THE MOVIEZZZ BLOG INTERVIEW: Tanya Memme

If you watch A&E on a regular basis, chances are you have seen SELL THIS HOUSE. Weekends are often devoted to marathon airings of it. Just this past Saturday, 8 episodes aired, including a new episode. It is one of those shows that, if I’m flipping around and see it is on, I put down the remote and watch.

The premise of the show has the SELL THIS HOUSE team arriving at a home that hasn’t sold. They hold an open house with hidden cameras, to see what people think of it. Then, designer Roger Hazard helps redesign and stage the house based on those comments. They then hold an open house again, and see the reaction to the changes.

One of the main reasons for the success of the show is the host, Tanya Memme. She and Roger have a natural chemistry that make it all look so easy. She is, I believe, the best host on TV.

And, she is one of the busiest. In addition to SELL THIS HOUSE, she recently hosted another show for A&E, MOVE THIS HOUSE, as well as being a correspondent for ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT CANADA. In addition to her TV work, she recently finished shooting a film, TERROR INSIDE, she recorded a CD called GEMINI, and is working on a book as well.

And if that isn’t enough, she even found time for an email interview with The Moviezzz Blog.


How did you get started with SELL THIS HOUSE?

I just finished 3 seasons of ROBOTICA on TLC and was the current Direct TV Spokesperson. I auditioned for the production company “Screaming Flea Productions” and A&E in LA about 5 years ago! It was probably one of the most difficult auditions I’ve ever had. They just showed me the audition tape recently… It was very funny!

You seem to be in a different part of the country every week. How much do you travel each year filming SELL?

Well I am on the road basically every second week. Each episode takes three days to shoot. We shoot two episodes per location with a day off in between. There are 26 episodes of Sell This House filmed a year. Move This House isn’t on my schedule anymore since A&E didn’t renew another season, so my travel schedule is still hectic but not half as crazy as last year!

Do you have a favorite part of the country?

I love the East Coast in the Summer and the West Coast in the winter. I absolutely LOVE Arizona, but nothing makes me happier than working in LA!

Do you have a favorite episode of SELL THIS HOUSE?

There are so many fun, wacky, great moments on Sell This House so it’s difficult to narrow it down to only one episode. I always love shooting in Hawaii. I loved the episode with the teenage boys in Hawaii. They had rats in the oven, toenail clippings on their coffee tables, mold growing all over their kitchen especially in and on the fridge, spider webs and grime all over everything in their bed rooms, dirty clothing all over the place!!!! The thing that astonished me most? They honestly had NO IDEA why they couldn’t get a girlfriend!!

In the now famous episode of SELL in Hawaii, with the tiki, and the movers breaking the table, did that get all straightened out off camera or were there lawsuits involved?

That was a crazy episode. Off camera we asked them a million times if the base of the table was attached to the tabletop. They said YES OF COURSE and they gave us permission to move it!! They also told us numerous times how they didn’t even like the table and that they would probably leave it with the house.

When it came to moving the table, the movers picked up the table top and of course to our surprise the BASE WAS STILL ATTACHED!!! The weight of the base cracked the table in half. Its AMAZING how people change their story once something breaks!! All of a sudden that table became the favourite piece of furniture in the house!!!

Well, lets just say that they were unfairly reimbursed for their table!!


What is your designer Roger Hazard like?

Ya never know what Roger is thinking. People are often intimidated by Roger, I mean look at the size of his biceps!!! Aside from the fact that he is enormously talented, Roger is just a big cuddly bear! The thing I like most about him is that when you least expect it he breaks out into the latest Broadway Musical number! Singing, dancing, the whole bit! It’s very funny!!!!

You have a spin off also starring Roger, called MOVE THIS HOUSE. Are you two trying to take over A&E?

Move This House unfortunately didn’t last past two seasons. But if it were up to me, I would host EVERY show on A&E if I could! HA! I love this network and love knowing I’m a part of their family!


And you have a new book in the works with Roger?

YUP!! I am really excited about it! We are in the middle of writing it right now actually. A&E is very excited about it too! Of course it will be graced with Roger’s staging magic on how to sell a house on a budget, but it will also have lots of fun pictures and behind the scenes secrets and moments we haven’t shared with the public yet.

Living in the US, I was not aware of this, but you are also a correspondent for ET in Canada? How is that going?

It is the same ET you see in the US except a certain part of the show is Canadian based and only seen in Canada. I was working for ET Canada on and off last year because of my crazy schedule. I love working for them whenever I get the chance.

And you also have a film called TERROR INSIDE in the works?

YES!! I finished filming the Lead Role (MARIA) opposite Corey Feldman. I had a blast on the film and with Corey.

It was a very challenging role which is why I loved it because it was an extremely dramatic role. I go from the girl next door to a virus ridden crazy person who loves to inflict pain on herself! It shows a whole other side to me that nobody has seen yet on TV.



I got into this business because I was an actor. I studied at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in NYC. I love acting as much as I do Hosting. I’m looking forward to doing another one! I loved the challenge the experience, I put my heart and soul into this role. So many of my fans only know me as the bubbly host of Sell This House. This will be quite the surprise for them!

You have a CD coming out. Can you tell us about that

Glad you asked because it is going to be released THIS WEEK on my website tanyamemme.com. I am really looking forward to its release. It is called “GEMINI”. I did the CD for my fans who wanted to see another side to me. It has 6 songs and a music video and the CD has a lot of color pictures that have not been seen yet. I put soooooo much passion into this CD. It was a passion project. I sang from my heart in every song. The music video was smply a blast!

Multiple TV shows, a film, a book, and a CD all in the works, do you have any free time?

I have more free time (which still isn’t much) now than I’ve had in 5 years. Last year alone I hosted THREE TV shows, Sell This House, Move This House and ET Canada, I recorded my CD GEMINI at the Jim Henson Studios in Hollywood, as well as shot my music video at the Raleigh Studios in Hollywood. Started writing a book on staging with Roger. I shot 5 TV pilots, was a motivational speaker at a bunch of events, traveled the US and Canada doing PR for Sell This House and my CD, AND Filmed a MOVIE in Florida! I had 33 days off total last year!

Right now I am only shooting Sell This House and concentrating on releasing my CD writing my book and finding more time for a personal life. I’m taking a breath and enjoying every minute of it!


What are your favorite films, musicians?

My all time two favorite films are GREMLINS and Somewhere In Time!! Musicians? I absolutely love Jazz music, Country Music and really great Dance music. From Coltrane and Ella, to Faith Hill and Tim McGraw to Madonna (who I still think is incredibly amazing!).

Do you have any DVD recommendations?

The entire season of South Park!! I am a huge fan!! I named my Persian cat Cartman!! Looks just like him!

What do you have on your Tivo (or what shows do you watch every week)?

SELL THIS HOUSE HA!
MOVE THIS HOUSE
HOUSE – just got into it!
OPRAH
SOUTH PARK! I think I have 86 episodes I need to watch!

For more information on Tanya, visit her website, TanyaMemme.com where you can order her CD. And be sure to check out SELL THIS HOUSE, Saturday’s on A&E.

A big thank you to Tanya Memme.