IT WAS THE night of the 2006 Logie Awards and Felicity Ward was feeling glamorous. As her limousine pulled up to the red carpet, she prepared for the onslaught of flashbulbs and shrieking fans. Nervously, she stepped from the car, followed by the rest of The Ronnie Johns Half Hour cast. And then: nothing.

"After they realised we weren't from Home & Away, there was this dead silence," says Ward, who hosts The Comedy Hour on 774 ABC. "The crickets were chirping and I think I could hear a crow in background. So they ushered us up the red carpet and on to a podium to have our picture taken.

"Then a security guard came up to me and the other female cast member and said, 'Can we get the girlfriends out of the shot?' We were like, 'We're actually in the show - but thank you for validating our presence and our sense of equality in the comedy industry'."

Fortunately, 27-year-old Ward made a bigger impression on Adam Hills, whom she met at a pub. "He invited me on to Spicks & Specks," she says. "I was like, 'Adam's the nicest guy in the world - of course he's going to say that.' Then his producer called the following week. They've had me on five times this year."

When Spicks producer Anthony Watt was asked to make a comedy program for 774, he chose Ward as the host. The show, which airs on Mondays at 9pm and can be podcast, features half an hour of "topical sketch comedy" by Ward and fellow comedians, Simon Keck and Celia Pacquola.

The second half could be anything from a movie trivia show to a narrative comedy. More than 500 writers - mostly newcomers - submitted their ideas, but big names such as Tony Martin and Alan Brough are also involved.

"This ticks a lot of boxes for us," says 774 boss Steve Kyte. "We're nurturing new talent and getting good radio out of it. ABC TV is on board - they're basically looking for formats they can develop into television series. The 10 episodes we're making now are pilots, but I'm delighted with it and I'd like it to continue."

The radio-to-television concept may be new in Australia, but in Kyte's native England, it's a tradition. "Shows like Little Britain and The League of Gentlemen started as radio shows and then went to TV," he says. "I'd love for that to happen here."

So would Ward, also making a name for herself with a stand-up show about her childhood. "I thought the way I grew up was normal until I started comparing myself to other people," she says.

"Instead of giving us umbrellas, for example, Mum would cut arm holes in a garbage bag. We were only allowed to watch half an hour of TV a day. Until I reached the age of 10, I had to be in bed by 6pm. When it was daylight savings, the f---ing sun would still be shining."

She stops, having noticed a newspaper nearby. The front page suggests Eddie McGuire will run for mayor, but the article confirms he will not. "Bloody hell," Ward says. "If that was true, my job would be done. The jokes would write themselves. I'd just sit back and put my hand out for the cash."

Triple R's annual Radiothon starts tomorrow. Tony Biggs, host of On The Blower at 9am, will interview Germaine Greer about her essay on male Aboriginal rage. 'Tony and Germaine are both volatile characters," so it should be interesting," says station manager Kath Letch.

mlallo@theage.com.au