Denise Drysdale

In the 1960s, Drysdale appeared as a dancer on In Melbourne Tonight. In 1966, she performed on The Go!! Show, and was voted third most popular female vocalist by the readers of Go-Set.[7] This popularity led to an invitation to perform for the troops in Vietnam[8] for three weeks in 1967, along with Patti Newton, the Strangers, and Doug Owen.[3] In 1969, she went to the Far East to entertain American troops.

In 1974, she became Ernie Sigley's barrel girl on The Ernie Sigley Show. It was here she gained the nickname Ding Dong. In 1975, Drysdale and Sigley released a single "Hey Paula" as a duet, which reached #2 on the Australian charts, Later that year she won the TV Week Gold Logie for the Most Popular Female Personality on Australian TV,[9] and won her second Gold Logie the following year.[10] In the same period, she also won consecutive Silver Logies.

Drysdale has appeared on numerous television shows, including The Norman Gunston Show, Celebrity Squares, Young Talent Time, Countdown, Division 4, Homicide, Bellbird and Celebrity Name Game. She has also worked in regional television in Victoria including guest appearances on BTV-6 Ballarat and hosting a morning magazine show on GLV-8 in the 1980s. As an actress, she has appeared in the movies The Last of the Knucklemen, Snapshot, and Blowing Hot and Cold.

On stage, she has appeared in plays and musicals, including Salad Days, Grease, The Barry Crocker Show, Two Gentlemen of Verona and Hello, Dolly! in 1994. She also spent two years in Sydney appearing on television shows Beauty and the Beast and "Weekend Sydney" between 1981 and 1983 before returning to her home town of Melbourne, Victoria.

In 1989, Drysdale joined Ernie Sigley to host In Melbourne Today, and in 1991 began a Sydney version of the show In Sydney Today.[11] The two programs later merged to a single program: Ernie and Denise. Also in 1989, she was asked to fill in on Hey Hey It's Saturday[12] due to Jacki MacDonald being ill and subsequently leaving. Drysdale stayed with the show for over a year before leaving due to ongoing rumours of a feud between her and host Daryl Somers. Over the years both have denied such rumours.[13] In 1994, Drysdale returned to host an episode of Hey Hey It's Saturday in Somers' absence. She also returned for one of the reunion shows in 2009.[14]

In the late 1990s Drysdale appeared in the reboot of IMT on the Nine Network.

In 1998, she joined the Seven Network to present her own show for the first time,[15] called Denise. This program lasted four seasons.

In 2005, Channel 9 chose Drysdale as one of the 50 most important people on television for the last 50 years.[16]

On 7 October 2010 she made an appearance in the second of the Hey Hey It's Saturday reunion shows.

In 2010, Drysdale joined Network Ten's new morning show The Circle alongside Yumi Stynes, Chrissie Swan and Gorgi Coghlan as host. She remained on the show for two seasons, leaving at the end of the 2011 season. She reappeared as a special guest on the final episode in 2013.

Drysdale regularly performed around Australia on the club circuit, often with her television partner, Ernie Sigley.[17]

It was announced Drysdale would join as permanent co-host of Studio 10 in 2016 after appearing as a regular fill-in presenter, sharing the position with Ita Buttrose.[18]

In June 2018, Drysdale joined the cast of Neighbours as Nance Sluggett. She made her first appearance on 3 October 2018.[19]

Drysdale has two sons, and at least one grandson.[3]

• Denise Drysdale at IMDb
• Drysdale on the "GO! show in 1966
• Drysdale being presented with a Gold Logie by John Wayne in 1975