Dicko fights political correctness

IAN Dickson does not miss being a judge on Australian Idol. The 48-year-old says he always thought there was more to life and to him. Finally, he has the chance to prove it.

Dickson is sitting in an office inside Channel Ten's compound in South Yarra. He has just completed a media preview of Can of Worms, a panel-based program he is hosting that will make its debut on the network on Monday.

The conceit of the show comes from the man we used to call Dicko's most infamous moment as judge on the now defunct but once powerhouse Idol franchise.

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One of that show's season-one contestants, Paulini Curuenavuli, walked on stage wearing that black and gold dress.

Dickson, as ever, was blunt in appraising her appearance.

''I said she needs to shed pounds or choose more appropriate clothes,'' he recalls. ''That was me with a filter on. But my whole world went into meltdown.''

Australian public have had my opinion for eight years and it's time for me to shut up," he said. "To be honest, I'm sick of what I think, so I'm sure the public is too."

Warnie, The White Room, The Catch Up and Ben Elton: Live From Planet Earth are just some similar chat-style shows that have suffered the chop not long after making their debuts.

But the 48-year-old says in the cut-throat world of commercial television he has the backing of Ten to ensure the axe won't fall on the quirky show too quickly.

"TV ratings are like a national pastime in Australia," he says. "It's bizarre and I've never seen this in any other country.

"Everyone's out there waiting for you to fail. This is a show that may not find its feet until episode five or six. I don't want to focus on the figures because it's an unusual concept and it might take people some time to catch on to what it is."

Dickson says he has high hopes of taking the show global, with his eye on a UK launch should the show hit the mark Down Under.

But what about his own can of worms - the rumours that he didn't want to be called Dicko anymore?

"I really don’t know where that came from, honestly, and it makes me laugh. I’m sure that story was designed to make me look like a bit of a wanker, and I don’t need any journalist’s help for that.

"There’s only one person in the world that calls me Ian and that’s my wife when she’s really p***ed off, so if everyone starts calling me Ian, I’ll be a nervous wreck. It’s Dicko. It’s always been Dicko and always will be Dicko.