Former NRL star Beau Ryan drives down memory lane in hometown Albion Park on Top Gear Australia

Former NRL star and TV personality Beau Ryan admitted to getting rather nostalgic driving his childhood dream car through his hometown of Albion Park in Top Gear Australia‘s latest season.

Ryan cohosts the reborn TV car show with Survivor host Jonathan LaPaglia and automotive YouTube star Blair “Moog” Joscelyne, which features stunt-filled tests and celebrities, including Illawarra names.

One episode is dedicated to the Illawarra, taking in some of his old haunts, like the Oak Flats skating rink where he had his first kiss, Albion Park pub where the family ate once a week, the footy oval where he honed his skills that led him to a career with the Cronulla Sharks and Wests Tigers, and even his childhood home.

All done while driving his childhood dream car, a Porsche 911.

“The episode is about ‘the best decade’ and picking cars you grew up idolising and, in the episode, mine’s the Porsche 911 and it’s going back to where I’m from,” he said.

“The moment when I got in my car and drove from the football field through Albion Park and near the pub, that was pretty good, but I think it hit me when I came up around past my house.

“I didn’t really see a Ferrari until I was about 20.

“To go through there in a convoy of those cars and have 50-odd people filming in and around us, I was in my feelings a lot.

“I mean, especially when I went past my house, and I used to play footy out the front with a lot of my mates, my sister and everyone on the street.

“I didn’t really get a lot of time on the day to take it in, but when it aired, it hit me a bit as well.”

He said he was last in Albion Park to take his daughter and her friends to celebrate her birthday at Jamberoo Action Park – though they showed little interest when he pointed out where he was from.

“To shoot the episode there was incredible, considering the episodes before it we were in Italy, Europe, South America and America,” he said.

“A key to it is there’s so many great driving places – Sea Cliff Bridge and driving down to Jamberoo – the shots were always going to look excellent.

“We went to where I played footy, we went past my house and school, and then I met my wife in Oak Flats when we were young, so we went around Oak Flats and then met up in Jamberoo.

“It was like telling a story of my childhood.”

Growing up, Ryan’s family had a little Corolla, which ended up being his first car, before they transitioned to a VP Commodore.

“We used to drive out to Shellharbor beach and Warilla, and my sister and I used to sit in the back and have to hold the roofing up – the cushioned roofing used to fall down,” he said.

“When we wound the windows down, they’d fall straight through the slot all the way to the bottom, so we couldn’t really roll the windows down.

“It gets pretty hot at Albion Park, so we would just open the doors at the traffic lights.”

Despite that, in the show Ryan shows a particular interest in luxury cars.

“I didn’t really get to drive many nice and expensive cars until I got a little bit older, but I always appreciated them,” he said.

The season features other Illawarra connections, including The Inspired Unemployed’s Matt “Falcon” Ford and Jack Steele, and UFC great Alex Volkanovski.

“It did have a lot of that Wollongong flavour,” he said.

“Top Gear is a household name, and everyone thinks they’re a professional driver, but to get those boys on board, it was good.

“Everyone knows The Inspired Unemployed – they’re the biggest ticket in town.

“Volko was another one. I mean, Alex Volkanovski is quite possibly the biggest star in Wollongong, but I’ve always known him as Volko.

“I grew up with him, and his wife used to work for my wife as an apprentice hairdresser back in the day, so I knew Volko before he was world champion.”

The three Illawarra lads all feature high on the leaderboard for the celebrity lap time, which begs the question of what is it about the Illawarra and drivers?

“There’s plenty of spots to drive in the Illawarra where you can really test the car, if you know what I mean,” he said.

“Especially out the back of Albion Park in Calderwood, where I grew up, between my house and the golf course.

“We actually took the cars out there and I think I went faster out there when I was 17 to be honest than I was in a Porsche.”

He admitted, he tended not to push as hard as the other two, due to “thinking about what I’ve got to lose”.

With family still living in Warilla, he remains a big advocate for the region, admitting “a lot of people don’t realise how beautiful it is”.

Ryan has also finished filming another season as host of Network Ten’s The Amazing Race, which will feature Illawarra-born actress and singer Natalie Bassingthwaite with her sister Melinda Sheldrick competing, creating another “full circle moment”.

“My cousin is pretty much best friends with Nat Bass and they grew up not far from where we lived, and they still touch base,” he said.

“I remember I locked eyes with Nat Bass in the first ep, and she was looking at me like ‘what the hell have I got myself into’.

“She does well, and it’s always good to see Illawarra people doing well.”

Watch Top Gear Australia on Paramount+.