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In December 2019, landscaping expert Jason Hodges\u2019 shock axing after 16 years on Better Homes and Gardens<\/em> took everyone – none more so than the beloved star himself – by complete surprise.<\/p>\nAt the time, the shellshocked Sydney-born father-of-two made little public comment except to say he was \u2018absolutely gutted\u2019 to be dropped from the Channel Seven mainstay before going to ground over Christmas and the new year.<\/p>\n
Now, the man known affectionally as \u2018Hodgie\u2019 to his adoring co-stars and audience, has told Yahoo Lifestyle<\/em> in an exclusive chat that his unceremonial ousting from one of the country\u2019s most iconic programs came entirely out of the blue.<\/p>\n\u201cI just didn\u2019t see it coming,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know it\u2019s television and I know people lose their jobs, I know shows finish but I just didn\u2019t see it coming,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n\nJason goofs off with co-host Tara and the BHG<\/em> crew. Photo: Instagram\/jasonhodgesandco.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption>More<\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/figure>\nJason\u2019s shock axing<\/strong><\/p>\nJason is still coming to grips with why he lost his job after over a decade and a half of loyalty and good old fashioned hard work, although he has his own theories.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought I was doing the best that I could. I was personable, I wasn\u2019t a diva. I helped set up in the morning and pack down in the afternoon. I was just one of the boys, not a \u2018presenter\u2019,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just felt like \u2018the good guy comes last\u2019 kind of thing,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n
Jason suspects his axing was part of a fruitless move to refresh the program\u2019s existing audience of Baby Boomers and Gen X\u2019ers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that television networks don\u2019t do the market research that they should and especially in this decision\u2026 [the Channel Seven execs are] trying to attract a younger audience that doesn\u2019t exist [because] your average 25-year-old doesn\u2019t watch Better Homes and Gardens<\/em>,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\u201c[Seven execs] invested 20 years in me and then got rid of me. I think they live in a television bubble where they think that \u2018shiny\u2019 replaces \u2018authentic\u2019,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n\nCharlie Albone will step into Jason’s shoes on Better Homes<\/em>. Photo: Channel Seven.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption>More<\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/figure>\nWho is replacing Jason on Better Homes?<\/strong><\/p>\nIn a move that appears to confirm his theory, it was announced in February that Jason would be replaced by the handsome and British-accented Charlie Albone of Selling Houses Australia<\/em> fame.<\/p>\nContrary to public opinion, Better Homes<\/em>\u2019 new recruit is not Jason\u2019 ‘rival’. In fact, he wishes Charlie and the rest of the cast all the best and appreciates their support so far.<\/p>\n\u201cThe people I worked with are fantastic, Joh [Griggs] and Tara [Dennis] especially but they\u2019ve all reached out to me,\u201d he reveals.<\/p>\n
While everyone from the show\u2019s producers and researchers to the tradies and sponsors have checked in Jason has yet to hear anything from senior network staffers.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the neck up, no one from Seven has contacted me,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Jason credits his \u2018amazing\u2019 partner, horticulturist Lisa, with helping him through the immediate aftermath of the devastating news which he kept to himself until it eventually made the papers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was pretty upset and flat for a couple of weeks,\u201d he says. \u201cLisa basically just babysat me\u201d.<\/p>\n
He recalls an \u2018easy and manageable\u2019 period in the lead up to Australia Day which involved school holiday fun with Lisa and their kids Jake and Heidi, but when everyone returned to school and work, the reality hit home hard.<\/p>\n\nJason, his partner Lisa and their two kids. Photo: Instagram\/jasonhodgesandco.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption>More<\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n\n
