Hi-5 premiered on Channel 9 in 1999, featuring an original cast of Kellie Crawford, Kathleen de Leon Jones, Tim Harding, Charli Robinson, and Nathan Foley.
They were set up to be ‘Wiggles killers’ when they first lit up Australian screens over two decades ago.
But unlike The Wiggles, attempts to continue the series by introducing new cast members and modernising the format never quite worked out.
In 2012, Nine sold the Hi-5 brand to Asian equity group Asiasons following financial difficulties at the network and that same year, Hi-5 was cancelled after its 13th season.
International versions have cropped up in the UK, Philippines, Latin America and Indonesia and Nine tried to reboot the series in 2016, using with same writers and producers, but by 2018 pulled the plug.
The original Hi-5 five had a unique friendship and chemistry that translated on-screen and couldn’t be replicated.
Hi-5 premiered on Channel 9 in 1999, featuring an original cast of Kellie Crawford, Kathleen de Leon Jones, Tim Harding, Charli Robinson, and Nathan Foley. All pictured
Now, Daily Mail looks at where the team of animated personalities have ended up.
Some moved onto parenthood, travel TV shows and solo careers – while still keeping the close bonds they forged with each other, and the show that made them stars.
Charli Robinson
Charli’s ‘move’ segments involved her singing, dancing, and wriggling to an educational theme.
The Newcastle-born talent, 43, left the group in 2008.
She then appeared on Dancing With The Stars, before a stint on Gold Coast radio, and is now a presenter on the Nine Network for travel program Getaway.
In 2021, the performer landed a role as a pit reporter for the Repco Supercars Championships, and defended her position as a female in the role.
‘You don’t need anybody telling you that you don’t know about cars and that you don’t know about motorsport because you are female,’ she told Supercars.com.
You’ll never guess what Charli Robinson looks like now! Original Hi-5 star looks very different from her days on the show in recent photos
‘These women know their stuff. I think coming into the industry, you just need to be strong as a woman and realise people are going to say a lot of crap about you but that is only because they don’t know you.’
Aside from the occasional sponsored insurance ad, Charli keeps a pretty low profile and – mansion aside – lives a pretty normal life with her husband and two daughters.
Supercar driver Liam Talbot proposed to Charli on live TV during the Bathurst race, which she said was ‘one of the happiest days’ of her life.
‘Thank you for this moment of a lifetime Liam, I do love you more than Bathurst and to all at Supercars & Fox sports for sharing some romance on that holy grail of a race day!’
Aside from the occasional sponsored insurance ad, Charli keeps a pretty low profile and – mansion aside – lives a pretty normal life with her husband and two daughters
They share two children Theodora, three, and Kensington, five.
Last week, Charli took to Instagram to congratulate her husband for his second back-to-back GT Championship win.
The pair paid $5.1million for a six-bedroom seven-bathroom home in south-east Brisbane, breaking the suburb sale record for Chandler in 2021.
The home, dubbed the James Bond House, has a 16 car garage, a 45 sqm wine cellar, executive home office, and an outdoor cinema.
Nathan Foley
He was the tall, dark and handsome member of the squad who left soon after his ex-fiancée, Kellie, in 2008.
He was the tall, dark and handsome member of the squad who left soon after his ex-fiancée, Kellie, in 2008. Pictured: Nathan Foley
Nathan went on to star in a number of musical productions including Mamma Mia! in 2010, and Acoustic Rhythms, before launching his musical career as a solo artist.
It would be another decade before he appeared as a contestant on The Voice in 2019, and joined Delta Goodrem’s team. Unfortunately, he was knocked out in the first round.
During his time on the show, Nathan admitted he’d been grateful to land the role at the age of 18 that saw him become one of Australia’s most popular kids’ entertainers.
But he admitted Hi-5’s success had been a double-edged sword.
Nathan Foley auditioned for The Voice Australia in 2019, a decade after he left Hi-5 to pursue his solo music career as an adult artist
‘It took up 10 years of my life, we all got along, it was fantastic in that way, (but) the majority of people looked at me and thought, ‘OK, kid’s entertainer,’ he explained.
‘They saw me as the Hi-5 guy, which is amazing but I always thought there was something more I could offer. I guess that was a little bit of a struggle at times.’
Nathan said he ‘had to get away from Australia because they just saw me as the Hi-5 guy,’ so he ventured to the US and Europe.
In 2022, he released a solo album called Hurricane, featuring 13 songs and celebrating ‘sexual empowerment.’
