I never truly grasped the scale of Australian Idol until I spent time on set.

As a longtime fan, the experience felt like a full-circle moment – I was finally in the same world Guy Sebastian once was.

I could feel a leftover buzz and excitement in the air from past audiences as I stepped inside the Colesium theatre in Sydney’s Rooty Hill, arriving just in time to watch some of the dress rehearsal for their LIVE elimination show that evening.

Before I got to step inside the theatre, I went on a bit of a tour through the building, which to be honest, felt like a large maze.
It felt surreal being in the Rehearsal Room. (Credit: New Idea).
I was taken down corridors, turned left and right corners, went in lifts, up and down stairs (I would get so lost if I worked there), and was shown their variety of all the behind-the-scenes rooms.

Firstly, I was shown where the judges – Kyle Sandilands, Marcia Hines and Amy Shark – have their dressing rooms.

Sadly, I wasn’t allowed inside, so unfortunately, we are going to have to keep what was behind the doors to our imagination.

I was then taken to visit the wardrobe team – and to say my mind was blown is an understatement.

The corridors were lined with racks of clothes and bins full of shoes – for the contestants and their backup dancers.
There were corridors lined with costumes. (Credit: New Idea).
I was told that the contestants are able to buy the costumes they wore on the show after the show finishes for a heavily discounted price (if I were a contestant, I 100% would be doing that).

The wardrobe room was full of sewing equipment and even more rows of clothes – and it reminded me of the many wardrobe departments I’d seen for large-scale theatre shows.

The team sourced the outfits, made some and also fixed them when needed.
I could have spent all day in the rehearsal room! (Credit: New Idea).
I was then shown my favourite space – the Rehearsal Room.

Everything had been meticulously placed and designed in a way that each part of the room could be its own set.

One of the contestants had left some of their lyrics on the piano, which made me feel extra ‘behind the scenes’ as it was as though someone had only just been in there rehearsing.

Then, it was time to go behind the stage – and not surprisingly, it was incredibly tech-heavy.

There were a lot of crew members running around, getting things organised for the live show, which was about three hours away.

I sat in the audience for a large chunk of the dress rehearsal and really enjoyed watching it.
Had the best seat in the house for the dress rehearsal – just look at that shiny floor! (Credit: New Idea).
The judges were noticeably absent, but the contestants, Ricki-Lee and Scott Tweedie, were there practising their lines and cues.

The hosts ran through each take with the auto cue, with the floor manager there running everything.

The floor manager ran the afternoon, which she spent the majority of time in one of the judges’ seats giving everyone on stage their cues.

She said which judge would speak first – it’s all planned out!

There was a camera flying over where the audience sat, lighting and a live band for every song they practiced – everything set to be perfect (or close to) for the audience who were set to shuffle in in a few hours.

The best thing about it? The crew seemed really happy to be there.

Later that evening, when I watched the live episode of Australian Idol on television, I had just seen the dress rehearsal for, I found I had a new appreciation for the show.
This season has a great lineup of hosts and judges. (Credit: Channel Seven).

Who is hosting Australian Idol 2026?

This season is hosted by Scott Tweedie and Ricki-Lee Coulter – both seasoned professionals.

Sitting down with Scott in the Rehearsal Room, he tells me he has “the best job on TV”.

“Particularly Ricki-Lee and I being the hosts, because we get to be in the trenches with the contestants, but then we also get to watch the best part of the show with them on stage,” he says.

The 38-year-old talks me through a day in the life of his “best job on TV” (and sounds like it definitely lives up to the name!).

“I’ll start at about lunchtime and drive about an hour to Idol HQ, get to the theatre, do a script read through just to see if we want to change any of the wording if it doesn’t feel right, and then Ricki-Lee will start her hair and makeup process – I’ll go in cold to rehearsals – and we’ll go on to the theatre for an hour or two, depending on if we’re doing one or two records for the day,” he says.

“We’re pretty much chaos from that moment onwards, we’ll do any tweaks we need to do with the script… then we’ll do some publicity stuff, before it’s hair and makeup, wardrobe, any last checks, and then we’re mic’ed up and out there!” he adds with a smile.

He says after they wrap “around 10pm”, he’ll then will do voiceovers after the big performance shows so that the production team can start editing overnight.

He tells me that their big film days are on a Saturday.

“We record two episodes on a Saturday, and then they’ll air on the Sunday and Monday. The reason for that is purely because the performances are so big that they can’t change the stages in three minutes. So they’ll then do it, probably, with a 10-minute gap between performances,” he reveals.

The host says that one of the perks of the job is “getting dressed up”.

In fact, he tells me he has around 23 custom-made suits for this season alone.

“My stylist, Eleni, is incredible. I’ve worked with her for about 10 or 11 years, and we love sort of supporting Aussie suit makers and designers,” he says.

Scott says that he, Ricki-Lee and the judges each have their own team – he has Eleni and Carla, who does his hair and make up, and refers to them as his “army”.

“When you need to focus, when there’s a lot going on, they’ll help you relax. They’re almost like a therapist too. You know each other’s lives so well, and when we are out in those live, high-pressure situations, they’re there,” he says with a smile.

“Some days, if I’m wearing a really hot suit and we haven’t tested it out, and then two segments into the show, you can tell I’m sweating and cooking, they’re there with little fans, holding them up. They are the best,” he adds.
The top eight are a talented bunch. (Credit: Channel Seven).

How can I vote for Australian Idol?

To make sure your vote counts, text the artist’s name to 0457 500 700.

You can only vote 10 times each week, so if you’re a fan of more than one contestant, you have to share the love!