Last year, Rebecca Gibney decided to do things differently. The Packed to the Rafters actress and TV WEEK Logie Hall of Famer had recently turned 60 and wanted to do things which took her out of her comfort zone. It was her year of saying yes to things she would ordinarily have baulked at.
One of those was carving up the dancefloor on Channel Seven’s Dancing With the Stars. Another was appearing in the Sydney Theatre Company production of Circle Mirror Transformation. But then she was offered the job as the first female host of host of 10’s reboot of Millionaire Hot Seat.
She was initially reluctant to take the gig. After all, what does an actress know about hosting a gameshow? So, Rebecca asked her mum, Shirley, who was adamant everything her daughter had done in her celebrated 40-plus career had led to this moment.
“She said, ‘Darling, this is an opportunity for you to be a conduit to all those people who have supported you over the years, you know, giving back to them and seeing them win money’,” Rebecca, 61, tells TV WEEK.
And yet, Rebecca worried like hell she may not be up to the task.
“I had that imposter syndrome of, ‘What the hell am I doing?’” she admits. “This is not my wheelhouse. I’m not a gameshow host. I’m an actor. As much as I’m masking it and pretending that I know what I’m doing, I’ve got no idea.”
She could’ve phoned a friend and asked former Millionaire host Eddie McGuire – who helmed the show from 2009 until its final episode on the Nine Network in November, 2023 – for advice.
“I’ve got Eddie’s number, but I haven’t used it yet,” Rebecca says. “I’ve actually been texting Grant (Denyer, host of Deal or No Deal). And I got a lovely message from Larry (Emdur, host of The Chase) at the very beginning to say, ‘Good luck, I’m here if you need any advice.’”
But ultimately, Rebecca decided she needed a fresh approach.
If she was going to make a go of this gig, she’d have to do it her way and “just be who I am”.
As with the original version of Millionaire, itself a spinoff of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, each episode sees six contestants putting their general knowledge to the test. Contestants take their turn in the ‘hot seat’ every time someone passes or answers a question incorrectly.
By her own admission, Rebecca wears her heart on her sleeve as host.
“As much as I try to filter myself, I can’t really,” she concedes. “I’m probably way more emotional than Eddie. I get way too invested.”
She’s not kidding. Viewers will see Rebecca tearing up alongside the contestants. In an early promo for the show, Rebecca says to a nervous contestant, “I love that you’re shaking, I’m shaking too!”
“I’ve had more than one occasion where I’ve walked off set and gone into my dressing room and burst into tears and got really upset on behalf of the people who get so close and then they get the question wrong, and they don’t walk away with the big money.
“And you can see how devastating it is for them. It’s devastating for me, too, because I feel that I’m very empathetic and when people get upset, I’m very open to people’s energies.”
Conversely, when people win, Rebecca celebrates like she’s just won a bunch of money. It is, of course, a rollercoaster of emotions and it’s no secret that after filming multiple episodes, the star is exhausted.
“I walk off at the end of shooting and I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus more often than not,” Rebecca says. “So, as much I would like to try and have a poker face and be one of those game show hosts that is very neutral, that’s not me.
“I’ve cried, I’ve laughed hysterically, I’ve put on silly accents.”
For many viewers who have grown up watching Rebecca in shows like The Flying Doctors or Halifax f.p, seeing the TV WEEK Gold Logie winner alongside them would doubtless ease some nerves. Or perhaps it could make them even more to have of their idols asking them questions for money. Either way, Rebecca says she’s there for them.
“I’ve seen people who seem fine, and then as soon as the lights come on, you can see their eyes glaze over,” she says. “So, I try to spend time with them prior to recording where I can say to them, ‘Look, I’m the master of panic attacks. I know what it’s like to get overwhelmed.’”
In November, Rebecca opened up about her lifelong battle with mental illness, which once saw the actress contemplate taking her own life. There is a hope that in being such an “open book”, she can show that, as humans, we all have our own struggles.
“I’ve always believed we’re all the same underneath,” she says. “We just have different costumes. As long as you treat people kindly and respectfully, that’s all that matters. That’s come from Mum.”
After finishing a block of Millionaire episodes, Rebecca heads back to New Zealand to film season two of musical comedy Happiness. She also has two shows in development that will hopefully receive financing in the next 12 months.
Reflecting on the time when she tried her luck in Hollywood in the ‘90s, Rebecca says she’s glad she didn’t stay in Tinsel Town. “It wasn’t for me,” she says. “I thought, ‘Why am I doing this when I have such a great career in Australia and so many people supporting me?’ It was definitely the right decision to come back.”
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