Julia Carolyn Margaret Morris is an Australian comedian, television presenter, and actress. She has worked extensively in Australian television and radio, touring the country with her solo comedy shows. She relocated to the United Kingdom in 2000, appearing on British television, then returned to Australia in 2007. She currently co-hosts Network 10's '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! Australia'' alongside Robert Irwin and also narrates ''Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly Australia''.

Early life and education

Julia Carolyn Margaret Morris was educated at St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, St Joseph's Catholic College, East Gosford, Santa Sabina College, Strathfield, and the Ensemble Theatre School. She later attended acting school for two years in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Career

Television

Morris's first television appearance was in 1985, aged 17, as a contestant on the talent show ''

New Faces ''New Faces'' is a British television talent show that aired in the 1970s and 1980s. It has been hosted by Leslie Crowther, Derek Hobson and Marti Caine. It was produced for the ITV network by ATV, and later by Central. Original series: ...

''. She performed " Holding Out for a Hero", a

Jim Steinman James Richard Steinman (November 1, 1947 – April 19, 2021) was an American composer, lyricist and record producer. He also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer. His work included songs in the adult contemporary, rock, dance, pop, mus ...

song made famous by

Bonnie Tyler Gaynor Sullivan (née Hopkins; born 8 June 1951), known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer. Known for her distinctive husky voice, Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album '' The World Starts Tonight'' and its ...

, and tied for first place. After several years in variety and stand-up, Morris's big break came when she joined the ensemble cast of the hit Australian sketch comedy series '' Full Frontal'' in 1995. This led to hosting roles on ''Great Aussie Bloopers'' and "The Morris Report" on the live variety series ''

In Melbourne Tonight ''In Melbourne Tonight'', also known as ''IMT'', was a highly popular nightly Logie award-winning Australian variety show, variety television show produced at GTV-9 Melbourne from 6 May 1957 to 1970. Overview Graham Kennedy was the show's mai ...

'', as well as regular appearances on '' The Midday Show'', '' Good Morning Australia'', ''

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

'' and '' Who Dares Wins'' as well as the action series ''

Gladiators A gladiator ( , ) was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their ...

''. Morris relocated to the United Kingdom in 2000. As well as stand-up, she made appearances on the TV quiz '' QI'', an episode of the sitcom ''

Not Going Out ''Not Going Out'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom created, written by and starring Lee Mack. It has aired on BBC One since 2006 and is the second-longest-running British sitcom, behind ''Last of the Summer Wine'' (1973–2010). Th ...

'' playing a successful beautician, and in the sixth episode of season three of Kathy Griffin's ''My Life on the D-List'', offering advice on the British audiences. Morris also had a stint presenting the BBC's '' Liquid News'' show in 2002. Since her return to Australia in 2007, Morris has made appearances on '' Thank God You're Here'', '' Good News Week'', '' Spicks and Specks'', ''

Rove Live ''Rove'', also titled ''Rove Live'', is an Australian television variety show that featured live music performances and interviews with local and international celebrity guests. The program premiered on the Nine Network on 22nd September 1999, b ...

'', '' The Singing Office'', '' It Takes Two'', '' Sleuth 101'', ''

Studio 10 ''Studio 10'' was an Australian morning talk show on Network 10 which aired from 4 November 2013 to 22 December 2023. Its final hosts were Angela Bishop, Narelda Jacobs and Tristan MacManus. It aired between 10am and noon on weekdays and a hi ...

'', '' The Project'', ''

The Living Room The Living Room was a music venue on Metropolitan Avenue in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, which was originally established on Stanton Street of the Lower East Side in Manhattan, New York City in 1988. The Living Room was co-owned ...

'', '' Have You Been Paying Attention?'' and '' Hughesy, We Have a Problem''. She won the third season of the reality singing series ''It Takes Two'', in which she was partnered with opera singer David Hobson. Her winnings were donated to the Emily Tapp Foundation, a charity dedicated to

melanoma Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer; it develops from the melanin-producing cells known as melanocytes. It typically occurs in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye (uveal melanoma). In very rare case ...

awareness and prevention. She has also appeared in a series of commercials for All-Bran cereal, which also featured fellow actress and comedian

Helen Dallimore Helen Dallimore (born 31 October 1971) is an Australian stage, television and film actress, known for originating the role of Glinda in the West End production of '' Wicked''. Early life Dallimore grew up in Oxford, England and Sydney, Austra ...

