Hollywood calling! SIMON & LANA'S IDOL MOMENT

In a race against time, the radio stars made it their mission to finally meet Tom

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When Simon Barnett decided to return to More FM, he was driven by the simple desire to bring a bit of laughter back to his life after losing his beloved wife Jodi almost two years ago.

Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine he would be embarking on his first-ever major overseas trip with his co-host and pal Lana Cochrane-Searle four months into the job - or that he would get to meet his longtime idol Tom Cruise!

“It was an ambitious start to my international travel to go to a completely non-English speaking country,” Simon, 58, says of visiting Seoul last week. “To use a Top Gun analogy, Lana was my Goose!”

Simon has only been overseas a handful of times. Luckily, Lana, whose wife Katie Cochrane is a flight attendant, is a frequent flyer, so she was on hand to help Simon navigate the ups and downs, which included Simon almost missing their flight after forgetting his tuxedo at security and leaving his passport in a bar in Seoul.

“People would say, ‘Sorry, no English.’ And Simon would keep speaking English to them,” says Lana, 38.

“I remember being like that. These are the things you get used to going to different places.”