The ABC Kids flagship – first broadcast on June 29,2009 – filmed its last new episode on Thursday. Its 11th and final season will continue to air until early 2020,and then repeat episodes will ensure the characters remain present across ABC Kids and iview.
"It's not like the show's going to stop. ABC will run the show probably till I'm about 50,"jokes Rees."This has been a really hard decision. But to the public,I'm sure I'll be Jimmy Giggle for a long while."
He says his desire to step away from the show and its"gruelling schedule",shooting for 47 weeks a year,was partly driven by his family's desire to move closer to their Victorian roots.
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"Lenny's four,the twins are almost 10 months old,"he says of his children with wife Tori."We're away from our family and their cousins and grandparents. It's your little community but also,you know,some help,"he laughs.
Other showbiz opportunities beckon,too. Alongside regular radio work,Rees showed off his performative skills with a strong stint onDancing with the Stars in April,before a medical scare involving his son forced him to voluntarily drop out.
"It hit me then,"he says of his popular run on the Network 10 show."It got me thinking about what is next for me and when that would be."He already has some"projects in the works",exploring potential gigs on radio and his post-Dancing relationship with 10.