Tom Ballard
Encyclopedia
Tom Ballard is a tall, blond, fast-talking, openly gay, Australia
n radio presenter and comedian.
and attended Brauer College Warrnambool
, graduating in 2007 where he was dux
with an ENTER
of 99.80, and was consequently named as the dux of the South West Region.
He was also awarded the VCAA's
VCE
Achiever's Award for December 2007. Among reasons he was given this award were cited as winning VCAA's Plain English Speaking Award as well his work within the school and local youth communities and activism on topics such as homophobia
and cyber-bullying
.
National Finalist and a Raw Comedy
National Finalist by 2006. He performed in Upwey, Warburton, Healesville and Lilydale as part of the Young Blood Comedy Tour in 2007 and was a guest entertainer in the 2007 Melbourne Comedy Festival's Eskimo Jokes show.
He was one quarter of The Comedy Zone at the 2008 Melbourne International Comedy Festival
.
FM community radio station with Alex Dyson
. On the strength of his Raw Comedy performance, Ballard was given the chance to develop some demos with Australian youth radio station Triple J
and, along with Alex, was given regular Mid-Dawn (1am to 6 am) shifts.
In December 2008, Tom and Alex were the presenters for the weekday summer lunch slot (10 am to 2 pm) and in 2009 moved to the weekend breakfast slot. On 23 November 2009, Triple J announced that Tom Ballard and Alex Dyson would take over as hosts of the 2010 Breakfast show.
It is said that Tom loves hearing Alex Dyson's Flight Fiasco story every single day.
confirmed he was in a relationship with Ballard via his podcast. They later separated in June 2010 after 16 months of dating, with Ballard posting on his Facebook
fanpage: "Josh and I aren't going out anymore. It's all pretty complicated, but basically I just decided that I have to follow my heart and get married to Mitch Hewer
, Zac Efron
, Daniel Radcliffe
and Eamon Sullivan
. We are still great friends though and it is all okay." Josh is now dating Thomas Jaspers although to avoid confusion with Ballard, Ward and himself have nicknamed him 'Ralph'.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n radio presenter and comedian.
Early life
Thomas Colin Ballard grew up in Warrnambool, VictoriaWarrnambool, Victoria
-Cityscape:The original City of Warrnambool was a 4x8 grid, with boundaries of Lava Street , Japan Street , Merri Street and Henna Street . In the nineteenth century, it was intended that Fairy Street – with its proximity to the Warrnambool Railway Station – would be the main street of...
and attended Brauer College Warrnambool
Brauer College Warrnambool
Brauer College is a government secondary school, located in Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia.Originally established as Warrnambool Technical School in 1911, the school was renamed Brauer College at the beginning of 1990 Brauer College is a government secondary school, located in Warrnambool,...
, graduating in 2007 where he was dux
Dux
Dux is Latin for leader and later for Duke and its variant forms ....
with an ENTER
Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank
The Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank was the national Australian tertiary entrance rank, administered by Universities Australia...
of 99.80, and was consequently named as the dux of the South West Region.
He was also awarded the VCAA's
Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority
The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority is a statutory authority of the Government of Victoria responsible for the provision of curriculum and assessment programs for students in Victoria, Australia...
VCE
Victorian Certificate of Education
The Victorian Certificate of Education or VCE is the credential awarded to secondary school students who successfully complete high school level studies in the state of Victoria, Australia. Study for the VCE is usually completed over two years, but it can be spread over a longer period in some cases...
Achiever's Award for December 2007. Among reasons he was given this award were cited as winning VCAA's Plain English Speaking Award as well his work within the school and local youth communities and activism on topics such as homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
and cyber-bullying
Cyber-bullying
Cyber-bullying is the use of the Internet and related technologies to harm other people, in a deliberate, repeated, and hostile manner. As it has become more common in society, particularly among young people, legislation and awareness campaigns have arisen to combat it.-Definition:The term...
.
Comedy career
Ballard began his comedy career by playing Blitzen in a local amateur production of Rock n Roll Santa in 1997. He was a three-time Class ClownsClass Clowns
Class Clowns is an annual search for Australia's funniest high school student. This competition runs as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and is one of the major events of the festival....
National Finalist and a Raw Comedy
Raw Comedy
Raw Comedy is an Australian competition for emerging stand-up comedians, established in 1996 and held annually since.Heats take place in major Australian cities through January, February and March. State semi-finals and finals are held in the state capitals in March...
National Finalist by 2006. He performed in Upwey, Warburton, Healesville and Lilydale as part of the Young Blood Comedy Tour in 2007 and was a guest entertainer in the 2007 Melbourne Comedy Festival's Eskimo Jokes show.
He was one quarter of The Comedy Zone at the 2008 Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is the third-largest international comedy festival in the world and the largest cultural event in Australia. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks in April typically opening on or around April Fool's Day...
.
Radio career
Tom was a presenter for Warrnambool's 3WAY3WAY
3WAY is an Australian community radio station, based in Warrnambool....
FM community radio station with Alex Dyson
Alex Dyson
Alex Dyson is an Australian radio presenter who, along with co-host Tom Ballard presents the breakfast show on Australian youth radio station Triple J....
. On the strength of his Raw Comedy performance, Ballard was given the chance to develop some demos with Australian youth radio station Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
and, along with Alex, was given regular Mid-Dawn (1am to 6 am) shifts.
In December 2008, Tom and Alex were the presenters for the weekday summer lunch slot (10 am to 2 pm) and in 2009 moved to the weekend breakfast slot. On 23 November 2009, Triple J announced that Tom Ballard and Alex Dyson would take over as hosts of the 2010 Breakfast show.
It is said that Tom loves hearing Alex Dyson's Flight Fiasco story every single day.
Personal life
In November 2009, comedian and television personality Josh ThomasJosh Thomas (comedian)
Joshua Michael "Josh" Thomas is an Australian comedian. In 2005, at the age of 17, he became the youngest ever winner of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival's Raw Comedy Competition...
confirmed he was in a relationship with Ballard via his podcast. They later separated in June 2010 after 16 months of dating, with Ballard posting on his Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
fanpage: "Josh and I aren't going out anymore. It's all pretty complicated, but basically I just decided that I have to follow my heart and get married to Mitch Hewer
Mitch Hewer
Mitchell Scott "Mitch" Hewer is an English actor, who is best known for his role of Maxxie Oliver in the E4 teen drama, Skins. He has also starred in Britannia High as the all around talent Danny Miller...
, Zac Efron
Zac Efron
Zachary David Alexander "Zac" Efron is an American actor. He began acting professionally in the early 2000s and became known with his lead roles in the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical, the WB series Summerland, and the 2007 film version of the Broadway musical Hairspray...
, Daniel Radcliffe
Daniel Radcliffe
Daniel Jacob Radcliffe is an English actor who rose to prominence playing the titular character in the Harry Potter film series....
and Eamon Sullivan
Eamon Sullivan
Eamon Wade Sullivan is an Australian sprint swimmer.-Career :In April 2002 at the Australian Age Championships, Sullivan won the 50 m freestyle and came second in 100 m in his age group, and swam for Australia at Trans Tasman series with no dramatic result.In April 2003 at Brisbane in the Fisher &...
. We are still great friends though and it is all okay." Josh is now dating Thomas Jaspers although to avoid confusion with Ballard, Ward and himself have nicknamed him 'Ralph'.