On hearing the news that Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) will part company with actor Sam Neill, who’s been fronting their ads for the past seven years, Merrick Watts thought he’d put himself forward for the role.

 Main reason: he really likes meat. At least that’s what he told MLA’s Marketing Director, Andrew Cox when he phoned him from the Triple M studios. “I like lamb, beef, pork, chicken, goat, venison, buffalo, camel…I like all meat,” Watts told Cox who replied, “Well we only like beef and lamb.” Oops.

Listen to see how Merrick’s “job application” went…