Walt Collins is best known for his work as co-host on the Network Ten series Healthy Homes Australia (2015-2023), a lively and solid rating weekend lifestyle series set around home, garden and lifestyle. Due to the success of the show, and Walt’s fun and natural presenting style, he was selected to host the networks show, Animal Extra, a glossy Sunday magazine series set around living with and loving pets and animals.
Hailing from Sheffield, England, Walt’s career began at fourteen years old, when he started a pirate television station from his bedroom! Having begged his mum for a video camera, it wasn’t long until inquisitive and tech-savvy Walt worked out that by boosting a small transmitter, connecting it to a wok and positioning it over the neighbourhood, he was able to broadcast a signal from his bedroom to his village in the Northern part of the UK. His very own pirate TV station was born.
This evolved to be a live 2 hour show every Sunday night with him as the producer and host and his mum forced into the co-hosting seat - a real-life "Wayne's World".
Walt would make mini-documentaries about his local area, exploring issues that were the domain of the big networks. The station ran for some time and was a big part of his life when Walt received an unexpected call from a documentary filmmaker. A documentary called WalterVision was made about his station, his mum and their journey... and Walt's career was born.
During the last part of school, Walt's voice was being heard across various local radio stations, hosting morning and late night shows. It wasn't long before he'd landed his first job in the internationally acclaimed documentary department of the then Yorkshire TV, (ITV Group). Starting as a runner, Walt learned the ropes of cutthroat television, appearing regularly in promos, segments and ads. A stint with the BBC in the 'international content' department saw him work on documentary development, whilst also appearing on camera in various clips, shows and ads.
Walt moved to Turkey for year in 1997 and worked in TV and radio on the country's English speaking content, before settling permanently in Melbourne, Australia.
In his new ‘home’, Walt has worked in radio, for most of the big TV networks in Australia, and a few advertising agencies… whilst also launching his own production company, and producing his own content.
In 2007, Walt hosted his first documentary - an emotional story about homelessness in regional Victoria. Broadcast to great success, a further five were commissioned, each exploring people, life, trauma and joy.
In June 2013, Walt fronted two new lifestyle TV series on FreeView across Australia and was cast as the face of Australia's largest mobile mechanic brand in a series of TV, print and web campaigns!
In 2014 Walter hosted a live cross on Channel 4 in the UK for a Stephen Fry show called Our Gay Wedding: The Musical. Walter was on the steps of the Opera House in Sydney and represented Australia in the broadcast. The program was broadcast around the world.
Walt is also a keen DIY handyman, with an engaged following on social media due to his cheeky and down to Earth style.
Very much a man of the people, Walt enjoys telling stories and presenting them to the world. He is also a very experienced and competent MC and public speaker and talks across a number of subjects from politics, animal welfare, to his experience in the media and entertainment industry. For his work with charities, Walt is an ambassador for Oscar’s Law, and supports the Bob Brown Foundation, the Australian Conservation Foundation, Wombat Awareness SA, the On Track Foundation (to reduce regional homelessness), Farm Day (linking metropolitan youths to farm experiences), and HomeGround Services (helping put an end to homelessness).
Overall…not a bad list of achievements for someone who used his mum's wok as a satellite to launch his career.