Robert Hughes (Australian actor)

From Citizendium
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This article is developing and not approved.
Main Article
Discussion
Related Articles  [?]
Bibliography  [?]
External Links  [?]
Citable Version  [?]
 
This editable Main Article is under development and subject to a disclaimer.

Robert Lindsay Hughes (born 19 August 1948) is an Australian actor whose most well known roles include ABBA: The Movie and the television sitcom Hey Dad..!

Born in Sydney, New South Wales, Hughes first worked as a copy boy for the Sydney Morning Herald in the late 1960s. Hughes then moved into acting, playing a bumbling radio journalist Ashley Wallace in the 1977 film ABBA: The Movie. Later appearing in a number of theatrical and film productions, Hughes is best known as the architect father Martin Kelly, in the long-running Australian television series Hey Dad..! (1987 - 1993). Hughes quit the series one year before the final episode (1994), after an on-set dispute with co-star Julie McGregor.

Despite being the star of the series, Hughes has consistently declined to participate in reunions of the Hey Dad..! cast, including the a television special Where Are They Now in 2006[1] and a radio reunion on Brisbane station B105 FM in 2009.[2]

Hughes left Australia in 2005 to reside in Singapore, where he worked as a voice actor in advertising campaigns.[3]

Alleged misconduct and extradition

In March 2010, former Hey Dad..! co-star Sarah Monahan alleged in Woman's Day that a member of the show's staff had inappropriately touched her on the set of the television sitcom.[4] The allegations were picked up by the news media, and another co-star, Ben Oxenbould, told a current affairs programme on 24 March 2010, that he had witnessed Hughes involved in an 'incident' with a girl under the age of 10 on the set.[5] A further three more actors have come forward with similar accusations.

On 19 September 2012, Hughes was extradited to Australia following a court hearing London. He was formerly charged after arriving in Sydney, on eleven counts of child sexual abuse, and faces trial on 10 February 2014.[6]

Notes

  1. Knox, David. Where Are They Now 2?, TV Tonight, 26 April 2007. Retrieved on 6 September 2013.
  2. Hey Dad Cast Reunion. b105.com.au (2009). Retrieved on 6 September 2013.
  3. Rundle, Guy. Rundle: TV pursuit of a TV star sets up TV trial, Crikey, 10 August 2010. Retrieved on 6 September 2013.
  4. A Few Words About The Hey Dad! Molestation Scandal, Defamer, 25 March 2010. Retrieved on 6 September 2013.
  5. Police wait for Hey Dad! complaints, ABC News, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 25 March 2010. Retrieved on 6 September 2013.
  6. Trial date set in Sydney for Hey Dad! star Robert Hughes on child sex charges, ABC News, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 26 July 2013. Retrieved on 6 September 2013.