James Rees (born 15 July 1987) is an Australian comedian and former children's entertainer best known for playing the role of Jimmy Giggle on ABC Kids' flagship program ''

Giggle and Hoot ''Giggle and Hoot'' is an Australian children's television "wrap-around" program block that aired on the ABC Kids channel. The series was produced from 2009 to 2019, with the final episodes airing in 2020, and depicted the adventures of ...

'' from 2009 to 2020.

Personal life

Rees was born in Frankston,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

and grew up in Mount Eliza, Victoria and moved to the Central Coast of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, at age 22, to star as "Jimmy Giggle" in the ABC children's programme ''

'' (filmed in the ABC's Ultimo studios). Rees married his long-term partner Tori in 2013 and they have three sons named Lenny, Mack and Vinny. After Rees finished up with ''Giggle and Hoot'', they moved from the Central Coast, New South Wales to the

Mornington Peninsula The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located in the south of Greater Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to ...

in Victoria.

Career

Rees was the host of the Australian

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

children's program ''

'' from 2009 to 2020. In the program, Jimmy Giggle (Rees) is shown to enjoy mending objects, although he relies on a "problematic magic button" that never works. He is portrayed as having a brilliant talent in creating new things out of regular items. He also plays several musical instruments in the program, including the

ukulele The ukulele ( ; ); also called a uke (informally), is a member of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. The ukulele is of Portuguese origin and was popularized in Hawaii. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and con ...

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone (sometimes abbreviated to "bari sax") is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass saxophone, bass. It is the lowe ...

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

and

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

. It was reported that Rees beat 5,000 other actors to win the role, and moved to the Central Coast from his home town in

for the role. Rees competed in the sixteenth season of the Australian version of

Network 10 Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's UK & Australia division and is one of the five national free-to-a ...

's ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

'' in 2019, where he was partnered with Alexandra Vladimirov. Rees made it to the top 5 of the contest but withdrew from the competition when one of his infant twin sons Mack suffered complications during a routine medical procedure. During the

competition Rees scored best dancer in his renditions of the

foxtrot The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a time ...

and

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (food), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: Arts and ent ...

performed to

George Ezra George Ezra Barnett (born 7 June 1993) is an English musician. After releasing two EPs, '' Did You Hear the Rain?'' (2013) and '' Cassy O (2014), Ezra rose to prominence with the release of his hit single "Budapest", which reached number one ...

's "

Hold My Girl "Hold My Girl" is a song by English singer-songwriter George Ezra. The song was written by Ezra and Joel Pott, and produced by Cam Blackwood. It was initially released as the second promotional single from Ezra's second studio album ''Staying at Ta ...

" and

Pitbull Pit bull is an umbrella term for several types of dog believed to have descended from bull and terriers. In the United States, the term is usually considered to include the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, American B ...

's "

I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho) "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" is a song by American rapper and singer Pitbull released as the second single from his fourth album, '' Pitbull Starring in Rebelution''. The song samples "75, Brazil Street" by Nicola Fasano and Pat Rich, which ...

", respectively, and won the second week of the competition with his rendition of the Jive performed to

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

's "

Don't Stop Me Now "Don't Stop Me Now" is a song by the British rock band Queen, featured on their 1978 album ''Jazz'' and released as a single on 26 January 1979. Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, it was recorded in August 1978 at Super Bear Studios in ...

". Rees was also a member of the winning team "La La Land" of the group dance with fellow competitors

Courtney Act Shane Gilberto Jenek (born 18 February 1982), better known under the stage name Courtney Act, is an Australian drag queen, singer and television personality. Courtney first came to prominence competing on the first season of ''Australian Idol' ...

, Jett Kenny and

Michelle Bridges Michelle Bridges (born 20 October 1970) is an Australian personal trainer, author and television personality. From 2007 to 2015, she was a trainer on the Australian version of ''The Biggest Loser (Australia TV series), The Biggest Loser'', makin ...

. Rees has also starred in a number of

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

stage productions. He has performed in

Bonnie Lythgoe Bonita Lythgoe (née Shawe; born 1949) is a British former dancer who, since the 1990s and 2000s, has been the producer and director of various theatre productions, including pantomimes. In 1969, aged 19, Lythgoe auditioned for the BBC's Young ...

productions including '' Snow White Winter Family Musical'' in 2014 and ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'' in 2016. In July 2019 Rees is scheduled to appear in a production of

Jack and the beanstalk "Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale with ancient origins. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition :File:Round about our Coal Fire, or, Christmas Entertainments, 4th edn, 1734.pdf, On C ...

as "Silly Billy", alongside fellow Australian actors

Peter Rowsthorn Peter Rowsthorn may refer to: *Peter Rowsthorn (actor) Peter Rowsthorn (born 9 February 1963) is an Australian stand-up comedian, actor, writer, producer, MC, host and theatre. Early life and education Rowsthorn attended Trinity Grammar Scho ...

and Luke Joslin. Rees has also made appearances on a number of Australian TV programs including ''JuicedTV'' in 2015 and '' Whovians'' in 2017. In 2018, Rees was crowned King of Moomba with

Chrissie Swan Christina Swan is an Australian television and radio presenter and media personality. Since 2023, Swan has hosted '' The Chrissie Swan Show'' on Nova FM. In 2022 and 2023, she served as a panellist on '' The Masked Singer Australia'' alongside ...

as Queen of Moomba. In November 2019, Rees announced that he had decided to end his stint with ''

''. He was quoted as saying that he had decided to move on to a different phase of his life. The show's "gruelling schedule", involving shooting for 47 weeks a year, had made it difficult for his growing family of three young children. In 2020, he started releasing short humorous videos on

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

and

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

, covering topics such as parenting, packaging and the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. His most well-known videos are those in a series called "''Meanwhile in Australia''", where he plays the role of political leaders such as the then-

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Scott Morrison Scott John Morrison (born 13 May 1968) is an Australian former politician who served as the 30th prime minister of Australia from 2018 to 2022. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party and was ...

and each state and territory

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

(of a state) or

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

(of a territory) negotiating lockdowns, border restrictions and

vaccinations Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...

. As of August 2021, the series had gained over 8 million followers on social media and 10 million fans on TikTok. In 2023, Rees competed as a contestant on the first season of ''

Taskmaster Australia ''Taskmaster Australia'' is an Australian comedy panel game show first broadcast on Network 10 on 2February 2023. Based on the British show '' Taskmaster'' created by comedian Alex Horne, the program revolves around a group of five celebritiesmain ...

'', hosted by

Tom Gleeson Thomas Francis Gleeson (born 2 June 1974) is an Australian stand-up comedian, writer, television and radio presenter. Gleeson currently hosts '' Hard Quiz'' and '' Taskmaster Australia'' and previously co-hosted ''The Weekly with Charlie Picker ...

Honours and awards

In the

2024 King's Birthday Honours The 2024 King's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of King Charles III to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part o ...

list, Rees was appointed a

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...

(OAM), "for service to the arts as an entertainer, and to the community".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rees, James 1987 births Living people 21st-century Australian male actors Australian male television actors Australian children's musicians Australian TikTokers People from Mount Eliza, Victoria Male actors from Melbourne Television personalities from Melbourne Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia