Sexy tradie a show inspired by Ville
YOU know this Townsville lad as the affable Woody from 800 Words, the corrupt corrections officer Sean Brody from Wentworth and maybe even as Mr Tuck from House Husbands.
Now Rick Donald is gracing our screens in Australia’s Sexiest Tradie from Wednesday night as a character the former Kirwan State High School student readily concedes would stir up trouble along Flinders St East.
Donald plays tradie Franky Wood in the mocku
mentary-style comedy Donald wrote and created, and while “Woody” from 800 Words may be the loveable Aussie larrikin you’d want to share a beer with, Franky is nothing of the sort.
“Franky came from meeting every cringey bloke I’ve met in my life,” Donald said.
“He’s that ignorant, in-denial bloke and I always get so fascinated by those people.
“I just put them all into this character called Franky Woods. All of those guys, they have a real sadness in them – it’s a real tragedy – and I think it’s fascinating to unpack all
of that. There’s a lot of people who I grew up with and know who are in this story.”
Much of the inspiration for Franky came from Donald’s experiences growing up in Townsville, where he was born and raised
He can even picture what a typical night out in Flinders St would be like for the selfcentred Franky.
“He’d have about eight Great Northerns at home and then he’d go to The Strand with his Passion Pop, and after that he’d sink a heap of rum and Cokes at Molly Malones and start getting re
ally aggro at the band,” Donald said.
“Then he’d be trying to get into The Bank to hit on girls too young for him, and he’d end up buying a slice of pizza and get knocked out.”
But make no mistake, while the show’s protagonist isn’t exactly endearing, Australia’s Sexiest Tradie is a laugh-out-loud experience that will catch you off guard just when you think you have it figured out.
Much of the script is improvised, and adding to the fun was the fact Donald included close friends among hiscast, including fellow North Queenslanders Callan Knight and Darren Sabadina.
His wife Catherine Mack, from Home And Away fame, is also part of the show.
“It was almost like a reunion, it was a huge laugh,” Donald said.
“Because of the improvised nature of the show, we were hearing jokes for the first time; there were many scenes where the camera was shaking because the crew were trying to hold it together.”
Australia’s Sexiest Tradie starts Wednesday at 9.10pm on 7mate.