How Nazeem Hussain and Melissa Leong turned ‘hot girl walks' into a TV road trip
'People really just welcomed us with open arms, except for this damn alpaca,' Hussain says. 'Mel was like, come feed it. Maybe I was trepidatious, but the alpaca punished me for it by spitting directly in my eye. There was a time when I was considering veganism – never again. I am now on an exclusively alpaca diet. Alpaca on toast. Alpaca stew.'
It was just one of many adventures they had during the making of the new six-episode docuseries, where Hussain and Leong go on three epic road trips, visiting the Red Centre Way, the Top End and Tasmania. Actor Claudia Karvan and comedian Steph Tisdell also appear as the other driving duo hopping behind the wheel in the remaining episodes.
Leong says she and Hussain first met when she was doing the promo rounds after being announced as one of the new judges on MasterChef Australia. Their friendship deepened when they went on 'hot girl walks' during the pandemic.
'We've been friends for years,' Leong says. 'We've been trying to find the right, excuse the pun, vehicle for us to do something professionally. Then this came along, and I said: could I throw Nazeem's hat in the ring? Together we're quite diverse, and why not give us the opportunity to lead a couple of episodes where you have an Asian person and a brown person literally in the driver's seat meeting different parts of Australia.'
While Hussain has toured many regional towns in his comedy career, he hadn't had the chance to explore those areas in depth. A self-described 'city slicker', he said the experience opened his eyes to the joy of the humble road trip.
'I would never have normally chosen to go to the places that we went. I'm a tech head. I love all my devices and crowded places with people. Getting out and about in non-built-up Australia was out of my comfort zone, but I now understand why people do road trips. Planes take you over, cars take you through. It's the best way to see Australia. It's good for the soul. It's like therapy, except there are kangaroos and red rocks along the way.'
The pair share an easy camaraderie on the show, with the camera privy to the many hours they spent driving between destinations, bantering. On the road Hussain was the DJ, spinning Destiny's Child, Public Enemy and even some ABBA, while Leong had strong opinions about the best car snacks – carrots, cherry tomatoes, and of course, lollies are among her picks. More unexpectedly, Hussain says he was the 'granny' driver between them, while Leong leant more towards, in his words, a 'hoon'.
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