Charlie Pickering

Last updated

Charlie Pickering
Charlie Pickering GQ 2011 (2).jpg
Pickering at GQ Australia Men of the Year Awards in 2011
Born (1977-08-29) 29 August 1977 (age 48)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Occupations
  • Comedian
  • television presenter
  • radio presenter
  • author
  • producer
Years active2002–present
Television The Weekly with Charlie Pickering
Spouse
​
(m. 2013)​
Children1
Website charliepickering.com

Charlie Pickering (born 29 August 1977) is an Australian comedian, television and radio presenter, author, and producer. As of 2025 Pickering hosts The Weekly with Charlie Pickering , a weekly news satire television show on the ABC, as well as its yearly spin-off special The Yearly with Charlie Pickering . He also co-hosts Tomorrow Tonight with Annabel Crabb and Adam Liaw.

Contents

He is known as a former co-host on the current affairs program The Project and Friday host of Breakfast on ABC Radio Melbourne. He also regularly appeared on the game show Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation as the "Generation X" team captain.

Early life and education

Charlie Pickering was born in Mel­bourne on 29 Au­gust 1977. [1]

He attended St Leonard's College and Brighton Grammar School. [2] [1]

He graduated from Monash University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in American History and a Bachelor of Laws degree.[ citation needed ]

Career

Early career

Pickering first worked as a lawyer. [3]

He appeared with the sketch comedy group Enter the Datsun in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) in 1998, 1999, and 2002. [4] He had left his job as a lawyer by 2002, when he appeared in MICF [3] with Michael Chamberlin in Boiling Point, [5] a show which earned them the Piece of Wood Award. [6] In 2003, Pickering and Chamberlin teamed up again in Boiling Point 2, [7] the pair also appearing the same year with fellow comedian Terri Psiakis in Equal Third. [8]

In 2004, Pickering appeared in Revolver. [9] In 2005, Pickering launched Betterman at the MICF, a show he went on to tour in New Zealand [7] where he won the Best International Act in the New Zealand Comedy Guild Awards, and also at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where he was nominated for the Perrier Award's Best Newcomer.[ citation needed ] In 2006 he presented his show Auto at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, receiving a nomination for the Barry Award. For the April 2013 Melbourne International Comedy festival, he co-hosted with Waleed Aly a series of shows titled The World's Problems Solved. [10]

Television

In 2008, Pickering co-hosted a show with Michael Chamberlin on The Comedy Channel called The Mansion . The series ran for 13 episodes. [11] Pickering hosted season 3 of Channel V's travelling game show, Cash Cab . [1] From 2009 to 2012, he was a team captain on Network Ten's quiz show Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation , representing Generation X. [12] [13]

In July 2009, he became a co-host on Network Ten's infotainment program, The Project , with Carrie Bickmore and Dave Hughes. [14] On 12 March 2014, Pickering announced that he was leaving The Project, [15] and in April 2015 he started hosting a weekly comedy/news satire program on ABC entitled The Weekly with Charlie Pickering . [16]

In 2018, Pickering hosted Tomorrow Tonight on the ABC with Annabel Crabb. [17]

Other television appearances include Rove Live , The Glass House , Today , Stand Up! (ABC), The 2006 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala (Network Ten), @Seven , The Project , Hughesy, We Have a Problem , Show Me the Movie! , Celebrity Name Game and Would I Lie to You? Australia . In 2025 he appeared as a contestant on Claire Hooper's House Of Games. [18]

Radio

Pickering has also worked in Australian radio, including youth radio station Triple J [8] from 2001 to 2003. He was a pundit on Fighting Talk on BBC Radio 5 Live in 2006 and 2007.[ citation needed ]

In December 2022, ABC announced that Pickering would host ABC Radio Melbourne's Breakfast program on Fridays from January 2023, while Sammy J would be hosting the Monday through Thursday shows. [19] He remained in the position until December 2023 as it was announced that Sammy J would return to hosting Breakfast five days a week. [20]

He began hosting the program Thank God It's Friday on ABC Radio Melbourne, ABC Radio Sydney and ABC Radio National stations after Richard Glover retired at the end of 2024. [21]

Publications

Pickering published his first book, Impractical Jokes, in 2010. [22]

