Outgoing Q&A host's bizarre advice for Hamish Macdonald

New Q&A host Hamish Macdonald has received a bizarre piece of advice from outgoing anchor, Tony Jones, with the veteran journalist recommending his young successor to always wear pants.

The 64-year-old dished out his wardrobe wisdom while appearing as a guest on Richard Fidler’s radio program ABC Conversations on Wednesday.

During their chat, the topic turned to an infamous episode of the ABC TV panel show in 2010 when a member of the audience threw a ‘smelly old’ Dunlop volley shoe at Tony’s guest, former Prime Minister John Howard.

The four-time Walkley award winner leapt to the politician’s defence but admitted his outfit choice was not up to scratch.

“I remember jumping up and unfortunately, I was wearing non-matching trousers and that was one of those moments...” Tony chuckled.

By ‘non-matching’ trousers it appears Tony means that he’d paired a different pair of pants with a jacket, something which he wants future Q&A hosts - namely Hamish Macdonald - to avoid.

“I’ve often said or advised any other potential Q&A hosts, ‘make sure you wear matching trousers,’ that’s my biggest piece of advice,” he laughed.

“I’m just glad you were wearing pants!” joked Richard.

“That’s true, I could’ve been wearing shorts, you would never know with the panel cutting you in half,” Tony quipped, which could be a veiled reference to former The Project presenter Hamish’s penchant for sporting shorts on-air.

No pants on The Project

Back in October, Hamish’s fellow panellist Susie Youssef exposed the hilarious secret the seasoned news anchor had kept hidden underneath The Project desk.

While he may appear professional and well-suited above the waist, Hamish often opted for something more comfortable and casual on the bottom: shorts.

“Dem legs,” Susie captioned a snap of Hamish sporting a pair of what appears to be black boardshorts.

Hamish wasn’t alone, with Tommy Little getting in on the shorts fun by sharing a pic of him flashing some skin in a pair of floral shorts and white sneakers on set.

“Giving the Project team a preview of tonight’s top stories,” the comedian captioned the post.

Hamish forced to ‘quit’ The Project

Hamish’s shock move to the public broadcaster’s panel discussion show was announced on November 7 and followed multiple stints filling-in for Tony Jones throughout this year.

And earlier this week rumours began swirling that he’d have to bid farewell to The Project before embarking on his new Q&A gig, despite hopeful Ten spokespeople claiming the host could continue doing both.

Reports in The Australian’s Diary section suggested Hamish was being ‘forced to give up the role’ on The Project by the national broadcaster due to his increased workload.

Hamish will be on the Q&A desk weekly, as well as reporting for Foreign Correspondent and continuing his work for Radio National.

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