Comedy duo Merrick and Rosso are looking forward to having some fun with veteran presenter Ray Martin on their new TV show - joking that once they're through with him he'll be running back to the Nine Network.
The pair's new TV series The Merrick and Rosso Show, which premiers on pay TV next Thursday, will feature a range of guests including Martin, Olympian Ian Thorpe, actor/singer Sophie Monk and comedian Judith Lucy.
When asked what Martin would do on the show, Merrick Watts joked: "Probably walk off set, crack the shits".
"(And say) I've never worked with such unprofessionals in my life."
Tim "Rosso" Ross added: "You know how he left Channel Nine full-time, this is a ploy by channel Nine to get him back - put him on our show and he'll go: `Is this what it's like when I don't have the safety of Channel Nine?
"Gyng! (Nine's chief executive David Gyngell) get my car park ready I'm comin' back'."
The show will feature sketches, pre-recorded material, and the pair's self-described "goofy" jokes recorded in front of a live studio audience.
They've already recorded a segment with Thorpe, who has some funny stories to tell about his new life at university.
"He was really funny, better than we were - I was actually really disappointed in us," Watts said.
The pair say they won't interview people, but rather have a "chat".
"It's not a prank or a stunt show, it's more goofy," said Ross.
With the third TV venture for the Nova 969 breakfast hosts following Merrick and Rosso Unplanned and The B Team, Watts says they are "a little wiser" and "probably a little more relaxed".
"Foxtel's a pretty relaxed sort of place and that's why we chose to do a show there ... and it's because they've got very, very, very low expectations and so do we," joked Watts, who's most recently been filming for the political satire The Hollowmen.
"I was wearing pants and they said we weren't even expecting it."
Ross added: "When we turned up to work they were impressed".
The Merrick and Rosso Show premieres on The Comedy Channel on Thursday, October 2, at 8.30pm.
