Todd Heffernan is more accustomed to chopping silage than chopping pillows, but last year’s House Rules winner, opened up about his experience at the recent Dairy Symposium held at Bega.
The Bega farmer and his partner, Amanda, took out the grand prize in the reality television home renovation show House Rules last year.
Todd shared with the audience “a day in the life of” the show; getting up at 6am, getting “miked up” with the audio equipment and doing the video stories that are peppered throughout the show. Work came to a halt at about 6.30pm.
“We studied till about one or two o’clock in the morning and then up at 6am. So, it was pretty full-on,” Todd said.
“I was chopping pillows one week and doing pretty good and the Mrs was happy, and the next week I chopped a pillow on the bed and she lost her sh** pretty much!
“We didn’t have a clue to start with. I couldn’t see myself being on TV.’’
“We decided early on that if we were going to commit to anything, we wouldn’t half do it.”
Todd said the couple also learnt the show relied on some drama.
“We worked it out pretty early in the piece, they do want you to fight on TV and make a reality show, Home and Away stuff.
Amanda said she appreciated her house now. “We’ve got insulation!” she said.
Todd and Amanda’s experience included a trip to the hospital, where he was given nine stitches after cutting his finger almost to the bone.
After the renovation, Todd and Amanda’s final assessment came to a value of $1100000 (originally $850000).
“To come out of it about $250 000 up, was pretty good,” Todd said.