Why Molly Meldrum Is A 'Gruff Bastard' With A Super-Soft Inside

If you've lived in Australia any time over the last few decades, it's highly likely that your taste in or knowledge of popular music has been influenced to some degree by an enthusiastic ratbag in a cowboy hat by the name of Ian Meldrum. Of course, you may know him better by his nickname: Molly.

Meldrum has been a part of the Australian rock'n'roll scene in one role or another since the 1960s, making his presence felt here and abroad as a music journalist, publicist and producer. But it was as the host of the ABC's groundbreaking music program Countdown, which premiered in 1974, that he became a pivotal part of the pop culture landscape. Now he's received the ultimate accolade: a television miniseries dramatising his life and times.

"When I was speaking with him he was trotting standard responses for me, and I had to remind him I wasn't a fucking journo."

Molly, airing over two nights from Sunday, follows Meldrum's life from the '74 premiere of Countdown through to the 2011 incident when he fell three metres from a ladder at his Melbourne home, an accident that nearly claimed his life. And playing the title role is Secret Life Of Us and Rush star Samuel Johnson.

Johnson and Meldrum have been friends for 15 or so years, and their relationship has given Johnson a valuable insight into the man's personality. That's pretty useful given that Meldrum is someone who has kept much of his private life under wraps. "He's the gruffest, sweetest man I've ever met," smiles Johnson. "He's a gruff bastard but he's super-soft on the inside, so don't be fooled."

So is Molly about Molly, the public persona, or does it reveal to its viewers something about Ian Meldrum as well? "Both, is the answer," says Johnson. "You can't walk away from the mythology around the man. To deny his iconography would be negligent of us. And that is something really interesting for me, because it's my job to find the real man underneath it all, and Molly wasn't necessarily keen on me lifting some of those lids.

"As an actor, I was very interested in the personal and interpersonal history of Molly. But he's careful and he protects himself, so often when I was speaking with him he was trotting standard responses for me, and I had to remind him I wasn't a fucking journo. I've known him for 15 years and he's still very careful in what he reveals about himself. So that was my challenge: to find out what was under there.

"I had to join a few dots and talk to a few people around him — his family, his friends — who all provided great insight, arguably more insight than Molly would give. He's not famous for being cooperative, even though he's a really kind and generous soul. He's one of the most well-barricaded humans I've ever met, and that made the challenge only more delightful.

"He's not a polished presenter, he knows that and he'll be the first to admit it, and that's part of why we love him. We were able to be fans along with him. He's flawed and honest and raw, and I think we can all relate to that."