanks for hanging out.

Thanks for having me, guys. Always a pleasure.