The Fat was an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n sports based talk show television series, broadcast and produced by ABC TV

ABC Television

ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....

.The series began on 6 March 2000, and ended on 18 November 2003.

Host Tony Squires

Tony Squires

Tony Squires is an Australian media personality, currently presenting the sport report on Seven News in Sydney. He is perhaps best known as the presenter of the comic sport news show The Fat, which ran on ABC television from 2000 to 2003....

, with regulars Peter Wilkins and Rebecca Wilson

Rebecca Wilson

Rebecca Wilson is an Australian media personality, known mainly for her reporting on sport.-Career:Wilson has worked in both the newspaper and television industry for over 20 years...

 ran through the week's sporting news, showing the lighter side of things. One particular highlight of each episode was Slammin' Sam Kekovich

Sam Kekovich

Sam Kekovich is an Australian media personality, sports commentator and former Australian rules football player.He is well known for his controversial behaviour, both on and off the field, and most recently for his series of satirical advertisements as the spokesman for Meat and Livestock...

's deadpan analysis of all things Australian. Regulars guests included: Dr Turf (John Rothfield), Kerry O'Keeffe

Kerry O'Keeffe

Kerry James "Skull" O'Keeffe is a former Australian cricketer and now a commentator for ABC Radio. O'Keeffe played 24 Tests and 2 ODIs between 1971 and 1977.He was a spin bowler, bowling leg breaks...

, Wil Anderson

Wil Anderson

William James "Wil" Anderson is an Australian comedian, writer, performing stand-up, and television and radio presenter and personality.- Early life :...

, Jason Akermanis

Jason Akermanis

Jason Dean Akermanis is an Australian rules football player. He is a Brownlow Medallist and triple premiership player who played for the Brisbane Bears, Brisbane Lions and Western Bulldogs...

 and Liz Ellis

Liz Ellis

Elizabeth "Liz" Ellis AM is a retired Australian netball player, a member of the national team from 1992 until 2007 and captain for the last four of those years. She is the most capped international player for Australian netball....

. Initially the show consisted of a 30 minute Monday night wrap of the weekend's sports. After gaining popularity, 2002 saw the show extended to a one hour timeslot still on a Monday night. In 2003 the format, scheduling and length of the show was altered, with a one and half hour show being shown on Friday night. Criticisms arose of the new format, which saw the show turn away from only sports topics and into a variety show. The Friday night scheduling eliminated the wrap of the previous weekend's sporting events eventually resulting in a ratings drop and much of the popularity subsided.

In February 2004, Tony and Rebecca moved to rival network Seven

Seven Network

The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...

, to present what was essentially a carbon copy of The Fat, the short-lived 110% Tony Squires.

John Rothfield went on to continue his radio gigs at 3AW Melbourne on Glossing Over every Saturday morning until the show was axed. His pride and joy is now golf and looking after his three children, Emma Phoebe and Sophia.