Hong Kong born Oli Pettigrew will be jetting in from the USA to host the inaugural Asian Academy Creative Awards, live from Singapore’s Capitol Theatre.
Oli was one of Asia’s most highly accomplished and awarded hosts before he and celebrity wife Linda Black moved to America, where he became one of the hosts of RightThisMinute – a nationally syndicated show in the USA.
Exactly who would pick up the coveted hosting gig has been a closely guarded secret even within the AAA offices, with President Michael McKay personally handling negotiations.
“Oli was instantly on board but the problem was more one of logistics because he could only get one day off from his show in the States, so arranging flights that would get him to Singapore then back in time for his hosting duties in America was more the issue” McKay explained.
“I worked with Awards Chairman Ricky Ow and Michael and his team on Cash Cab and it was a world class production and the Asian Academy Creative Awards is such a prestigious and exciting event so I jumped at the chance to come down” Oli said from his home in Arizona “Besides, I’m missing my favourite dim sum” he joked.
Oli has hosted shows for AXN, HBO Asia, Cinemax, Discovery Channel, TLC, Channel News Asia and Food Network. He famously hosted Cash Cab Asia for AXN, attracting plaudits from TV execs across the globe for his work on the franchise.
“Oli is a film and TV trivia buff who, on the set of Cash Cab, would always be throwing out trivia questions, he’s like a walking movie Google search” said McKay
To be held in Singapore on December 6 and 7, the Asian Academy Creative Awards has attracted significant entries from 16 Nations/Regions across the Asia Pacific including India, Malaysia, China, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines and Thailand. Asian based Streamer HOOQ has been announced as the first of its broadcast partners. It is Asia-Pac’s most prestigious award for creative excellence with a trophy designed by Society Awards in New York, who notably produce the statues for the Emmys and Golden Globes.
