of Lehár's The Merry Widow, followed immediately by another national concert tour with Teddy Tahu Rhodes and performances of Handel's Messiah with the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall. There was another compilation CD, The Best of David Hobson and more solo concerts in several states. In 2012 and 2013, Hobson appeared as Caractacus Potts opposite Rachael Beck as Truly Scrumptious in an Australian touring production of the musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The inaugural Australian cruise of the performing arts on the in November 2014 included Hobson as well as, among others, Cheryl Barker, Colin Lane, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Simon Tedeschi, Elaine Paige, Marina Prior, and Jonathon Welch. Hobson made his company debut for Opera Queensland in a staged performance of Bernstein's Candide in 2015, directed by Lindy Hume. Later that year, he joined Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Lisa McCune and Greta Bradman for a tour of the five Australian mainland state capitals and Auckland and Christchurch, New Zealand – where Jennifer Ward-Lealand replaced McCune – From Broadway to La Scala. Other activities Hobson was mentor to model and TV host Erika Heynatz when they won the Seven Network reality singing show, It Takes Two in 2006, and returned in the 2007 season to partner celebrity Mimi Macpherson. In late 2007 Hobson appeared in Dancing with the Stars Series 7, with he and his mentor, Karina Schembri, finishing in third place. In 2008 he resumed his more familiar role of mentor to win It Takes Two Series 3, with Julia Morris. In 2000, Hobson became the Inaugural Patron of the Ballarat Arts Foundation, and continues in that capacity. At the end of March 2008, Musica Viva Australia announced Hobson's appointment as the Musica Viva in Schools Ambassador for a programme to raise an awareness of the importance of music education in Australian schools. In 2019, Hobson made a guest appearance on The Wiggles, performing a reworked version of Funiculì, Funiculà alongside fellow Australian opera singer (and current Red Wiggle) Simon Pryce. Private life Hobson's early life was spent in Ballarat with parents Kathleen and Phil and siblings Anne, Jane, Ruth and Fiona. He met his wife, ballerina Amber Simpson, when they performed together in 1992 in L'italiana in Algeri. They married in 1997. They have two children; daughter Madi (born 1998) and son Sam (born 2001). Discography Several of Hobson's operatic performances are available