Personal life

Pickering married Sarah Krasnostein and they have two children. [23] [24] He converted to Judaism in 2013. [2]

Political views

When co-hosting The Project, Pickering said that he had voted Liberal once. [25]

New Matilda described The Weekly with Charlie Pickering as "a satirical news program with a progressive bent". [26] On the program, Pickering has used his editorials to support halal certification and gay marriage, and to speak out against the detention of asylum seekers. [27] [28] [26]

He has been a strong critic of the Catholic Church. In June 2018 he denounced the Catholic seal of the confessional, [29] and in March 2019, he ridiculed people who questioned the guilt of Cardinal George Pell in a segment of The Weekly he called "The Pedo Files". [30]

Bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Today's Birthday Charlie Pickering". Shepparton News. 29 August 2016. Archived from the original on 15 May 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019– via Pressreader.
  2. 1 2 Safran, John (9 April 2015). "Chasing Charlie Pickering". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 15 May 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  3. 1 2 Smith, Rohan (24 April 2015). "These people are funnier AND smarter than you". NewsComAu. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  4. ↑ "AusStage". www.ausstage.edu.au. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  5. ↑ "Sharp satire stays on the boil". The Age. 17 April 2002. Archived from the original on 15 May 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  6. ↑ "Melbourne International Comedy Festival". Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  7. 1 2 Low, Lenny Ann (24 March 2006). "Charlie Pickering: Betterman". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 15 May 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  8. 1 2 "Radio stars on stage". The Age. 3 April 2003. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  9. ↑ "Trip through time with a young love". The Age. 1 April 2004. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  10. ↑ Harford, Sonia (1 April 2013). "World peace? It's in the to-do tank". The Age. Archived from the original on 28 May 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  11. ↑ "Big house hilarity". The Age. 19 June 2008. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  12. ↑ Blackiston, Hannah (23 April 2019). "Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation to return May 1". Mumbrella. Archived from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  13. ↑ "Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation is back — with a controversial change". NewsComAu. 11 October 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  14. ↑ "Ten on its new daily show: 'It's not The Daily Show'". Mumbrella. 14 June 2009. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  15. ↑ Davidson, Helen (12 March 2014). "Charlie Pickering quits The Project". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  16. ↑ Kalina, Paul (15 April 2015). "The Project: Charlie Pickering reveals internal fighting behind exit". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  17. ↑ "Charlie Pickering - Token Artists Management". Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  18. ↑ "Claire Hooper's House Of Games: Series 1". iview.abc.net.au. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  19. ↑ "Charlie Pickering to present Friday Breakfast on ABC Radio Melbourne". ABC News. 9 December 2022. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  20. ↑ Jaspan, Calum (6 December 2023). "Ali Moore lands full-time Drive gig as ABC Melbourne locks in 2024 line-up". The Sydney Morning Herald . Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  21. ↑ "Chris Bath and Charlie Pickering join ABC Radio Sydney in 2025" (Press release). About the ABC. 2 December 2024 [21 November 2024]. Archived from the original on 8 March 2025. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  22. ↑ Ziffer, Daniel (16 April 2007). "Charlie Pickering: Impractical Jokes". The Age. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  23. ↑ "Charlie Pickering announces he is leaving The Project". News.com.au. News Corporation. 12 March 2014. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  24. ↑ "Charlie Pickering: From chasing the corner office to taking centre stage". ABC News Australia. 8 August 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  25. ↑ Charlie Pickering says goodbye to Channel Ten's The Project as co-host Carrie Bickmore weeps Archived 23 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine ; April 8, 2014
  26. 1 2 To Our Leaders The Biggest Threat Isn't Boats, It's Us: Charlie Pickering Takes On Australia's Refugee Policy Archived 23 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine ; newmatilda.com; August 26, 2018
  27. ↑ Charlie Pickering just obliterated Tony Abbott’s opposition to same-sex marriage Archived 23 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine ; www.mamamia.com; May 28, 2015
  28. ↑ Charlie Pickering Takes On Government Secrecy Surrounding Offshore Detention; www.pedestrian.tv; August 27, 2018
  29. ↑ Charlie Pickering skewers Catholic Church on TV; news.com.au; June 21, 2018
  30. ↑ Cardinal George Pell sentenced; The Weekly with Charlie Pickering: Episode 1, 2019
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