He's been a successful radio host, comedian, actor and presenter but Hamish Blake has conceded - in the face of the medical community's wrath - he couldn't be a GP.
Not even for 24 hours.
The dual Gold Logie winner had joked that general medical practice was the highest-paying job he could do competently for a day.
That sparked outrage in the medical community and even led to upper house MPs in the NSW parliament to dub the statement "as ridiculous as thinking that being a frequent flyer equips you with the skills to fly an aircraft".
In a podcast published hours after the MPs' censure, Blake acknowledged his light-hearted take had caused hurt.
"We love to dig in on this show, we've done a few dig-ins," he said late on Wednesday.
"But in this case, I think it's a very, very easy choice to apologise because number one, obviously, we love doctors and would love to see one again.
"And we have zero interest if this has upset people and it has upset this percentage of people."
He earlier suggested that while doctors had to go to medical school, he thought he could get by for one day.
"I do a lot of googling medical issues and I have got now 20 years' experience of going to the GP," he said on his Hamish and Andy podcast.
The Lego Masters host said he would refer any serious cases such as breathing difficulties to emergency departments or other specialists.
General practitioner turned NSW Greens MP Amanda Cohn thanked Blake for his apology.
“I'm relieved we can go about our lives without fear of a comedian attempting to be a GP the next time we need expert medical help," she told AAP.
Dr Cohn on Wednesday called out the comments and led state MPs in calling the statement "ridiculous".
Amid a national shortage, it was not OK to "punch down on an exhausted, undervalued and essential workforce", she said.
"The perception that GPs are somehow lesser doctors is widespread," Dr Cohn told NSW parliament on Wednesday.
"GPs know more about gynaecology than cardiologists, more about cardiology than orthopedic surgeons and more about orthopedics than psychiatrists."
One rural doctor contacted Dr Cohn to invite Blake to spend a day in her clinic to see first-hand the variety of complex and numerous presentations.
Other GPs had recalled instances of back pain turning out to be metastatic prostate cancer, reflux being a heart attack or a baby's fever being the early signs of meningitis, the Greens MP said.
Opposition MP Damien Tudehope also rose to recall his father delivering triplets as the GP overseeing a small rural hospital.
