Television
The original Agro puppet was created in 1981 by BTQ-7 employee Gary Rhodes, who was a floor manager at the time. It was Rhodes who coined the concept of "eating flies" and other naughty quirks that later continued as part of the puppet's character.
After a falling out with Seven led to Rhodes' resignation, several different operators were involved in working the puppet. Struggling songwriter Jamie Dunn was eventually hired by Seven in 1982 as a permanent replacement after they received a song demo recorded by Dunn about Agro which included an impression of the character. [4] It was Dunn who took the character to greater heights and created an iconic part of Australian television history. Dunn's marketing prowess resulted in the Agro concept becoming a lucrative career for him. However, Dunn has never appeared alongside Agro, as a typical ventriloquist might. When Agro appears on camera or on stage, Dunn is always hidden, often by furniture.
Agro initially appeared on the children's television shows Boris' Breakfast Club and Wombat , which later was spun off into the Super Sunday Show , and the Super Saturday Show on Seven. When the Saturday morning timeslot was replaced by Saturday Disney , Seven created the daily morning children's programme Agro's Cartoon Connection in 1990, hosted by Agro and Ann-Maree Biggar. [5] Agro's Cartoon Connection would continue until its cancellation in 1997. Throughout the early 1990s Agro became increasingly popular, appearing on Tonight Live with Steve Vizard , the Logie Awards, advertisements for Queensland Transport, and contending on Family Feud with his extended puppet family. Agro also appeared in a wide range of merchandise including his own showbag at the Brisbane Ekka, an arcade video game, and numerous novelty albums. [4]
After Agro's rise to fame there was some dispute between Rhodes and Jamie Dunn because Dunn attempted to claim creative ownership of the puppet. A court case loomed, but BTQ-7 and the parties involved reached a settlement that allowed Jamie Dunn to retain the rights. However, Agro officially belongs to Channel Seven. [6] Dunn also owned the merchandising rights to the character, [4] and had personal possession of the puppet. [7]
Agro's on-camera roles became less frequent in the late 1990s and into the 2000s as Dunn's radio commitments grew and the novelty of the character had worn off, though Agro would become a co-host on Seven's short-lived revival of Perfect Match in 2002. The puppet itself was seldom seen during the 2000s. Dunn said at one point that Agro was "in a suitcase somewhere", and in 2019 joked that he was in an overnight bag in a closet. [7] In 2008 Agro appeared in promotional material for Zinc 96. [8]
In March 2009, Agro returned to television screens in South East Queensland to promote a $7,000 cash giveaway on radio station 4BC. From August 2013, Agro started appearing on the Channel 7 program The Daily Edition , interacting with the panel and answering viewer questions. In 2017, Agro appeared in several ads for "sellmycar.com.au", and has continued as the voice of the radio advertisement. In 2020 he appeared in several ads for Uber Eats. In 2021 Agro made a cameo appearance on the second episode of Holey Moley .
As of 2024, Jamie Dunn regularly did public appearances with Agro, sometimes with former Agro's Cartoon Connection co-hosts like Ranger Stacey. In December 2025, Dunn claimed that he was in discussions with Seven to produce an Agro Up Late special to air in 2026. [9]
Dunn died on 7 March 2026, aged 76. [1]
Radio
From 1990, Agro appeared in the morning radio segment for Brisbane station B105 FM, The Morning Crew. One notable segment was Agro to the Rescue, where Jamie Dunn in the Agro character would perform fundraising and charitable events for Queensland residents in need.
When Agro performed on radio Jamie Dunn would sit in the studio and provide the Agro voice without actually operating the puppet. Often Dunn would perform dual roles as himself or Agro, and it was often implied through the use of soundboard noises that Agro would "enter" the studio to talk to him. Dunn aspired to become a show-business personality in his own right, and so in time he appeared in promotional material for the B105 FM Morning Crew as himself. He used the Agro character as a kind of alternative, more uninhibited personality (for example, when making prank telephone calls).
