Hey Hey, it's MOLLY'S 80TH BIRTHDAY!

I try to look after my health.I'm just thankful to be here'

- Jenny Brown

IT'LL BE A PARTY FIT FOR A QUEEN ON THE BIG DAY

Ian 'Molly' Meldrum is in disbelief. Nobody, least of all the music legend himself, thought he would still be around to celebrate his 80th birthday.

Hitting the milestone on January 29, Molly tells New Idea with a chuckle, "I guess it's hard to kill off a mad old queen like me. I'm just thankful to be here!"

Eleven years ago, Molly almost died after plummeting three metres from a ladder while putting Christmas decorations on the roof of his Melbourne home. The Countdown host spent five weeks in a coma, and the accident still impacts his health today.

Molly was on Hey Hey It's Saturday for over a decade.

But if fans expected Molly to slow down, they'd better think again. While the broadcaster, journalist, record producer, gay icon and St Kilda AFL tragic isn't planning a big 80th bash, his friends sure are!