Bruce McAvaney has never done reality TV. Advice from a dear friend changed his mind

For almost five decades Bruce McAvaney has worn his heart on his sleeve, every time he calls an AFL game or the Melbourne Cup, an Australian Open final or the Test cricket. But the man they call “Mr Olympics”, as he’s covered every Summer Games since 1984, has kept steadfastly to his television lane, refusing to be seduced, like many a sporting peer, by the lure of reality TV.

He’s turned down numerous invitations, including several from Seven’s Dancing with the Stars. And he declined SBS’s initial request to trace his family tree on Who Do You Think You Are? But a combination of timing, curiosity and the advice of a dear friend – fellow Seven sports broadcasting legend Dennis Cometti, who died in March – changed his mind. And so, at the age of 72, McAvaney is taking his first – and, he insists, last – step outside the commentary box.

“There’s a bit of me that’s a show-off, but there’s a lot of me that’s pretty shy,” McAvaney says. “When I’ve got to perform, I know I can do that, but it takes a fair bit of preparation to feel comfortable … The timing for me to have this experience was just right. And it will sustain me the rest of my life.”

McAvaney revealed his diagnosis of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia in 2017. “I’m feeling very well at the moment. I’ve had a couple of ups and downs with my health. But that’s going very well. And I think, in my seventies, I would like to know a little bit more about why I’m here and who came before me.”

First he ran the idea past Cometti, who appeared on the first Australian version of the British format in 2008.

“I remember when Dennis and I were calling a match on a Friday night in Melbourne and the [WDYTYA?] crew were in the box with us,” McAvaney says. “And he told me then how much he enjoyed doing [the series]. And I actually rang him and his wife, Vee, to say: ‘Look, I’m going to do this program. What was it like for you?’ It was all positive.

“But what a beautiful program it is. It tells great tales. I also had no idea what might be uncovered.”

The first famous face to embark on a DNA journey this 17th season (which includes Guy Sebastian, Rosie Batty, Curtis Stone, Matt Day, Essie Davis, Aaron Pedersen and Chrissie Swan), McAvaney traces his South Australian roots through both parents’ bloodlines. What emerges is a fascinating story of hardship, entrepreneurship, tragedy and endurance. There’s a nice link with a horse trotting track in Smithfield, and a tiny Wendish church, north of Adelaide, where his great-great-grandmother was married. For McAvaney, such details gave him a “profound” sense of connection.

“I felt attachment and affection,” McAvaney says. “It was a very strong emotion … It was such a different time. What drove people to do certain things? What were their ambitions? And what about the other people that were living at the same time, and how did they connect with the communities? All those things run through your head. I wondered through this whole episode, ‘Were they happy?’”

His beloved sports-mad parents, Betty (who died in 2004) and Roy (who died in 2009), are a strong presence throughout, with McAvaney sharing precious childhood memories. He would “give anything to have an hour with them, to watch the show with them”. He can’t wait for his 96-year-old Uncle Bobby to learn more about his family history.

“Life’s tricky. There are so many questions we’d like to know the answers to. But I’ve always felt that whilst I’m alive, my mother and father are in a way as well. And I feel that that’s what I and my wife, [journalist] Anne [Johnson], will leave to our children. It’s a lovely thing. Life is short and we all know that it’s very difficult when people leave us.”

Who Do You Think You Are? returns at 7.30pm on Tuesday, May 12, on SBS and SBS On Demand.

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