A matter of trust - Bondi Rescue

29.03.2010

AS program creator Ben
Davies sees it, there's
a simple reason for the
success of Bondi Rescue.
"It's one of those places where
it just throws up weird things,"
Davies says. "From the guy on
New Year's Day who turned
up in the boat he'd bought on
eBay for $2.50 after watching
the fireworks on the harbour, or
the navy bomb that washed up
on the beach a few years back,
strange things always seem to
happen on Bondi."
Beyond the obscure, the
celebrities - Snoop Dog and
Paris Hilton - and the locals,
the series' strength is centred
on Bondi's boys in blue, the
lifeguards patrolling the famed
1km stretch of water.
They're a mischievous bunch,
unafraid to find fun, a true
collection of characters.
Ultimately, however, they are
astute professionals - wondrous
watermen driven to prevent any
accidents.
Interestingly, they have also
become one of this country's
greatest TV exports and are now
seen in more than 50 countries
worldwide.
From chilly Scandinavian
climes to France and Italy,
the United Kingdom and the
United States, Bondi Rescue has
penetrated the international
small screen.
It has meant the odd cranial
swelling among the full-time
crew - not to be confused with
the "weekend warriors", the
livesavers in red and yellow.
Although any obvious ego,
Davies says, is quickly shut
down.
"They get a little bit of
attention out of it and go to
a few parties, but they keep
themselves pretty grounded."
Davies, a local lad for whom
television was always his "bread
and butter", stumbled upon the
concept while working as a parttime
lifeguard in the summer
of 2005.
"I was busy tapping away
on a project for which I had a
[Federal Government] grant. I
took on some work lifeguarding
and spent two weeks on the
beach before I realised this was
a far more interesting prospect
than the one I had the funding
for."
He quickly found a backer in
Michael Cordell, of production
company Jigsaw Cordell, and
the pair set about pitching the
idea.
Nine was initially approached
and its hesitation quickly led
Davies to Ten, which "took the
punt" on the project.
Head lifeguard Bruce Hopkins
says he would not have allowed
the series to go ahead were it
not being steered by Davies.
"Without him we wouldn't
have done it, simple as that. He
knew, working as a lifeguard,
what it's all about. My main
concern was how it was going to
portray us - you can cut things
out and present it in a different
way," Hopkins says.
"But Ben was in there and has
the final say along with Michael,
who's been a surfer most of his
life. We trusted them."
The series was originally to
be an hour-long special but, as
Hopkins points out, the "execs
liked what they saw".
"They kept sending the
footage back and they [Ten
executives] kept asking for
more. They were like, `hang on,
there's something here'."
Indeed there was. The initial
eight episodes of the first series
quickly built into 13.
The program has found
ratings success - generally
reaching well-beyond the
magical million mark -
although it has faced some
arduous opposition this year,
smacking against Seven and
Nine's marquee products My
Kitchen Rules and Top Gear.
"It's been a tough year, I
guess, yeah," Davies says.
"We're in a challenging slot,
wedged between the big guns
right now But, yeah, hopefully
we'll be back and get another
crack at it."
As Hopkins sees it - film crew
or not - he and his chargers will
be at Bondi patrolling, pulling
the unfortunate, the naive and
the plain stupid from the seas.
For now, however, he's happy
to ride the swell the series has
brought to Bondi - the extracurricular
activities attached to
the show
"I'm up at the Gold Coast
today for the surf carnival and
then back down to Melbourne to
do some modelling. We've signed
up with [a leading underwear
brand] and I've gotta do the
fashion show I didn't think at
my age, at 41, I'd be walking
a catwalk in me undies with
Jennifer Hawkins. It's only a
small window, so enjoy it while
it's there - although I do worry
about a wardrobe malfunction."