Adam Hills interview for Stand Up to Cancer

1 October 2014

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The Last Leg presenter Adam Hills reveals how he is prepared to go naked on Stand Up To Cancer night and why the death of his father makes him more determined than ever to raise as much money as he can…

 

Are you looking forward to being part of the Stand Up To Cancer evening?

Gosh yes, definitely. It holds so many personal reasons for me. Two years ago, Alex, Josh and I were asked to record something for Stand Up To Cancer. We bounced some ideas around and we realised we could be funny about something that wasn’t the Paralympics. To think, two years down the track we are now playing a big part is fantastic. We are hosting three segments. It’s a real yardstick for us as to how far we have come. On top of everything else, it is an amazing night.

 

Do you feel it is important to bring humour to such an awful disease?

The thing about comedy is it takes away the power. People make fun of the Government and ridicule them and it takes away their power. On a night like this, we can do the same thing for cancer. It is a horrible disease and I have personally been affected by it as well. But we can laugh in the face of it. It might not cure it but I find it makes it easier to deal with.

 

How outrageous will you be on the night?

I can’t give too much away but I think the more outrageous the better. I think the motto for the night should be ‘screw you cancer’.

 

If someone donated a million pounds, would you be prepared to do something completely mad?!

OMG yeah! I am not going to count out nudity! In fact, I am going to say there is better than an even chance there will be some nudity. We could even be worse than that! My theory is being as ridiculous as possible. This disease that we call cancer is serious. It takes away so much. It really knocks people around. On top of everything else, it messes with you emotionally. I am all for the silliest as possible for the cause.

 

So how have you personally been affected by cancer?

My dad had stomach cancer about 16 years ago. He got through it fine. One of the side effects of chemotherapy was he ended up with leukaemia two years ago. He had a bone marrow transplant but the effects of that were too much. He was gone within a year. When he was alive, we used to do this little dance ‘kick the cancer in the dick’. Whenever I said bye, we would do this. It was important for him and I.

 

Was it terrible to watch him deteriorate so badly?

Very. When we got to the very end and the doctor said ‘there is nothing we can do for him now, all you can do is give him a good quality of life for the last couple of days’ – well I remember thinking ‘why didn’t we do that from the beginning?’ Why didn’t we make sure he had a good quality of life and go out to shows? For me, this is what Stand Up To Cancer is. It is not just a way to raise money - it’s a way to laugh in the face of it.

 

Do you still miss him enormously?

Yes. I did an interview, which will be run on the night. As soon as I started talking about him, my voice went and I had tears in my eyes. He worked for Qantas and he was known as the nicest man in Qantas. At the end of the interview, they asked me to walk along the river. As we did, a Qantas plane flew overhead. You could not have had better timing. As much as I miss him, moments like that make me think ‘well you are still here with me’.

 

Do you think he would have a good laugh if he saw you on Stand Up To Cancer?

I think so. I was never going to say no to something like this. But it just makes me more determined as it has extra meaning to me. The doctors couldn’t do anything more for my dad but you never know – that pound which is donated could be the tipping point that suddenly finds a cure or another therapy.

 

Do you fear cancer?

Yes totally. I am always quite aware of death. I have got a 4-year-old and a nine-month-old and I try to make the best of every moment I have with them. You just never know.

 

Do you look after yourself?

I try to eat relatively well. But you could be one of those people who work out constantly and cancer still hits you. It can come from nowhere. I try to make the most of every day. My grandfather is still kicking around and he is 96 but my dad was taken away when he was 70 and so it is cruel. It’s like a lottery number that comes up in reverse.

 

How much are you looking forward to working alongside Alan and Davina?

It’s a serious reason that we are all coming together but it’s such a fun night. Alan is outrageous and Davina will be great fun. Hopefully we aren’t going to tiptoe around cancer. If people have got questions, we can answer them as well.

 

Why should people donate on the night?

You never know which pound is going to be the donation that kicks it over the edge. What it needs is research. It’s a disease but if you think of things that were considered in the past as dangerous and are now curable, there is no reason why cancer can’t be one of them in the future…

 

Stand Up to Cancer is on Friday 17th October on Channel 4.