Backyard Blitz
Backyard Blitz was a Logie Award winning Australian lifestyle and DIY television program that aired on the Nine Network between 2000 through to 2007 before its cancellation. It was hosted by Jamie Durie and was created by Don Burke and produced by his CTC Productions team.
| Backyard Blitz | |
|---|---|
 title card | |
| Genre | Lifestyle |
| Created by | Don Burke |
| Developed by | CTC Productions |
| Presented by | Jamie Durie |
| Starring | Team Members Scott Cam Jody Rigby Nigel Ruck |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 7 |
| No. of episodes | 159 |
| Production | |
| Producers | Don Burke Jamie Durie Rick Spence |
| Running time | 43 - 44 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | Nine Network |
| Picture format | 576i (SDTV) |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 9 April 2000 – 16 September 2007 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | Domestic Blitz |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The show featured a very similar premise to the show Ground Force, in which a team of gardeners employed by the show descend on a supposedly worthy individual's place and improve the garden for the cameras within a specified time limit. This similarity in fact led to legal action being taken by the rival Seven Network who at the time was set to debut an Australian version of Ground Force.[1] Seven lost its claim as Don Burke's CTC was able to show that Burke's Backyard in fact had featured backyard garden renovations which they claimed naturally morphed into Backyard Blitz.[2]
The show like many other lifestyle series was immensely popular across all demographics and for seven years. It consistently won its time-slot and consistently was in the top 20 national shows at year's end [3]
On 14 November 2006 Backyard Blitz was axed by the Nine Network after seven years on air. Don Burke, whose own show Burke's Backyard was broadcast by Nine for nearly 18 years before it was axed in 2004, said his production company was "quite shocked by this decision".[4] In mid-2007 Nine aired the six remaining unaired episodes that were filmed before the show was cancelled. In 2008, it aired a spin-off show Domestic Blitz hosted by Shelley Craft and Scott Cam
Presenters
The four regular presenters on the show were landscaper Jamie Durie (the main host and the shows lead landscaper), Scott Cam (builder/carpenter), Nigel Ruck (landscaper) and Jody Rigby (horticulturist).
Awards
During the shows run, it has won (and been nominated) for several Logie Awards. The show won six consecutive 'Most Popular Lifestyle Program' awards (2002–2006). It was nominated in the same category in 2007 but lost. Jamie Durie won the 'Most Popular New Male Talent' in 2001 and was nominated for 'Most Popular TV Presenter' in 2005 and 2006 for his role on the show.
References
- Robins, Jane (27 April 2000). "Ground Force may sue Australian 'copy'". The Independent. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
- https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/rights-and-wrongs-20020418-gdf7fm.html
- https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/fact-finders/television/industry-trends/in-the-archive/top-programs/top-20-programs-1998-2009
- "The Australian". Archived from the original on 15 October 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2006.