Shane Jacobson’s running a little behind schedule when he phones through to Woman’s Day on a Friday morning, apologising for being late after a “traffic jam” of media engagements.
“I pride myself on being punctual,” the actor, 56, says.
“But I’m lucky that people want to talk to me about the project so I never complain.”
That project happens to be Shane’s most random yet – buying a historic pub with his best mate Dean Murphy and restoring it to its former glory.
Ooops! I Bought A Pub tracks the new business partners’ challenges in the tiny town of Dederang, Victoria.
“I’m not one of those guys who always said, ‘I’m going to own a pub.’ I was the opposite, I always said it’s probably not a great idea for me to own a pub – it’d be like Ned Kelly owning a gun shop!” Shane laughs.
“It’s worth noting, [Dean’s] never had a drink in his life.”
BREWING A PLAN
“He sent me an email, which was unrelated to pubs, and at the bottom of the email, ‘By the way mate, have you ever thought about buying a pub?’”
Having grown up in the area, Dean explained to his long-time collaborator that The Dederang Hotel – or “The Ranga” as it’s affectionately known – holds a special place in the heart of locals.
And the Kenny actor, who lives three-and-a-half hours away in the scenic Macedon Ranges, admits he fell in love with the place as soon as he clapped eyes on it.
“Even I hadn’t heard of Dederang before I bought the pub, but it’s such a stunning area,” he says.
“And the pub is the heartbeat of the community, it’s the meeting place. When I googled Dederang, the picture of the pub came up!”
Of course, there are the elements that make for entertaining television – Shane having no prior experience running a pub, the challenges of renovating a historic building and the looming deadline of a pre-booked wedding.
But stress aside, the actor-comedian says he’s been on a mission to keep the establishment going as well as the pub’s previous owner, Dave McKnight.
PASSING THE TORCH
“For the locals, the pub is everything, but Dave has run it for 36 years, seven days a week. His wife Wendy worked in the kitchen,” Shane says.
“He loved working in the pub but he didn’t want to die in it!
“First and foremost, we wanted to save this pub from not getting sold and keep it going for the community. It’s such a beautiful pub – I don’t want to make it sound like I’m running around trying to save communities!”
Even without beer-pulling duties, 2026 is shaping up to be a busy one for Shane, who’s midway through a film shoot on the Gold Coast.
His film, The Deb, has just come out, he’s got a new game show on the horizon with Seven and he’s producing other projects, too. How on earth did he convince his wife Felicity to add pub owner to the schedule?
“She said yes quicker than I did!” he says.
“She’s got Irish heritage, her grandmother was born and raised in a pub, so my wife has a romantic notion around pubs. When I showed her the picture, she went, ‘I love it’.”
‘WE’RE A QUIRKY LITTLE FAMILY!’
Shane opened up on The Imperfects Podcast about his youngest son Jax, who is autistic, has ADHD and Tourette’s.
In a heartfelt chat, he described his “extraordinary” son’s ability to see the world through a different lens, and the public’s response has been “overwhelming”.
“I’m obviously incredibly proud and I’m a very, very lucky father, but what I’m loving is people reaching out and saying, ‘God, I loved hearing you, that connected with me very personally,’” the father-of-four says.
“Hearing how I described that world gave them a good feeling, or shone a light in an area that wasn’t as bright as they wanted it.”
For Shane and Felicity, embracing the chaos is where the magic happens.
“We are a quirky little house of tickers!” he says.
“But we love it – it’s our flavour. The spice in our family is how neurodivergent we are.”
Ooops! I Bought a Pub, 8pm Saturdays on Seven and 7plus
