Baz Ashmawy is set to make his acting comeback – in a comedy drama series he wrote himself.
The RTE presenter said nobody would give him an acting role, so he had to create one.
The dad-of-six – who has just wrapped on another series of DIY SOS – also has a new travel series in the pipeline.
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Baz, 48, told Irish Sunday Mirror: “It’s going to be a busy summer, I’ve a travel series... then a comedy drama, Faithless, coming out.
“It’s a black comedy, it’s a long time on the back burner. Dramas take a while to get off the ground and to convince people you can act and write.
“I came from an acting background originally, but as life went on, I ended up presenting. It’s something I wanted to get back into. Nobody would give me a part so I thought ‘I’ll just go and write one’.”
He added: “A little goal of mine was to write something and act in it. Little things motivate me to do something different.
“There’s no limit to the possibilities of what you can do, I’m always preaching to the kids about that. But doing that comes at a sacrifice as well.
"I do have a working day and then my evenings are at home with the family. But at the moment I’m working round the clock.”
Baz first shot to fame in 2008 on budget travel show, How Low Can You Go. He went on to win over a huge fan base with the hit show 50 Ways to Kill Your Mammy.
Over three seasons from 2014 to 2016 the show followed the daredevil adventures of Baz and his mum Nancy as they travelled the world skydiving, ziplining and getting up close and personal with crocodiles.
Of his new travel venture Baz revealed: “It’s called Best Place To Be and it’s a look at different locations around the world which are good for certain aspects of life.
“I’m looking forward to packing my bags again.”
Fresh from presenting the third series of DIY SOS, the broadcaster said he was humbled by the experience.
He said: “They’re great shows to work on, just hanging out with real people all day long. Builders have a unique sense of humour that keeps you going.
“The editor has the toughest job on that gig to cut around people’s language, but it’s really good fun.
“There’s a realism to it, you go through something that traumatic and then your man from RTE sits down in front of you and we talk. I’m always bawling in interviews.
“I’m the most unprofessional interviewer ever; I become very friendly and close with the families.”
Revealing his lack of DIY skills, he joked: “I’m not a builder. When I’m on site, I’m useless to everybody.
“I just go around winding people up and having a bit of craic. I’m the middle man, telling the builders about the family and telling the family about the builder.
“It can be a very moving show and hit you in the heart sometimes. It’s like a festival, you know.
“I’m not very talented, I’m more like the ringmaster wearing a fancy hat.”
A special episode which saw Baz and volunteers building homes for refugees in Mitchelstown, Cork, ended up getting some negative attention.
He said: “I never get negativity in regards to the public. I’m sure [some] people don’t like me. But people are so sweet to me everywhere I go. That’s the first time I remember having anything [negative].
“I didn’t see it like it was a personal attack on me. There’s people that are very stressed and under huge financial stress and they want someone to blame sometimes.
“But blaming volunteers who are helping families is probably just not the right place to vent your frustrations.”
Commenting on how the show has changed him, he continued: “It makes me feel grateful and cherish things like time.
“There’s highs and lows to life, on DIY it just gives you a little bit of faith in humanity.”
Baz, a self confessed workaholic, admitted working on the show has affected his waistline.
He said: “There’s a lot of breakfast rolls eaten on our builds because hard work is getting done. Maybe it’s because they’re doing heavy lifting and I’m doing heavy pointing, maybe that’s the problem. Maybe that’s why I put on the weight.”
Baz and his partner Tanja Evans are parents to Hannah and Mahy, and Tanya’s four children from a previous relationship, Charlotte, Harry, Jake and Amelia.
Family man Baz heaped praise on his long-term partner.
He said: “We’re a real team, we discuss everything together, projects and everything.
“I can’t do what I do without her doing her thing. We’re really good. We’re going to get married but there’s still no date set. We’re waiting to see, I want to surprise her. Every time she has an inkling I pull back.
“It’s a bit ridiculous now but if the world needs her to have a ring to show I love her I’ll have to do it. For the kids it’s a nice thing.”
He said his mum Nancy, who also featured in documentaries Baz and Nancy’s Holy Show and Baz and Nancy’s Last Orders, has not hung up her showbiz boots just yet.
Baz revealed: “So at the moment my mother’s always saying, ‘anything to wet me beak’?
“She’s always up for it. She’s so great.
“She doesn’t watch back her episodes... she loves watching DIY, we’re too busy moving forward to look back.”
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