More recently, he put out Remember, an Anzac Day themed ballad and started up a photography account, but proved he’s appreciative of his early career by conducting a one-on-one meet and greet for a disabled Hi-5 fan in Wollongong.
‘I’m working on some new music,’ Nathan posted to Instagram days ago.
He is married to Nicolette Gomex, a Jamaican model. They have a four-year-old son, Jackson.
Kathleen De Leon Jones
Kathleen’s segments were always done in front of bright cabinets, and she often had the company of Jup Jup, the five-legged purple alien who frequently pinched her things when she wasn’t looking.
Kathleen was the first member to leave the band, after giving birth to her first child with in early 2006, with her husband Daniel Jones of Savage Garden
Kathleen was the first member to leave the band, after giving birth to her first child with in early 2006, with her husband Daniel Jones of Savage Garden.
In 2009, she joined Celebrity Masterchef but has otherwise been on ‘permanent vacation’, since retiring from Hi-5.
The 46-year-old, who is happily married to Savage Garden member Daniel Jones, frequently whisks her family away on exotic adventures in the Maldives, Paris and Japan any chance she gets.
She and Daniel are parents to teenage daughters, Mikayla and Keira. After living in Las Vegas for a while, the family moved back to the Gold Coast.
And in 2023, the couple celebrated a milestone wedding anniversary – 18 years.
Kathleen marked the occasion with a gushing post on Instagram.
‘Love is not just about the years we’ve spent together, but the adventures we’ve shared, the laughter that’s echoed through our home, and the beautiful family we’ve built,’ she wrote.
‘Here’s to us, my love, my best friend. I cherish every moment of our 23-year journey, and I can’t wait to create even more beautiful memories with you. You are the love of my life, and I’m forever grateful for the incredible man and father you are. Cheers to us and to a lifetime of love and adventure ahead!’
Kathleen has two teenage daughters, Mikayla and Keira
Kellie (Hoggart) Crawford
Kellie’s segments usually involved games with words and pictures, and the assistance of a friendly puppet named Chats (short for Chatterbox).
She went on to marry video and sound engineer Addam Crawford in May 2008, but he sadly passed away in October 2018.
Kellie marked the five-year anniversary of this death with a poignant message on Instagram.
‘5 years without you,’ Crawford captioned the post.
‘I miss hearing your voice, your laugh, your advice, but most of all..I miss my best friend. Angus and I were blessed to have been in your life. We will always miss you.’
Now 49, Kellie still works as an actor, voice artist and presenter. She was also a judge on the show, All Together Now.
All the Hi-5 original cast members remain in contact, but Kellie indicated that she and Kathleen are particularly close. The most recent post to her social media was made on Kathleen’s birthday last year.
Kellie Crawford meanwhile went on to marry video and sound engineer Addam Crawford in May 2008, but he sadly passed away in October 2018. Both pictured
‘So grateful to have this one in my life… your friendship I will cherish forever love you to death,’ she wrote.
Tim Harding
Tim Harding played as a puppeteer for Jup Jup in the Puzzles and Patterns segment.
The musician decided to step away from the band in 2007 after suffering major injuries from a motorcycle accident, including a fractured spine and two broken feet.
Tim Harding played as a puppeteer for Jup Jup in the Puzzles and Patterns segment. Pictured recently
‘I’ve had an incredible journey with Hi-5, one I will always cherish,” he said in a statement at the time. “It has been the greatest honour and privilege to work with such an immensely talented group of people.’
Tim now works as a freelance entertainer and musician, regularly performing with his funk/soul function band Soultraders and sharing cover performances on YouTube.
He lives in Newcastle with his wife Tash and daughters Arielle and Beatrix.
The former Hi-5 star describes himself as a: ‘Vocalist & musician; former Hi-5er, surfer, rev head and family man… #MedicinalCannabis advocate.’
His daughter Arielle has generalised epilepsy and can have anywhere between 50 and 100 episodes a day.
Traditional epilepsy medication leaves Arielle with crippling side effects, and Tim has been a vocal advocate for cannabis-derived drugs that may help her.
He was the only other band member to publicly voice enthusiasm for Nathan’s idea of a reunion concert, which he floated on Instagram in 2020.
‘We are still talking about it. We are having a conversation. It’s an extensive, long conversation. There’s a lot to work out,’ Tim said on Triple M after shooting down Nathan’s idea to do an adults-only show.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk