[2] The series starred Max Gillies, with a supporting cast that included John Clarke, Wendy Harmer, Phillip Scott, Tracy Harvey, Patrick Cook,[2] Marcus Eyre, Geoff Kelso and Peter Moon.
The on-screen troupe combined a wide range of skills, honed in many areas of arts and entertainment: The Gillies Report marked a notable revival of the weekly topical satire sketch format, a genre that had rarely been attempted on Australian TV since the demise of Australia's first and best-known series in this field, The Mavis Bramston Show, in the 1960s.
Its success also paved the way for other subsequent topical satire series, including BackBerner (1999-2002), the various incarnations of The Chaser (2001–present), and Shaun Micallef's Newstopia (2007-2008) and Mad As Hell (2012–present), and on radio How Green was my Cactus (1986–present).
Phillip Scott went on to co-write, musically direct and perform in the Sydney Theatre Company's annual Wharf Revue from 2000 through until 2017 (a live show of political satire, co-created by and co-starring Jonathan Biggins and Drew Forsythe).
The central feature of the series was Gillies' uncanny ability to perform scathingly accurate satirical impersonations of a wide range of public, media and political figures.
[6] At the time, Packer was in the news because he had been investigated by the Costigan Commission for his suspected involvement in organised crime, drug dealing and tax evasion rackets, and the claims caused a sensation in the Australian media.
Packer, who was codenamed "Squirrel" in the Commission's evidence, could only be referred to in the media by the nickname "Goanna" (coined by The National Times), due to Australia's draconian libel and defamation laws.