Joel Creasey says it was ‘tricky’ starting his role  on Nova’s Kate, Tim and Joel amid the pandemic

Joel Creasey replaced Marty Sheargold on Nova’s drive show alongside Kate Ritchie and Tim Blackwell in September. 

But the border closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic meant the comedian had to initially host the show via Skype from Melbourne, while his co-hosts were based in Sydney.   

On Thursday, the comedian explained to News.com.au that he was ‘grateful’ to have a job, but the early days were ‘tricky’.  

‘I was very grateful to have a job so I didn’t want to whinge, however it was incredibly tricky,’ he said.

‘Essentially I was online dating two people with a whole bunch of other people having an opinion on those dates.’ 

He added: ‘So I now really know what it’s like to be a Married At First Sight contestant.’  

It comes after Joel was also forced to celebrate his 30th birthday during the Melbourne lockdown in August. 

Taking to Instagram, Joel applied his signature sense of humour to the situation admitting he’s now ‘gay dead’. 

‘I turned 30 today or ”gay dead” as my community affectionately call it,’ Joel said, referring to the milestone of exiting his 20s.

He explained while he did have a big party planned, he was forced to pare it back to just himself and boyfriend, Jack Stratton-Smith.

‘The belter of a party I’d spent about a year planning slowly got paired back to just Jack (who turned 27 yesterday) and I having lunch at home,’ he said.

Joel then went on to speak about the coronavirus pandemic saying: ‘It’s been a very bizarre 48 hours. So given the postponement I’ve decided I’ll stay 29 and try again next year,’ he joked.

He continued: ‘However I’ve genuinely had a truly wonderful day and have been sent some outrageously special gifts by some even more outrageously special people.’