Comedian Dave Hughes on Father's Day and parenting in lockdown

Comedian and co-host of The Masked Singer Dave Hughes has found the silver lining in working from home, but admits it hasn’t all been smooth sailing.

What’s more a recent COVID-19 scare at Network 10’s Dockland studios found a way to put the brakes on his new normal.

From doing his radio shows at home to monitoring three kids aged under 11 while they do online learning, Hughes says his juggle is real but a busy schedule is also his choice.

“I’ve had a babysitter come in at 2pm to give me a break and so I can get on with my radio work, up to that point I’m in charge,” Hughes says. 

“But I’m pretty happy with how things are going overall. Our daughters don’t need any motivational push, they’re doers,” he adds, of the high-five moments.

“They get their work done and even finish early but as for our eldest, he’s the one you gotta watch.”

With his wife Holly working full-time as a primary school teacher and doing online learning with her students, the pressure to be the constant voice of reason at home has seen his kids point the finger at him at few times.

“My wife can’t be here watching over [them], so they’ve got an overdose of Dad time right now. It’s been a very interesting time, that’s for sure,” Hughes says.

And for someone who is used to performing up to 200 stand-up shows a year, he says the pandemic has reminded him what he misses the most about his day job.

“I’m really missing the simple things like going into the city and chatting with intelligent people who come to my shows, I miss that interaction after a show and being able to tell jokes in that format,” says Hughes, who has spent more than 25 years on the comedy circuit.

“But I’m lucky I have radio and TV work. This lockdown has been especially hard on performers who are feeling the impact a lot worse than most. Their work has stopped. Many have lost their jobs and a sense of purpose and can’t do what makes them happy. Financially I’m lucky and I know that.”

Father’s Day at home with the family might be the new norm this year, but Hughes isn’t dwelling on the can’t-haves. 

“Five months at home has been the longest I’ve ever actually stayed in the one spot. In all honesty, I don’t think I’ll ever get this much time at home again,” he says.

When Hughes met his wife in 2002 at Cherry Bar in what is now AC/DC Lane (the laneway was then known as Corporation Lane), he didn’t enter the relationship thinking about starting a family; he was simply happy he had found his match.

They tied the knot in 2006 and started a family a few years later.

“I have always been ambitious with my career and didn’t yearn for children or anything like that,” he says. “I wasn’t the guy who said ‘I can’t wait to have kids’; my wife was more that person.

“But the kids are the joy of my life now – they exude so much happiness themselves every day and are a pleasure to be woken up by every morning. They have loved lockdown and we’ve gotten really close. They have made me the butt of their jokes, which I’m happy to take.” 

Hughes is also one of nine celebrities to take part in an intimate podcast series hosted by Sarah Grynberg. He openly talks about his battles with alcoholism and why he quit drinking in 1992 at the age of 21.

Although he is a man known to make people laugh, he knew when his habit was beyond a joke.

“I always tell my kids we create our reality – no one else does. You make the decisions on what that internal dialogue is and nobody does that for you,” says Hughes.

“I’m proof that I’ve made decisions that led to better ways to live my life, so the best thing you can demonstrate to your kids is remind them we’re all captains of our own ship and direct our own lives.”

And with age comes wisdom too. “I do feel happier as I get older, but that’s not to say I don’t forget what I have,” he says. 

“We have to remember it’s our decision to get in that slump. Sure there’s swings and roundabouts in life, but I don’t need motivation to be funny when I realise how silly life is.”