Media Man

Jamie Durie

Jaime Durie is one of the most iconic television personalities in Australia. The former Channel Nine, now Channel Seven star has hosted a variety of programs, majority lifestyle including Channel Nine's Backyard Blitz, Renovation Rescue & The Block. Jamie is now the host of Channel Seven's up and coming show Australia's Best Backyards. Seven has also given the green light for one of his own projects to air in the second half of 2007.

Passions & life before television

Prior to his television presenting career, Durie was a member of Manpower Australia, a highly popular touring male striptease act similar to the Chippendales. In 1994 he posed nude for the art magazine Black+White alongside former fiancée Terasa Livingstone. On a special presentation for Cirque du Soleil's Australian tour of Alegría for the Nine Network, he revealed that he previously auditioned for the troupe but did not get in.

Jamie Durie is also a passionate humanitarian and is the ambassador for Plan (aid organisation) Australia. A television special was screened with Durie in this role as he visited families in Uganda affected by HIV. Durie has also become a passionate horticulturist, thus beginning his own award winning landscape company PATIO.

Television career
Jamie Durie hosted a variety of programs on Channel Nine including those mentioned above before his move to Channel Seven. Durie also hosted the ill-fated multi-million dollar Nine program Torvill and Dean's Dancing on Ice and was involved with many other Nine programs.

In November 2006, it was announced live on Oprah that Durie would become the new landscaper. During that first show he and designer Nate Berkus helped a woman and her family freshen up their home for an upcoming sale, due to the family suffering from financial problems and medical issues.

On 17 January 2007, the Nine Network parted company with Durie. Nation-wide newspapers reported Durie asked for a pay rise of $2 million which Nine declined to give. The next day, it was announced Durie would move to the Seven Network. Today Tonight did an interview with Durie in which he stated that Nine offered the $2 million which he declined, not the other way round. He resigned and came to Seven because the network was moving in a direction, in which he thought was right. The interview also announced Durie would be hosting the up and coming Australia's Best Backyard's and that he would appear in the next season of Dancing with the Stars on Channel 7.

Trivia
He made his TV debut as a gardening expert on Australian Foxtel gardening show Dig This.
Landscape Designer, James Durie has been designing landscapes and water features, both in Australia and overseas since 1996
Resides in Sydney, Australia
Began his rather unconventional career working as a founding member of the Gold Coast male dance cabaret show Manpower.
Dated Australian TV presenter, Teresa Livingstone.
Skills include water skiing, scuba diving, surfing, acrobatics, trapeze, landscape design/horticulture, volleyball, snowboarding, dance, rollerblading, tennis, soccer and abseiling.
Appeared in Black+White magazine in the buff.
A day after leaving Nine, Durie signed with Seven and recorded a Seven promo saying (Part 1)"Thanks for watching Seven,(Part 2)You gotta love that" which was shown that same day after Today Tonight. (Credit: Wikipedia)

2007 News - January - Jamie Durie to sign on with Channel Seven.

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