‘It allows the guest to set the agenda’: Shaun Micallef turns the tables on the traditional talk show

It’s a simple premise, as is the case with all great television: if your house was about to be destroyed, which two items would you save? Shaun Micallef admits he stole the basic idea for his new ABC show Eve Of Destruction from a therapy exercise – but after all, an idea is just an idea.

“It’s a window into what is important to the person,” he tells Mumbrella of the idea behind pinpointing one’s most treasured items.

“And then it reveals a lot about them: their choice, whether they pick something from their marriage or something from a parent who maybe has passed on. All those things are windows into the soul of the person you’re asking the question of – and I just stole that, essentially.