Comedian Adam Hills has revealed a very surprising new career move.
The 54-year-old Last Leg presenter has revealed he will soon become chairman of the Rugby Football League, the governing body of rugby league in the UK.
Rugby Football League chief executive Tony Sutton said in a statement he was “delighted” with the move, which will come into effect next year.
“I am delighted that Adam Hills MBE has accepted our invitation to succeed Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP,” he said.
‘There has been no more enthusiastic and eloquent advocate for rugby league in the media than Adam in recent years, whether as presenter of Channel 4’s Super League coverage or welcoming our England Wheelchair World Cup winners as guests on The Last Leg.’
Adam, the first Australian in history to hold the honorary role, will be formally elected to the post in December.
The Rugby Football League was founded in 1895.
On Wednesday, Adam went to X and expressed his joy at the appointment.
Comedian Adam Hills, 54, has revealed that he will become chairman of the Rugby Football League in the UK from 2025.
“I am very honoured to be elected as the next Chairman of the Rugby Football League,” he wrote.
“I will do my best to promote all aspects of the game, from community teams to disability variants, the women’s game and the men’s game. I love rugby league.”
Adam’s post was met with a wave of congratulations, including: “Fantastic news. You can really see the love and passion you have for this game on your face.”
“I am delighted that Adam Hills MBE has accepted our invitation to succeed Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP,” said Rugby Football League chief executive Tony Sutton.
Another supporter had a similar comment: “I can’t think of anyone better. I applaud him heartily.”
Speaking to ABC News In June, Adam revealed that rugby league had been a lifelong obsession.
When he heard that his beloved South Sydney Rabbitohs had started their own disability league in 2017, Adam, who walks with a prosthetic limb, signed up to the Warrington Physical Disability Rugby League team in the UK.
Adam, the first Australian in history to hold the honorary role, will be formally elected to the post in December.
“I am very honoured to be elected as the next Chairman of the Rugby Football League,” Adam X said of the appointment.
“I will do my best to promote all aspects of the game, from community teams to disabled variants, the women’s game and the men’s game. I love Rugby League.”
Such is his love for the club, Adam revealed to the publication that he turned down an invitation to attend Prince Charles’ 70th birthday celebrations because it conflicted with his team’s training schedule.
“It wasn’t just ‘I don’t want to let the team down’, it was ‘I’d rather train for an hour and a half than be stuck in Buckingham Palace in a bunch of stuffy suits’,” he said.
He added that sport has become a kind of absorbing passion, as it offers a pleasant change from stand-up comedy.
Rugby, he said, “became a bit of an obsession.”
‘It also came at a time in my life when I’d been doing a lot of stand-up comedy and needed to refresh my brain a bit.’
Adam’s post was met with a wave of congratulations, including: “Fantastic news. You can really see the love and passion you have for this game on your face.”
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