Feeling the love<\/strong><\/p>\nIn the days following Better Homes\u2019 hosting reshuffle, Yahoo Lifestyle<\/em> was inundated with messages from outraged and concerned viewers who couldn\u2019t believe Jason would no longer be on their screens every Friday night.<\/p>\nJason says he\u2019s also encountered an outpouring of support and unfiltered emotion from fans which is both touching and bittersweet.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople have walked up to me in Bunnings crying [and I\u2019m] getting personal, handwritten letters. It makes feel loved but disappointed that it\u2019s been taken away,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe support that\u2019s been shown [to me] over the past couple of weeks, it\u2019s always been there and you just don\u2019t know what you\u2019ve got til it\u2019s gone,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n\nJoh shared an emotional tribute to Jason on Instagram. Photo: Instagram\/johgriggs7.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption>More<\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/figure>\nWhat\u2019s Jason doing now?<\/strong><\/p>\nThe big question on everyone\u2019s lips is, what is Jason Hodges up to after Better Homes and Gardens<\/em>?<\/p>\nAs he stated in a heartfelt Instagram post back in December, the loveable landscaper says he\u2019s \u2018not gone forever\u2019.<\/p>\n
At the moment, he\u2019s working on completing renovations on his North Ryde home before it goes on the market and the family move to a newly purchased six-acre farm in Berry.<\/p>\n
While the \u2018escape to the country\u2019 had been in the works for a while, the events of late 2019 were the push Jason and Lisa needed to make their rural dreams a reality.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to change my lifestyle. The hustle and bustle of Sydney – the tolls, the parking, the units going up\u2026\u201d he trails off.<\/p>\n
\u201cBerry is heaven, it\u2019s green and lush with rolling hills and the people are even better than the landscape. The sense of community is amazing,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n
In the short term, Jason plans to expand his existing business of growing and selling Buxus plants, which is a type of hedge, in a small block near his new property.<\/p>\n\nJason grows and sells Buxus plants from a plot in Berry, NSW. Photo: Instagram\/jasonhodgesandco.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption>More<\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/figure>\nJason\u2019s big TV plans<\/strong><\/p>\nNow that he\u2019s officially out of contract with Seven, Jason tells Yahoo Lifestyle<\/em> that he\u2019s keen to get a TV series off the ground.<\/p>\n\u201cMy dream job would be a \u2018real\u2019 version of [Foxtel program] River Cottage Australia<\/em> where we\u2019d get bees and chickens and I try to raise pigs and show the success and failure of it all,\u201d he reveals.<\/p>\n\u201cPeople like the authenticity of how I present and they want to know what I\u2019m doing,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n
He says he hasn\u2019t pitched his idea yet as he\u2019s got a few projects to finish first including the house renos and move as well as the upcoming Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show but plans to put some feelers out later this year.<\/p>\n\nJason and his Better Homes<\/em> ‘family’. Photo: Channel Seven<\/p>\n<\/figcaption>More<\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/figure>\nA fond farewell<\/strong><\/p>\nDespite a rather nasty experience that\u2019s left him a touch jaded with the showbiz industry as a whole, Jason looks back on his time on Better Homes<\/em> very fondly.\u00a0<\/p>\n\u201cI had twenty fantastic years and losing my job is dead set one minute of a lifetime. I have nothing but the best memories of the people I was with and the things I got to see and I will never ever let that go,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut losing my job, it hurt me because I loved my job and I was doing it to the best of my ability and it was a kick in the guts but that\u2019s not going to change my opinion of the people I worked with or what I managed to achieve,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n
One achievement in particular that Jason remembers with pride is when he was presenting at the Blacktown Council garden show only to discover that four entries were gardens he helped makeover on the show.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are more grandiose things I\u2019ve done. I\u2019ve won gold at the Melbourne Garden Show six times and I\u2019ve got to go to Chelsea [Flower Show in London] and compete with the best in the world but it was honestly doing makeovers for nice people that was the most rewarding,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
When contacted for comment, a Seven spokesperson said, \u201cWe love how passionate our Better Homes and Gardens<\/em> viewers are. We look forward to catching up with Jason at the 25th\u00a0anniversary of Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show next month.\u201d<\/p>\nGot a story tip or just want to get in touch? Email us at\u00a0<\/strong>lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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