. Morris was the winning contestant on the 2011 series of ''

The Celebrity Apprentice Australia ''The Celebrity Apprentice Australia'' is an Australian reality television series which aired on the Nine Network. Based on NBC's '' The Apprentice'', it first aired on 24 October 2011 and originally featured Mark Bouris, the founder and chair ...

'', beating teammate Jason Coleman, model Jesinta Campbell and AFL footballer Shane Crawford. In 2012, Morris has starred as Gemma Crabb in the

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

's Melbourne-made drama series '' House Husbands''. The show commenced a second season on 8 April 2013. In April 2013, Morris was announced as the new host of television talent show ''

Australia's Got Talent ''Australia's Got Talent'' is an Australian reality television talent show. The show is based on the '' Got Talent'' series format that originated in the United Kingdom with Simon Cowell. The first six seasons aired on the Seven Network, from ...

'', which has switched from 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, ...

to the

. On 1 February 2015, Morris began co-hosting the Australian version of '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' with

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...

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 ...

. In 2018, Morris hosted an updated version of dating show ''

Blind Date A blind date is a romantic meeting between two people who have never met before. Both parties arrange a date with little to no information about each other, hoping for the possibility of making a lasting impression. Typically, a family member or ...

'' on

. On 24 February 2019, she also began co-hosting '' Chris & Julia's Sunday Night Takeaway'' with

. At the 61st TV Week Logie Awards in 2019, Morris was nominated for the

Gold Logie The Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television, commonly referred to simply as the Gold Logie, is an award presented annually at the Australian Logie Awards. The Gold Logie was first awarded at the 2nd Annual TV We ...

for the two aforementioned shows as well as '' I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here''!. She was again nominated for the Gold Logie in 2022 and then again in 2023. In 2020, Morris appeared as "Kitten" on the second season of '' The Masked Singer Australia'' and was eliminated in the semi-final, placing 5th overall. In early 2023, Morris appeared as a celebrity contestant on the Australian adaption of the British comedy panel game show ''Taskmaster'', titled ''

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 ...

.'' She competed alongside fellow entertainers Jimmy Rees, Danielle Walker,

Luke McGregor Luke William McGregor is an Australian comedian, writer and actor, who has performed at various national and international comedy festivals, as himself in many TV shows, and is known for his roles in the ABC TV series ''Utopia'' and '' Rosehav ...

and Nina Oyama. In July 2023, Morris began narrating a brand new show on

called ''Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly Australia.''

Live performance

Morris tours international comedy festivals, appearing at the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

, South Africa's Vodacom Funny Festival, Montreal's Just For Laughs and the

Melbourne International Comedy Festival The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the largest international comedy festival in the world. First held in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typically starti ...

. She won a Herald Angel Award at the 2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe and '' Time Out'' magazine's Comedy Performer of the Year Award in 2004. She is a former manager of Sydney's

Comedy Store The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California. History The Com ...

venue. In 1999 Morris toured in the critically acclaimed Australian production of the

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

musical ''

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change ''I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change'' is a musical comedy with book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro, and music by Jimmy Roberts. It is the second-longest running Off-Broadway musical.Gans, Andrew"I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change Ends NYC R ...

''.

Personal life

Morris married British comedian Dan Thomas in Las Vegas on 31 December 2005. They divorced in 2022.

Filmography

As actor

As herself

References

External links

Official website
*
BBC News article discussing the Liquid News presenter lineup, August 2002

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20040928023524/http://www.brightoncomedyfestival.com/ladyjuliamorris.asp Review of 2004 Brighton Comedy Festival show ''Lady Julia Morris Live''
Julia Morris biography
– It Takes Two website {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Julia Australian women comedians Australian women television presenters Australian expatriates in England Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Australian people of Welsh descent The Apprentice Australia winners Australia's Got Talent Helpmann Award winners Comedians from Sydney