The Obscure TV Drama David Bowie Couldn't Get Enough Of

Here is a delightfully odd pop‑culture collision: David Bowie, the shape‑shifting art rock icon who played an alien on film and a goblin king on stage, had a soft spot for a long‑running Australian rural soap. Yes, that happened, and the breadcrumbs that prove it are weirdly charming.

So, what was Bowie bingeing?

The show was 'A Country Practice,' an Australian drama that kicked off in 1981 and ran for well over 1,000 episodes. It revolves around the residents of the fictional town of Wandin Valley, with a lot of storylines orbiting the local hospital. Think small‑town rhythms, everyday crises, and a steady drip of character drama. Not exactly the thing you expect the man behind 'Heroes' and 'Let’s Dance' to adore, but here we are.

Receipts, please

The first piece of evidence comes from Iggy Pop, who spent plenty of time in Bowie’s orbit. In a 2020 interview, he said: "A big favourite of ours. We watched it all the time in Switzerland. David loved that show." That’s not a casual one‑off viewing; that’s a habit.

Then there is the cast side of the story. Shane Porteous, who starred on 'A Country Practice,' once got invited to a Bowie concert and brought his kids along. His daughter Fiona remembers meeting Bowie before the show and clocking the contrast between myth and man: "We got to meet him before the concert... David was quite short, and how exhausted he looked."

The tapes, the tour, and the backstage hello

Shane Withington, who played Brendan Jones, recalled in a 2020 radio interview that they knew Bowie was a fan because he had episodes taped and shipped to him. One day, Withington’s publicist rushed in with an unexpected offer: an invite to Bowie’s Glass Spider tour. He showed up, felt hilariously out of place among the beautiful people backstage, and then Bowie appeared, heterochromia and all, to chat about how much he loved the show. Withington summed up the unlikely crossover with a grin of disbelief: "David came out... and said how much he loved the show."

Not a one‑off obsession

Bowie’s tastes weren’t limited to obscure soaps. He was also heavily into 'Peaky Blinders' years later. But the 'A Country Practice' fandom adds a curveball to the legacy of a guy who, beyond the albums, left a mark in movies like 'The Man Who Fell to Earth,' 'Labyrinth' (a part that almost went to Michael Jackson), and 'The Prestige.' Bowie died in 2016 at 69, but these little stories keep rounding out the edges of who he was: a world‑builder who still carved out time for quiet, human‑scale TV.

Quick context

• 1981: 'A Country Practice' launches in Australia; eventually tops 1,000 episodes.
• 1980s: Bowie watches the show in Switzerland, enough to get episodes taped and sent to him.
• Glass Spider tour era: Bowie invites cast members to a concert and meets them backstage.
• 2020: Iggy Pop and series regulars publicly confirm Bowie’s fandom in separate interviews.
• 2016: Bowie passes away at 69, leaving behind music, films, and some very specific TV favorites.

It is a wonderfully specific image: the artist who seemed to live five minutes in the future, unwinding with a gentle Australian drama about a town where the hospital is the heartbeat. It tracks. The man contained multitudes.