AS YOUTUBE personalities they’re never surprised to be ambushed daily on the street, but they certainly never expected to be paid for their craft.

The three ex-Ballarat theatre students who make up Aunty Donna were one of five Aussie YouTube teams to be funded $100,000 to make a 10-part web series in Screen Australia’s Skip Ahead program.

Their last series was shot over one weekend with $1000 of their own money.

“I think when you start a sketch group in Australia you don’t think this is gonna (sic) be a career anytime soon,” said Prahran comedian Zachary Ruane.

“So it’s been an absolute pleasure and delight and surprise.”

East Brunswick’s Broden Kelly said: “It would be really easy for Screen Australia to just do big films, but you see a really active engagement from them trying to develop the online content, because it’s so huge now. Anyone under 30 usually watches stuff on their laptop as opposed to the TV.”

The trio, who met as ­students, are well-loved for their absurdist, edgy ­humour on the live circuit and online.

After sellout seasons this year at the Melbourne Comedy Festival, London’s Soho Theatre and the Edinburgh Fringe, the trio have returned home to see their comedy pilot screen on ABC’s iView as part of its Fresh Blood series. Their YouTube channel has had more than seven million views; the Bikie Wars sketch takes 1.1 million of those.

Aunty Donna

There are several tales behind the trio’s name, the sensible one being that third member Mark Bonanno and Kelly both have an Aunty Donna.

But in a more exciting version, it was suggested by a legless, wig-wearing ghost of Patrick Swayze in a regular haunting of Ruane when he was five.

Citing broad influences including Saturday Night Live, Shaun Micallef, Monty Python and Ace Ventura , the trio decided to start doing sketches four years ago.

“There hadn’t been a great sketch show on TV for like 15, 20 years. And we all realised we really, really love sketch,” Bonanno said.

It’s common for the trio to be recognised on the street.

“I’m in Coles ads every night on TV and I get noticed for the YouTube stuff 400 times more. No kids are watching TV,” Kelly said.

Said Bonanno: “It freaks me out people put us on the same sort of pedestal we put TV and film stars ... I don’t get it because YouTube is just like whatever, but people love it.”