Animal rescuer Chris ''Brolga'' Barnes, aka Kangaroo Dundee.


Having found fame in the United Kingdom, Aussie animal rescuer Chris "Brolga" Barnes is set to become a star in his own country.

The ABC has confirmed it will air Barnes' hit show Kangaroo Dundee in the prime-time slot of 8.30pm on Thursday, March 21.

The program drew more than 1.8 million viewers in Britain and resulted in dozens of marriage proposals to Barnes, who lives in an outback tin shack without power, running water or a toilet.

It shows him taking three newly-orphaned joeys to his kangaroo sanctuary, which he built 20 years ago.

Barnes runs the sanctuary on his own and funds it through part-time jobs, such as stacking shelves and washing buses.

He told British newspaper The Times that he cares for the joeys as if he is their real mother, feeding them throughout the night.

When he finds an injured joey on the side of the road, he nurses it against his bare torso to keep it warm.

"If a kangaroo gets hit to the upper body, there's a good chance there's a little baby still alive in that pouch," he told ABC Radio's Richard Glover.


Since his program aired in the UK, he has received thousands of emails and tens of thousands of dollars in donations via his website,