This week brings news that ‘Dear Bill’, Australia’s grumpiest movie critic character, is set to retire at the end of June.
First introduced to radio audiences in 1994, ‘Dear Bill’ is a creation of comedy and character voice great, Ian Calder.
The 90-second segment – in which Bill savages the latest film releases – started out on a single radio station in Brisbane and grew in popularity, being distributed to stations across Australia by mcm media and, more recently by Andy Wells Media.
‘I have much respect for Ian Calder and his work,’ said Andy Wells. ‘If you can keep anything on radio for that long you’re definitely doing something right.’
‘Australia needs more locally produced comedy on air, beyond gotcha calls and daily gags from the breakfast team.’
With the impending departure of ‘Bill’, Wells is putting out a call to anyone with a great idea for a daily comedy segment to get in touch.
‘I’d love to put the best ideas in front of content directors across Australia as I still believe a great opportunity exists in this space,’ he said.