Dave Hughes was escorted out by security after failing an audition for Hey Hey It’s Saturday

Dave ‘Hughsey’ Hughes has spoken about his rocky road to finding success as a stand-up comedian in the 1990s.

Appearing in an interview with A Life of Greatness podcast this week, the 49-year-old funnyman admitted that he failed two auditions for an amateur segment on Hey Hey It’s Saturday at the beginning of his career. 

‘They had a segment called ‘Red Faces’ where amateurs would go on the show,’ Hughesy host Sarah Grynberg, adding: ‘I auditioned for Red Faces twice as an amateur and the guy rejected me twice.’ 

Hughsey went on to admit that security actually walked him out of the second audition, as they mistakenly believe he could become ‘physically aggressive’ over his rejection.  

During his doomed second audition, Hughsey decided to stand up to the booking agent after noticing that he ‘wasn’t even looking up from his clipboard. 

‘I said to him, ‘Mate, can you just look at me?’ He said, ‘Yeah, whatever.’ And then the security guard walked me out… I think they thought I was going to get physically aggressive,’ Hughsey mused. 

While he never appeared on the amateur segment of Hey Hey It’s Saturday, he eventually managed to appear on the show as a professional stand-up comedian in 1997. 

It comes after Hughsey spoke candidly about being on the dole for a number of years while he was an up-and-coming comedian.

Speaking in response to derogatory remarks made by Sunrise star Natalie Barr in August last year, Hughsey was quick to defend dole bludgers on his Hit Network Drive show Hughesy and Kate.

‘I spent the better half of the 90s on the dole, and you have to be active or they cut you off!’ the radio host explained.

‘I’m here to say for six-to-seven years I was on the dole,’ Hughsey declared, illustrating that both he and Denise were examples of former dole recipients becoming ‘success stories’.

Hughsey has had a colourful employment history since graduating from Christian Brothers’ College, Warrnambool in 1988.

The Masked Singer judge went on to study information technology at Swinburne University in Melbourne, before going on to study accounting at Deakin University.

He dropped out of the degree to establish a career in comedy, while making ends meet by taking on odd jobs including working in an abattoir and as a shop assistant.