Perpetually perky popstar-turned-TV fave Jo Beth Taylor doesn’t hesitate when asked if Australia’s Funniest Home Video Show could return to our screens in the near future.
“Absolutely and without question,” Jo Beth tells us with a big smile.
“With TikTok all the rage, can you image the endless array of wild, crazy and outrageous video clips available?
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The show would be seriously hilarious.
“You’d need to tweak the format to bring it into the here and now. Back in my day there were no mobile phone cameras, and viewers were sending in VHS tapes. But it was such a hoot to host.”
Jo Beth fronted the hit series for five years, from 1993 to 1997. It was her first major TV job.

“I was 20 when I auditioned,” she recalls.
“I remember Richard Wilkins was in the mix of possible hosts.
I couldn’t believe it when I landed the gig!”

She certainly had big shoes to fill. TV legend Graham Kennedy was the original host when the show kicked off in 1990.
When he stepped down later that year, Hey Hey It’s Saturday queen Jacki MacDonald took over.
Lisa Patrick then became host in 1992, before Jo Beth’s tenure began the following year.

After she left, the hosting baton then passed from Catriona Rowntree to Kim Kilbey and Toni Pearen.
In 2008, the remote was handed to Shelley Craft, who remained with the series until 2014, when it was “rested”.
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“I loved doing that show, as we had such a great team,” Jo Beth tells us.
“We laughed out heads off every production meeting.”

“Amid the endless array of people falling over, toppling into pools, or skiing into trees, it was the crazy and adorable animal videos I loved the most.”
“The video that stole my heart featured a cute dog named Wazza who could tuck himself into bed. It was over-the-top cute.”
AFHVS ran for more than 900 episodes.

In 1992, there was the controversial spin-off special Australia’s Naughtiest Home Videos, hosted by the late TV and radio legend Doug Mulray.
The show was taken off air midway through the broadcast by Channel Nine owner Kerry Packer for being too lewd.
During her reign as AFHVS’ ever-smiling host, Jo Beth became Australia’s busiest TV star.

Not only was she also juggling a music career, but she became co-host of Hey Hey It’s Saturday, and was also occasionally presenting the kids’ series What’s Up Doc?
“They were crazy times. As a consequence, I became burnt out emotionally and physically. That’s why I called it quits from TV in 1997,” Jo Beth reveals.
“I stayed with a friend in San Diego, went surfing every day and became a barista. I loved the anonymity, and I was able to piece my life back together.”

“Would I host a new incarnation of Australia’s Funniest Home Videos? I really think at 52 I’m too old.”
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But the memories of when I did the show in the ’90s remain a blast.”