When Colin From Accounts became a global hit it was a dream come true for actor and co-creator Patrick Brammall – but it’s his role in Bluey that garners him the most praise. Alongside his wife Harriet Dyer, 36, Patrick wrote the multi-award winning romantic sitcom Colin From Accounts, in which their characters fall in love as they care for a disabled dog.
Meanwhile, in Bluey Patrick plays Uncle Rad, who plays a major part in longest ever episode The Sign, which has just arrived on BBC iPlayer. And he knows which role impresses his friends and family more. “Bluey is amazing,” says Patrick. “Look, I just voice Uncle Rad, I don’t write it, direct it, edit it, draw it… and I get this incredible street cred with kids and other parents. It’s really money for jam for me. I’m a very, very lucky boy.”
Most Bluey instalments are just seven minutes long but The Sign is 28 minutes long – and its success saw Bluey The Movie announced at Christmas, slated for a 2027 release. Now Patrick hopes that Uncle Rad will also get a pivotal role in the long awaited movie. “I hope so,” grins Patrick. “I haven’t got a phone call yet but I believe the movie is due in 2027, so we have time. I’d love Uncle Rad to make an appearance. I mean, if Uncle Rad didn’t get invited to the movie, there’d be real tectonic shifts in the Heeler family, let me just say that. But I would love to.”
Patrick and Harriet just welcomed their second daughter Mabel – so their hands are full at home. Mabel is a sister for Joni, three. Just like Bluey and her little sister Bingo, Joni and Mabel dote on each other. “Mabel’s little face lights up when she hears her big sister’s voice,” says Patrick proudly, “and the three-year-old loves her to death as well. Like too much, like we have to stop her from dragging her around like a rag doll. But they love each other and have a very special connection already.”
Like most parents, Patrick is a huge fan of Bluey and admits its relatable storylines regularly makes him cry. “It’s way too much,” says Patrick. “Since having kids, I’m just so porous, so I’ll cry at the drop of a hat – so thanks, Bluey. The episode called Chest got me and the one called Baby Race gets Harriet every time.”
The love story in Colin From Accounts has won Patrick and Harriet many fans, but their real-life love story is just as sweet. The pair got hitched in Florida, planning the nuptials in just five days in March 2021, ahead of the arrival of their first baby.
“We were in Tampa, and we were just hanging out there, waiting for our baby to be born,” says Patrick, recalling Joni’s adoption. “I had designed a ring and I was like, ‘Hey, I’ve been meaning to propose for a long time but we can do it right now while we’re here, for fun, or we can organise it and do it later,’ and she was like, ‘OK, let’s do it!’ So we did it in five days. Just us with a couple of Americans on this strip of beach, it was really sweet. I guess we eloped. We didn’t even think of it at the time, but that’s absolutely what we did.”
The wedding was small and private, but last year they held a big bash to celebrate with their family – and Joni was a flower girl. “We had a wedding party for the mums, dads, and all the people in Sydney, Australia, so that was fun, too,” shares Patrick. “Joni was a flower girl. Honestly? She wasn’t a great flower girl, but she was very cute.”
So do Patrick and Harriet want a bit family, or is four enough? “The second one is eight weeks old, so categorically ‘no’ right now,” says Patrick. “But ask me again in six months, and… probably! All you can do is roll with the chaos. That’s life.”
Fans will be hoping Patrick and Harriet are about to pen the third series of Colin From Accounts after leaving viewers with lots of unanswered questions at the end of the second series. Patrick is confident they’ll get the go-ahead soon..
“Harriet and I definitely have really fun ideas,” says Patrick. “We left season two with a bit of a cliffhanger, so we know how we’d like to attack it.”