''Better Homes and Gardens'' is an Australian television program which is broadcast on the

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

, which is based on the magazine of the same name domestically published by

Are Media Are Media is an Australian media company. It was formed after the 2020 purchase of the assets of Bauer Media Australia, which had in turn acquired the assets of Pacific Magazines, AP Magazines and Australian Consolidated Press (ACP) during th ...

(itself licensing the brand and magazine format from the American

Dotdash Meredith Dotdash Meredith (formerly The Mining Company, About.com and Dotdash) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, hom ...

). The program covers a wide variety of lifestyle related topics. These include, gardening, landscaping, architecture, cooking, DIY, pet care, and home improvement, as well as featuring celebrity guests. The show is hosted by former Commonwealth Games swimmer-turned-television presenter

Johanna Griggs Johanna Leigh Griggs (born 17 October 1973) is an Australian television presenter and former competitive swimmer. She won a bronze medal at the 1990 Commonwealth Games. Griggs has been at the Seven Network since 1993 where she joined ...

, who has hosted the program since 2005. In 2014, ''Better Homes and Gardens'' was awarded a record 12th Silver

Logie Award The TV Week Logie Awards (known colloquially as The Logies) is an annual ceremony celebrating and honouring the best shows and stars in Television in Australia, Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The eve ...

for Australia's Most Popular Lifestyle Program.

History

The show was created by Peter E. Fox, who was also an executive producer for the 1995 series, along with Grahame Duckham. This was for the original magazine publisher, Murdoch Magazines and executive director Mark Kelly. The series aired its 1000th episode on 29 June 2018. Gardening guru Graham Ross has appeared on the show since 1995, presenting over 700 episodes. Resident vet Dr. Harry Cooper joined the team in 2004 and has been providing pet information and advice to viewers ever since. Ed Halmagyi (known on the show as 'Fast Ed') joined the team in 2004 he transforms elegant restaurant cuisine into recipes that anyone can prepare at home. Melbourne Chef Karen Martini joined the show in 2006 bringing with her a love of relaxed cooking with fresh, healthy, seasonal produce. Builder Adam Dovile joined the show in 2015 after winning season two of ''

House Rules House rules are unofficial modifications to official game rules adopted by individual groups of players. House rules may include the removal or alteration of existing rules, or the addition of new rules. Such modifications are common in board ga ...

'' in 2014, and is the go-to for DIY projects on the show. In January 2020, Charlie Albone,

James Tobin James Tobin (March 5, 1918 – March 11, 2002) was an American economist who served on the Council of Economic Advisers and consulted with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and taught at Harvard University, Harvard and Yale Uni ...

and Melissa King joined the show as presenters. Albone's partner Juliet Love is the show's designer and decorator and joined the show in 2021. In November 2023, Halmagyi announced he is departing the series after 20 years to focus on a personal business venture, his last episode was aired on 1 December 2023.

Presenters

Host

''Current Host'' *

(2005–present) ''Former Host'' * Graham Ross (2004) *

Noni Hazlehurst Leonie Elva "Noni" Hazlehurst is an Australian actress, director, writer, presenter, and broadcaster who has appeared on television and radio, in dramas, mini-series, and made for television films, as well also on stage and in feature films ...

(1995–2004) * John Jarratt (1995–1998)

Food

''Current Food Presenters'' * Colin Fassnidge (2024–present) * Clarissa Feildel (2024—present) ''Previous Food Presenters'' * Karen Martini (2007-2024) * Ed Halmagyi known as Fast Ed (2004–2023) * Pete Evans (2018–2020) * Maeve O'Meara (2000–2007) * Belinda Jeffrey (1996–2000)

Gardening

''Current Gardening Presenters'' * Graham Ross (1995–present) * Charlie Albone (2020–present) * Melissa King (2020–present) ''Previous Gardening Presenters'' * Jason Hodges (2005–2019) ''(Landscaping)'' * Linda Ross (1996–2000) * Colm O'Leary (1995-1996)

Architecture

''Current Architecture Presenters'' * Peter Colquhoun (2003–present) ''Previous Architecture Presenters'' *

Grahame Bond Grahame John Bond AM (born 21 November 1943) is an Australian Bachelor Architecture, actor, writer, director, musician and composer, known primarily for his role as Aunty Jack. Early career Bond began his career in entertainment at University ...

(1998–2002) * Tony Fragar (1996)

Decorating/Design

''Current Decorating/Design Presenters'' * Juliet Love (2021–present) ''Previous Decorating/Design Presenters'' * Tara Dennis (2006–2020) * Lissanne Oliver (2005) * Gwen Jones Palmer (2004) * Monica Trapaga (1997–2003) * Fiona Connolly (1996–2004) ''(Craft)'' * Sandy de Beyer (1996) *

(1995)

DIY

''Current DIY Presenters'' * Adam Dovile (2015–present) ''Previous DIY Presenters'' * Rob Palmer (2004–2014) * Scott McGregor (1999–2003) * John Jarratt (1995–1998)

Motoring & Technology

''Current Motoring & Technology Presenters'' *

(2020–present)

Health & Fitness

''Previous Health & Fitness Presenters'' * Sam Wood (2020–2021)

Pets

''Current Pets Presenters'' * Harry Cooper (2004–present) ''Previous Pets Presenters'' *

(1995–2003)

Better Living (consumer advice)

(1995–1997)

Broadcast

The program originally aired on Tuesdays at 7:30 pm and ran back to back with '' The Great Outdoors'' until the travel program was moved to Mondays early in the 2000s. It then aired before ''Room For Improvement'', which was hosted by then- DIY presenter Scott McGregor. ''Better Homes'' was moved to Saturday nights at 7.30 pm in 2004, before being shifted to 6.30pm. Both timeslots were reportedly disastrous for ratings and the show struggled immensely against

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

on other networks. In 2005, it was shifted to 7:30pm on Friday nights, where it has enjoyed ratings success since. It is now the longest-running Australian TV lifestyle program and the highest rating show on Australian TV. It was often among the top 10 rating programs in Australia during the 1990s, sometimes with audiences in excess of two million. From 2007 until 2011, the

showed ''Better Homes and Gardens'' at 7:30 pm., prior to its coverage of Friday Night

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

starting at 8:30 pm. This was a very successful timeslot for the show, but the scheduling was unpopular amongst football fans on the east coast, because it meant that the football was shown on a one-hour delayed telecast (except for matches in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, which were live due to the time difference). Sports fans and media continually called for Seven to shift ''Better Homes and Gardens'' and show the football

live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film * ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...

, but Seven preferred to leave the show in its top-rating timeslot, moving it only for particularly large matches. ''Better Homes and Gardens'' was forced into a new timeslot at the start of the 2012 AFL season, as the new AFL Broadcast Rights deal forced Seven to show the football live on Friday nights. ''Better Homes'' now airs in all states on Friday nights at 7:00 pm on Channel 7 when the AFL is not on and 7two when the AFL is on.

References

External links

''Better Homes and Gardens'' (Australian)

Better Homes and Gardens on 7plus
{{Seven Network programming 1995 Australian television series debuts 1990s Australian television series 2000s Australian television series 2010s Australian television series 2020s Australian television series Australian non-fiction television series Australian English-language television shows Seven Network original programming Television shows based on magazines Television shows set in Melbourne Television series by Seven Productions Gardening television Gardening in Australia