Veteran presenter Osher Günsberg has opened up about the surprising reason he always took so long to read out the names of eliminations on Australian Idol.

The reality TV star, 51, who co-hosted Australian Idol from 2003-2009 with James Mathison, cheekily revealed in a social media clip the dramatic pauses were somewhat of a game.

‘If you’ve ever wondered why we waited so f***ing long to read the name of the person who was eliminated, I’m grateful I can finally tell you,’ Osher began.

He revealed there was a secret competition between him and his former co-host, 47, over which of them could make the longest dramatic pause.

‘The truth is that there was a long-running game of brinksmanship between James and I, challenging each other to wait longer and longer to say the name,’ he said.

‘He challenges me – six polar bears, each is about three seconds, which is an eon in TV time,’ Osher revealed.

Veteran presenter Osher Günsberg has opened up about the surprising reason he always took so long to read out the names of eliminations on Australian Idol

The London-born presenter then revealed he would take an overly long dramatic pause after reading out ‘leaving the competition is’ to see if he could beat his co-host’s record.

‘We’re on live national TV, no one can do anything. It’s very cheeky… and incredibly satisfying,’ he quipped.

‘The executive producer called out [in my earpiece], ‘Say the f***ing name!”

He finished by saying his behaviour was later reprimanded by producers for ‘wasting time’ on TV, which he found ironic given the series ‘only exists to waste airtime’.

Osher was one of the original hosts of Australian Idol, from its first series in 2003 until it was axed by Channel Ten in 2009.

In August, Osher was left speechless after a 28-year-old podcaster asked him whether his co-host on the show, James, was dead during a sit-down interview.

The cringe-inducing gaffe occurred when the TV presenter was making an appearance on an episode of the A Bit Rogue podcast.

Host Skye Sydenham was chatting to Osher about his days on Australian Idol, when she asked whether his old co-host was ‘still with us’.

The 51-year-old reality TV star, who co-hosted Australian Idol from 2003 – 2009 with James Mathison (right), cheekily revealed in a social media clip that the dramatic pauses were somewhat of a game

He revealed there was a secret competition between him and his former co-host over which of them could make the longest dramatic pause

‘You’re asking me if James Mathison is dead?’ a gobsmacked Osher replied.

Embarrassed about her blunder, Skye attempted to quickly reset, saying, ‘I was asking if he was alive.’

Sharing a clip of the awkward moment on his Instagram, Osher included another interview ‘highlight’ where Skye appeared confused about the TV star’s alter-ego Andrew G.

‘Oh my God, I still can’t believe that you and Andrew G are the same person,’ she commented.

‘How old were you when you realised that?’ an amused Osher replied.

‘Oh, today I’m 28, so about a minute ago,’ the podcaster said.

Skye later sent a message to Mathison under Osher’s post.

‘JAMES apologies only, no condolences,’ she said.

Fortunately, James appeared to have a sense of humour about the slip-up.

‘Osh forwarded it to me. We found it pretty funny. In your defence to Gen Z, to anyone not active on socials is dead to them,’ he replied.

Osher was as a popular VJ for Channel [V] more than two decades ago and went by the name Andrew G.

He worked on Channel V for seven years, finishing his run as its popular presenter in 2006.

At 38, Osher, whose birth name is Andrew Günsberg, dropped the Andrew G moniker and decided to change his name to Osher, which is Hebrew for ‘happiness’ as part of his evolving outlook on life.