In tonight’s episode of Australian Story, TV pioneer Mal Leyland shares a deeply personal account of his legacy and the challenges shaping his final chapter.
As he prepares for one last trip across Australia, Leyland reflects on decades of adventure while confronting his dementia diagnosis, with daughter Carmen by his side navigating what comes next.
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TV legend Mal Leyland is preparing for his final outback trip.
Aged 81 and suffering from moderate dementia, the co-star of the long running Ask the Leyland Brothers series will host a convoy of four-wheel drive enthusiasts on a journey from the west to east coasts of Australia.
The month-long trek will commemorate the 60th anniversary of Mal and Mike Leyland’s groundbreaking continental crossing of Australia in 1966 and raise money for a planned Mal Leyland museum in Cairns.
“Having dementia is interesting because it depends a little bit on what it affects”
Mal tells Australian Story.
“If you’ve got a good memory of the good things in life, the good things are far more important.”
At the peak of their popularity in the 1960s and 70s, the Leyland Brothers’ travel documentaries were among the top-rating programs on Australian television.
They’re often credited with sparking the boom in camping and four-wheel driving, with the phrase “doing a Leyland Brothers” becoming shorthand for an extended outback holiday.
But the brothers fell out when a shared business venture went bust, and their relationship never fully recovered.
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Mal was diagnosed with dementia two years ago and is being cared for by his only daughter, Carmen.
“The hardest thing has been watching this man that I idolised my whole life, slowly disappear in front of my eyes”
she tells Australian Story.
“Accepting that dad is going to get worse is hard. We are dreading the day when we can’t take care of him anymore.”
Producer: Ben Cheshire.
This episode of Australian Story airs tonight, Monday 30 March at 8:00pm on ABC TV and ABC iview.
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