In light of recent allegations against Don Burke, Crikey presents this piece originally published in 2005.

Last night’s interview with Don Burke on Andrew Denton’s Enough Rope ABC program was like the subject himself – infuriating, self absorbed, cringe-making and full of examples of a huge ego.

But Burke and Denton forgot to explain or discuss one important thing – what happened to the audience for Burke’s Backyard?
From huge ratings of around two million people on Friday nights in the late 80s and early 90s, the audience effectively halved over the 17 years on air.

Typically, Burke blamed everyone other than himself.