But for Corrimal's David Akele, work experience on TV show Rove Live meant an introduction to model Miranda Kerr and having his face on national television.

Mr Akele, 24, beat thousands of other aspiring workies for the coveted spot. It included a week behind the scenes in Melbourne with writers, animators and editors, and finally a seat next to host Rove McManus during live filming of last Monday's show.

"I helped (comedian) Dave Hughes come up with ideas for his segment and (comedian) Peter Hellier, and worked on some voice-overs, so it was good to see how much they do to put the show together every week," Mr Akele said yesterday.

"I did my news gag on television, the I Love section, and I actually operated a camera for a little bit."

After his brush with fame - and a meeting with Orlando Bloom's girlfriend Kerr - Mr Akele is now back at his real job at Mazzucchelli's Jewellery in Wollongong Central.

"It's a bit of a down off a high, I'm just trying to get used to it again," he said.

He won the place after entering a 30-second DVD, hamming it up as he put 30[PI9014]Centsymb worth of petrol in his car and travelling around Wollongong in a supermarket trolley.