Rove McManus

John Henry Michael "Rove" McManus (born 21 January 1974) is an Australian triple Gold Logie award-winning comedian, television and radio presenter, producer and media personality.

He was the host of the eponymous variety show Rove and was also the host of the comedy talk show Rove LA.

He is the co-owner of the production company Roving Enterprises with business partner Craig Campbell.

He hosts Whovians on the ABC.

McManus was born in Perth, Western Australia, to John and Coralie McManus.

McManus attended Orana Catholic Primary School before going through grades 8–12 at Corpus Christi College.

He acquired the nickname "Rove" as a child, from his sister.

After some time as a jack-of-all-trades helping to produce Li'l Elvis and the Truckstoppers, McManus voiced a role in the 1997 "Monkey See, Monkey Do" episode of Li'l Elvis.

In 1997, McManus began hosting The Loft Live, which was produced by RMIT University's Student television station RMITV for the community television station Channel 31, where, according to Rove, he was given a budget of $50 per week.

It was there where he met long-time co-host Peter Helliar.

Rove then worked for Foxtel as a roving reporter on a show called In Fashion which was hosted by Hugh Jackman.

He then took an offer from the Nine Network for ten late-night episodes of his own variety show, Rove, in 1999, but Nine cancelled the series at the end of its run.

In 2000, McManus was offered the opportunity to produce a new version of the Rove show for Network Ten.

The resulting Rove Live was almost identical to Nine's Rove.

Rove Live became a flagship show for Network Ten, and it was also broadcast on TV3 in New Zealand.

The show followed a variety show format and showcased weekly celebrity guests; comedy acts; variety segments; local and international comedians; and live bands.

During the 2004 and 2007 federal elections, McManus unsuccessfully campaigned to have the Australian prime minister, John Howard, appear on his program.

When Bert Newton fell ill in early 2004, McManus was one of many guest presenters who hosted Newton's Good Morning Australia program.

McManus hosted the episodes on 24 April and 12 October 2004.

The following year, McManus and Newton co-hosted a Roving Enterprises television special Ten Seriously 40, a look at the history of the Ten Network.

In 2004, McManus appeared in comedian John Safran's TV show John Safran vs God in a segment in which Safran convinced the controversial UK Muslim cleric Omar Bakri Muhammad to put a fatwa on McManus.

The fatwa was later taken off when Omar Bakri found out that the pictures showing McManus mocking Islam were falsified.

In 2005 and 2008, McManus undertook live stand-up comedy shows, touring Australian capital cities as well as Wellington and Auckland in New Zealand.

During the tour he returned to Melbourne each Tuesday to film Rove Live.

McManus has appeared on Good Morning Australia, John Safran vs God, Pulp Sport, The Living Room, The Project, Studio 10, Celebrity Name Game, Have You Been Paying Attention New Zealand? and Hughesy, We Have a Problem.

McManus's first recorded television appearance was as a child, when he appeared in the ABC television series, Kaboodle as Marty, in an episode called "Marty Makes A Move".

While Howard did not appear, then-opposition leaders Mark Latham appeared on the show in 2005 and Kevin Rudd in 2007.

In 2005, McManus co-hosted the historic tri-network tsunami appeal Reach Out with fellow presenters Eddie McGuire and Andrew O'Keefe on three commercial networks Seven, Nine and Ten.

The appeal raised over $20 million for tsunami relief efforts around Asia.

The event was such a success that the three teamed up just a few months later to host the Logie awards.

In November 2006, after his wife Belinda Emmett died after fighting breast cancer for eight years, McManus took indefinite leave, and Rove Live did not screen its last two planned episodes of the year.

At the time, there were unfounded rumours circulating in the industry that he might quit television for good.

He returned, however, in the competitive Sunday 8.30 pm timeslot on 1 April 2007 with a major format overhaul, including renaming the show to simply Rove.

Rove scored its highest ever audience of 1.69 million viewers.

In September 2007, McManus made his debut as a game show host in the Australian version of the US game show Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?.

On 2 May 2007, 25 July 2007, and 29 October 2008, McManus appeared as a guest on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and as a result had a regular spot on the show.

After being elected prime minister, Rudd appeared on the show again in 2008 and also on 28 June 2009.

McManus is a long established exponent of stand-up comedy, touring nationally and also appearing internationally at major events such as the 2010 Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal and as the host of the 2013 International Comedy Gala.

In 2011 he hosted a segment called "Rove Across America" on The Tonight Show.

Jay Leno and Ed McMahon also made a small pre-recorded appearance at the beginning of McManus' shows in Los Angeles giving him tips for the night's show.