Dave Hughes reveals secret feud with The Project co host Charlie

Dave Hughes reveals secret feud with The Project co-host Charlie Pickering

Dave Hughes reveals his secret feud with The Project co-host Charlie Pickering that almost ended in physical violence

Dave “Hughesy” Hughes exposed his secret feud with Charlie Pickering in the early years of The Project.

The couple co-hosted the Channel 10 news program with Carrie Bickmore from 2009 to 2013 and appeared to be good friends on camera.

But behind the scenes, tension was high.

While being interviewed by Hughes on his 2Day FM breakfast show on Thursday, Pickering recalled how the men would constantly argue about things they said on the air and how they would approach upcoming episodes.

“It came from a very good place, we cared about the show so much,” said Pickering, 45, who has since made amends with Hughes, 52.

Dave Pictured: Charlie Pickering

Dave ‘Hughesy’ Hughes (left) has brought to light his secret feud with Charlie Pickering (right) in The Project’s early years

“Some would say we cared too much about it,” added Hughes.

Pickering then mentioned a particular argument that nearly ended in violence.

The men disagreed on what questions to ask former High Court judge Michael Kirby as he appeared on The Project to promote his new book.

The argument was so heated that the two men ended up in the office of Chris Walker, executive producer of The Project.

“It was enormous. Like, that fight was amazing,” Pickering said.

Hughes said: “That was an A-class fight, neither of us gave in. I was actually proud of both of us that we just stood our ground. It was pretty good.’

The couple co-hosted the Channel 10 news program with Carrie Bickmore (centre) from 2009 to 2013 and appeared to be good friends - but there was a lot of tension behind the scenes

The couple co-hosted the Channel 10 news program with Carrie Bickmore (centre) from 2009 to 2013 and appeared to be good friends – but there was a lot of tension behind the scenes

Pickering also said the “best thing about this fight” was the fact that Kirby named his book after Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian revolutionary who is known for pursuing a non-violent approach to conflict.

“We had this tremendous fight, there was almost physical beating, and the book was called What Would Gandhi Do?” laughed Pickering.

Hughes, Pickering and Bickmore were the original presenters of The Project, which launched on Channel 10 in 2009.

While being interviewed by Hughes on Thursday, Pickering recalled the men arguing about things they said on air and how they would approach upcoming episodes

While being interviewed by Hughes on Thursday, Pickering recalled the men arguing about things they said on air and how they would approach upcoming episodes

Hughes left the show in 2013, saying he was tired of doing TV every night and wanted to focus on his stand-up career.

Pickering left the show a year later to join ABC. At the time, he said he felt working for a commercial network compromised his moral values.

In 2015 he began hosting his own satirical news show The Weekly with Charlie Pickering for the public broadcaster.

Pickering then recalled a particular argument that almost erupted in physical violence.  The men disagreed on what questions to ask former High Court judge Michael Kirby as he appeared on The Project to promote his new book.  (Hughes and Pickering pictured together on Celebrity Name Game in 2019)

Pickering then recalled a particular argument that almost erupted in physical violence. The men disagreed on what questions to ask former High Court judge Michael Kirby as he appeared on The Project to promote his new book. (Hughes and Pickering pictured together on Celebrity Name Game in 2019)