Matthew Johns beats sex scandal and is back on TV with Seven
Article from: The Sunday Mail (Qld)
Anooska Tucker-Evans
February 14, 2010 12:00am
FOR disgraced footballer Matthew Johns, the past nine months have been the toughest of his life. Last May, he was implicated in a sex scandal, involving a New Zealand woman and a group of former rugby league teammates, while on a pre-season tour in 2002.
He was consequently stood down from his commentary and The Footy Show roles with Channel 9 and left to rebuild his relationship with his wife and family.
"It certainly has been difficult, particularly seeing the stress that it put my family under and knowing that I was the one to blame for that," he says. "I was in a bit of no man's land, not knowing what I was going to do with my life or how I would move forward, or whether I should move forward."
It was at this point his wife, Trish, pulled him aside and gave him permission to forgive himself. "She said, 'I don't know if you've noticed, but myself and the boys have moved on. Now for us to continue to move on, we need you to do the same'," he recalls.
"So I said, 'Right, get off the couch and start getting on with the rest of your life'."
He contemplated rugby league coaching before a phone call from friend and advertising guru John Singleton convinced him to head back to television.
"He said, 'This is what you do best. That's what you need to do'," Johns said.
While Nine had tried to win the former star player back at the end of last year, Johns says he wasn't ready. But a few months later, an offer from Channel 7 to host his own show with his own format was too hard to pass up.
The show will be a football-based variety and entertainment program, featuring some of the biggest players in rugby league.
While Johns' popular alter ego Reg Reagan won't make a comeback, he has developed two or three new characters for the show, based on Australian television personalities.
The yet-to-be-named series is trying to nut out a final format and sign on key hosts, with Queensland rugby league great Shane Webcke high on the list. "When they first came to me and said 'Who would you like to bring in for this show?' immediately I said 'Shane Webcke'. In the world of rugby league, I don't think there's anyone with more credibility," Johns said.
Webcke tells The Sunday Mail he is weighing up his options and is unsure if he is the right fit for the program. Time constraints as he juggles newsreading with Seven, business ventures and Broncos' commitments also impact on his decision.
The series is set to air between March 7 and 27, when the rugby league season kicks off. It will no doubt go up against Johns's former show, The Footy Show on Nine.
"I have no ill feelings toward Channel 9. This was just an opportunity for me to do something different and to make it mine," Johns said. "At the moment we're working around the clock to get this right."
Johns realises being back in the spotlight, will again open him up to criticism, but says it's just something he will have to accept.
For now, the 38-year-old says he is the happiest he's been. "This is the best I've felt for a long, long time. I'm excited. I'm starting something new," he says.
