Australian Story S30E06 - Hooked – Dave Hughes

Dave Hughes is one of the country's most hardworking and successful comedians, winning over audiences for 30 years with his hilarious and brutally honest revelations about his life.

In this program, he channels that same honesty, revealing in detail for the first time terrifying moments from his childhood, growing up with a father whom he loved but who struggled with alcohol addiction. 

Hughes had his own battle with alcohol but embraced sobriety in his early 20s. 

He suspects he swapped one addiction for another.  

"Maybe I've gotten a work addiction," he says, "but I think it's a healthy addiction to be obsessed with making people laugh."  

According to friend and fellow comedian Rove McManus:"There's a difference in being a hard worker and being a workaholic. I feel he's a workaholic."   

In this candid Australian Story, Hughes returns to his hometown of Warrnambool to explore the roots of his addiction to comedy and its impact on his life.  

His wife and children, as well as friends Rove McManus and Kate Langbroek, share their insights into a contradictory and complex man who struggles in equal parts with self-loathing and self-love.