Richard Wilkins was on set in LA when The Veronicas recorded one of their first music videos way back in the 2000s, so it makes sense the famous sisters would be the first guests on his and son Christian Wilkins’ new podcast The Apple and The Tree.
The podcast was Christian’s idea and sees him and Richard take listeners behind the closed doors of some of Australia’s most famous families, delving into topics others might consider off-limits.
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“Someone in the early days, I can’t remember who it was, said ‘You wouldn’t want to talk to (the Veronicas) about their mum,'” Richard tells 9honey.
Lisa and Jessica Origliasso’s mother Colleen passed away in 2021 after a long journey with progressive supranuclear palsy and Lewy body dementia.
It was a heartbreaking time for the twins and three years on, many interviewers would shy away from the tragedy. Not the Wilkins men.
“In the first 10 minutes we were talking about their beautiful mother, everyone’s tearing up, it was just gorgeous,” Richard reveals.
Christian explains that the “magic” of the podcast is that they already share such incredible bonds with all their subjects, who are close personal friends of the father-son duo.
“It’s really just conversations that we would have with our friends,” he says. “There just happens to be microphones around.”
That was always the goal of the podcast; to provide a safe, friendly space where famous families can talk about anything, including topics that would sometimes be off-limits.
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“A PR might be like, ‘Don’t go there’, but because they do feel safe, they’re happy to talk about that,” Christian says.
Richard adds: “We want to get personal, but we’ve never abused the privilege. We’ve never crossed that line.”
He particularly loved sitting down with Cold Chisel legend Jimmy Barnes and son David Campbell to delve into their father-son bond.
“I adore them both and have known them both so long, (so we got to) take the conversation to places that they haven’t been before,” he teases.
The interview went so well, Richard could even forgive Barnsey for “hijacking” his opening monologue.
”I do a nice big setup at the beginning of the piece, which Jimmy completely hijacked! Jimmy just steals the whole line, which puts me off, but it’s funny,” he says.
Blue Wiggle Anthony Field also got one over on Richard while recording an episode with daughter and fellow Wiggle Lucia Field.
“I said towards the end of the interview, ‘How long can you do this for?'” Richard reveals. “And (Anthony) said, ‘Well, how long can you do this for?'”
One point to the Blue Wiggle!
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Though Christian and his dad can get personal with their subjects in ways other podcast hosts can’t, they don’t pry where they’re not wanted.
After all, they know how it feels to have people trying to peer through the proverbial windows during private times.
“We don’t have secrets. But when my kids are at home, I sort of lock the front door,” Richard explains. That’s not a metaphor either.
“He actually does lock the front door. We’ll all have lunch and I’ll just hear ‘clunk,'” Christian laughs. “I’m like, ‘People need to leave at some point!'”
They’ve been able to record most of the podcast in the family home and Richard even let his son take creative direction for the podcast’s promotional photoshoot.
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“The brief was ’70s, ’80s awkward family photoshoots,” Christian grins. “It’s camp, but it’s still family related, and it’s fun, which is exactly what our podcast is.”
Richard was totally on board and he even dusted off the “Starsky and Hutch jumper” that’s been hidden away in the top of his cupboard for the last 15 years for the shoot.
“I trust him because he’s very good at that sort of stuff,” the proud dad says, and it’s not just Christian’s famous sense of style Richard’s proud of.
Every time he got to witness his son in action behind the microphone was a real delight for the father of five.
“Hearing Christian asking questions that I just wouldn’t have thought of … that makes your heart sing, to realize he’s so clever at what he does,” Richard says.
“It’s great when your kids grow their own wings, and you see them fly.”
As for dream podcast guests, the father-son-duo have plenty of massive Aussie names on the list, from Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin, to Kylie and Dannii Minogue.
“We actually saw Kylie last month for my birthday in Vegas (…) and I forgot to mention it,” Christian confesses.
Richard also wants to get Kath and Kim on for an episode. Not Jane Turner and Gina Riley, but the actresses in character as their most iconic creations.
“They’re mother and daughter,” Richard quips, then laughs when asked if he’ll chase Kylie for a second episode as Epponnee-Rae. It’s not a ‘no’!
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As for Christian, he can’t wait for the day Beyoncé and Solange Knowles agree to come on the show – perhaps in a few seasons’ time.
The first episode of the podcast with The Veronicas is out right now! Search ‘The Apple and The Tree’ wherever you listen to your podcasts. New episodes every Thursday.
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