Fourteen years ago, when Beau Ryan walked onto the set of Sky Sport’s The Footy Show and did his first piece to camera, he thought he was the best thing since sliced bread. With hindsight, he realises he was anything but.
“I was awful,” admits the former NRL star, 38. “But I thought it was the greatest thing ever. As soon as the red light came on, it awakened something inside of me that I wanted to take to the next level. That’s happened every time I’ve been on camera since.”
Beau is now a regular face on our screens as the host of The Amazing Race Australia and he’ll soon host the rebooted series of Gladiators.
“I saw my old business studies teacher the other day and we spoke about how I always liked to be the centre of attention,” laughs Beau. “I always wanted to entertain people, but I was too focused on being an NRL player.”
Travelling through Asia to host The Amazing Race Australia: Celebrity Edition took Beau away from his wife Kara and their children, Remi, 10, and Jesse, six, for more than a month.
With wife Kara, son Jesse and daughter Remi.
“I wouldn’t be able to do it without my phone,” he tells. “I need to call them daily. For the kids, it’s a chore – they don’t want to talk to Dad – but I selfishly need to.”
As Beau approaches 40, he reveals his one regret.
“I wish I got to play rugby league for longer,” he says of his 126 games for the Tigers and Sharks between 2007 and 2014. “My son wasn’t born then and I would’ve loved him to see me be a part of that. I had my daughter quite young and she was a big part of my career. Watching her look back at the photos and tell stories to a friend feels pretty special.”
Perhaps referring to his highly public affair with Hi-5 singer Lauren Brant, Beau says his life has had “lots of ups and downs”, but he insists, “Everything has pointed me to this moment, so I’m really happy.”
