THE Footy Show desperately needed a revamp, and once Fatty Vautin was axed the first order of business had to be a name change.

That’s what former star of the program Matty Johns believes, with the creator of much-loved character Reg Reagan, saying Vautin and the Footy Show brand were synonymous.

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Fox Sports’ Johns said it was always going to be a challenge for new host Erin Molan to win the support of Vautin’s rusted-on Footy Show viewers, and breathe new life into the same show.

“If it’s not Fatty Vautin, it’s not the Footy Show,” he told Triple M’s The Grill Team on Monday.

“When I heard that Fatty wasn’t going to do it any more, firstly I thought they should have renamed it.

“I thought they would have renamed it. They created a very, very difficult situation for Erin (Molan) by keeping it as the Footy Show.”

The host of The Matty Johns Show wasn’t surprised the decision was made to stick with the name, as Nine Network powerbrokers have long resisted moving away from the brand that has won 11 Logies since it first went to air in 1994.

One of Matty Johns’ Footy Show characters. Fan favourite Reg Reagan. Source: News Limited

Johns went on to reveal to the Grill Team that when he was approached to return to the program six years ago, he eventually turned down the gig because there was a lack of forward-planning.

“I said ‘yep, okay no problem’, but I don’t want to go back if it’s going back to the Footy Show,” Johns explained.

“I believed a little time ago, and everyone’s entitled to their opinion, it was time to reinvent it completely — new name, new everything, new show.

“We sort of got a fair way down the path and they said ‘no, no we still believe the Footy Show is still a big brand and we want to keep it at that’.

“And I said ‘look guys, no offence I can understand why you want to do that, ‘cause the AFL one is still flying a little bit, but I’m out. I’m not going to go back’.”

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