‘Massive rugby league fan’ Adam Hills is looking to bring a new slant to Channel 4’s Super League coverage

The popular Australian comedian, who hosts the award-winning Channel 4 The Last Leg show on Friday nights, was yesterday unveiled as the presenter of the broadcaster’s Betfred Super League coverage.

That starts with Leeds Rhinos versus Warrington Wolves on Saturday lunchtime when Super League appears on free-to-air television for the first time.

Given Hills’ love of rugby league - he is an ardent South Sydney fan and plays for Warrington Wolves physical disability rugby league team - he was an obvious choice to front the show where he is joined by Countryfile presenter Helen Skelton, wife of Rhinos and England star Richie Myler.

But Hills, 51, said: “Weirdly, my first thought was to get an expert.

“I genuinely thought if you want to do the sport justice, you need to get people involved who know what they’re talking about.

“Yes, I love it and I’ve played but you want a proper expert. And then when Channel 4 explained they want to find a way of opening rugby league to a new audience - they want someone who can almost translate between the experts and the people who might not have watched rugby league - that’s when I went: OK, I’ll do it.

“I’m enough of a fan where I can be in the middle and ask questions people at home might want asking and, if something really technical comes up, I can turn to the camera and say ‘what this means is this…’”

Super League has always been broadcast live on Sky Sports so the two-year deal, which sees Channel 4 exclusively broadcast ten live matches each season, is a brilliant chance to broaden the sport’s appeal.

It will be no surprise to see some of his showbiz pals such as The Last Leg co-hosts Alex Brooker and Josh Widdicombe appearing somewhere along the line.

“Alex studied here in Leeds; it’s his second home,” he said.

“He lives in Huddersfield, supports the Rhinos. I do want him to come down and check it out.

“As much as they rib me about it on The Last Leg, Alex has already said he’ll go watch a game in Huddersfield and is made up about that.

“If you look at what Russell Crowe has done for the Rabbitohs in Australia, he’s just roped in all his celebrity mates. I’m sure Snoop Dog doesn’t really support the Rabbitohs but it looks great that he’s wearing a Rabbitohs hat!

“I’ll try and do exactly the same here. We’re thinking of doing a thing where we get some celebrity faces who have never experienced rugby league before to come along and experience it.

“But also we want to entice out rugby league fans. I was on Chris Evans’ show last Friday and he’s a Warrington fan. He said he wanted to commentate with me.

“Stuart Pearce is a massive fan... But we want a bit of both.”

With their vibrant approach to sports broadcasting, Hills admits he is “excited” by what Channel 4 can deliver. He added: “I want to convey what I get from it. When I first started working on The Last Leg, I realised that in London you don’t get a lot of coverage or even just chat in the office about rugby league. But the first guy who directed The Last Leg after the Paralympics was from St Helens so we started talking about rugby league.

“And his face lit up. He just went ‘the best game in the world.’ We had an amazing conversation. Bounced off each other. That’s what I want to convey: we’ve known about this secret and now we’re letting other people in.”

Hills thinks the coverage will “look slightly cooler” and he added: “When Channel 4 first started broadcasting the Paralympics, they made it look amazing.

“And they are definitely going to do that with this; I think from talking to the producers is that we’re going to emphasise the inclusive nature of rugby league and what a family it is. A lot of the stuff we’re going to be doing will be on the pitch and if a player wanders past who wants to stop and have a chat, feel free.”

Pundits for the opening game will be former Rhinos Women’s player Danika Priim, ex-Bradford Bulls, St Helens and Great Britain ace Leon Pryce and Catalans Dragons’ Sam Tomkins, the England full-back who is reigning Steve Prescott Man of Steel. Bradford-born Mark Wilson will be commentating.

Channel 4’s Head of Sport Pete Andrews said: “Adam is the perfect presenter for our Super League coverage. He’s passionate and knowledgeable about the sport, he plays rugby league and he’s already hugely popular with Channel 4 audiences.

“As soon as we secured the deal to show Super League, he was at the top of our wish list and I’m thrilled he’ll be fronting our coverage.”

Super League chairman Ken Davy said: “Saturday will be a landmark day for Super League and Adam Hills will be the perfect host. It’s excellent news for the sport.”