Channel Seven's year from hell: From Adele interview gaffe to big-budget flops

Channel Seven may have reclaimed the title of Australia's number one TV station, but that doesn't mean 2021 has been an easy year for the network.

In fact, the opposite seems to be true.

Despite coming out on top, Seven executives will no doubt be trying the scrub the last 12 months from memory, after a string of scandals saw the network and its stars rarely out of the headlines.

From a botched interview with Adele to news reporters behaving badly and big-budget reality shows flopping in the ratings, the past year has seemingly been one PR disaster after another for Seven.

But despite it all, the 'red team' has come out on top, and the highlight of the year was arguably its acclaimed coverage of the Tokyo Olympics.  

'Feuding' Sunrise stars 

A silent 'feud' between former Sunrise co-host Sam Armytage and her predecessor Natalie Barr has likely given Seven bosses a few headaches this year. 

Sam, 44, threw shade at Natalie on Twitter in June for continuing to speak about her in the press, three months after taking over as anchor of Seven's breakfast show.  

She was responding to an interview Natalie had done with The Australian Women's Weekly in which she claimed the pair weren't friends outside the workplace.

After brushing off a question about their rivalry on The Kyle and Jackie O Show, Sam tweeted: 'Look, I'm out. Nat's wanted the job forever... and she's finally got it. She just needs to get on and enjoy it - and forget about me (even though I'm unforgettable).'

Sam was co-anchor of Sunrise from June 2013 until March this year, when she stepped down to spend more time with her family. 

Natalie, the show's longtime newsreader, replaced her the week after her departure.

Sam's tweet contradicted Natalie's own account of her promotion to co-anchor, as she has always said she didn't aspire to be host and was surprised when Seven offered her the job.

It came after Natalie revealed for the first time she didn't have a close relationship with Sam, whom she replaced as Sunrise anchor on March 15.

When asked about rumours they weren't close, Natalie had told AWW the pair 'got along well in the office' but rarely spoke after the cameras stopped rolling because they didn't have much in common.

'The truth is we didn't really see each other outside the office,' she said.

'We had vastly different lives, I guess,' the mother of two added. 'We were in different places. She was hanging with her friends, and I was spending time with my family.

'So, yes, we were in different places.'

Expensive shows with poor ratings 

Seven opened up the chequebook this year to bring over major international talent such as Caitlyn Jenner, Rita Ora and Ant Middleton. 

But not all of the network's investments paid off in the ratings.

While The Voice was a smash hit, often doubling the audience of Nine's The Block, the star-studded Big Brother VIP was a complete flop. 

Despite a headline-grabbing cast and a tireless marketing campaign, the latest season struggled to contend with its rivals. 

The reality show failed to reach more than 380,000 viewers in the five capital cities, and usually ranked as the third our fourth most popular show of the night. 

The last episode delivered the lowest ratings of the entire season, with just 311,000 metro viewers tuning in for the winner announcement. 

It should be noted, however, that Big Brother VIP did have a large catch-up audience on 7Plus. 

However, the ratings were nevertheless bad news for Seven, as the network is believed to have spend a considerable amount of money to secure housemates. 

Caitlyn Jenner was reportedly paid $500,000 for her time, while Donald Trump's former aide Omarosa Manigault Newman is said to have earned $450,000. 

Married At First Sight's Jessika Power and Kyle Sandilands' ex-girlfriend Imogen Anthony are both said to have earned $20,000 to appear on the show. 

British right-wing commentator Katie Hopkins was also given a $200,000 pay packet, even though she never made it into the Big Brother house.

More on that later... 

Meanwhile, SAS Australia: Hell Week also bombed in the ratings, despite Seven bringing back the British instructors Ant Middleton, Olli Ollerton and Jason Fox. 

The military-style show, a civilian version of SAS Australia, fizzled during its debut season, launching with 387,000 viewers and ending with 328,000.

Adele's One Night Only concert special also underperformed earlier this month, despite reports Seven spent $1million on exclusive rights.

The broadcast pulled in 747,000 viewers in the 7pm time slot, while Nine's Lego Masters Brickmas Special won the night with 804,000.

The Katie Hopkins incident 

Seven was plunged into a PR disaster in June when British commentator Katie Hopkins was deported from Australia ahead of her scheduled appearance on Big Brother VIP. 

The right-wing media personality was kicked out of the country with a $1,000 fine, after she posted a bizarre video detailing her plans to break hotel quarantine by opening her door to food deliveries naked and without a mask.

In the eyebrow-raising video, Hopkins laughed: 'The police officer who checked me in told me when they knock on my door I have to wait 30 seconds until I can open the door.'

Hopkins claimed she was 'lying in wait' to 'spring [the door] open and frighten the s*** out of them and do it naked with no face mask'. 

After being fined, Hopkins insisted she never broke the rules and also claimed she was subjected to 'harassment' from officials.

She also denied she'd leaned into a hotel corridor without her mask on, despite being fined for the alleged act on July 16.

While she didn't even make it into the Big Brother house, Hopkins still reportedly walked away with her appearance fee. 

Matt Doran's bungled Adele interview 

Seven presenter Matt Doran was left with egg on his face earlier this month after he failed to listen to Adele's new album before interviewing her in London. 

The Channel Seven reporter had flown to London to interview the chart-topping singer, 33, for the Seven Network - but shockingly admitted during the chat he hadn't actually listened to her new album, 30. 

An 'offended' Adele was then said to have walked out of the interview, which Doran denied.

The network allegedly spent $1million on the ill-fated interview, plus her sit-down with Oprah Winfrey and footage from her One Night Only concert. 

Doran, 37, appearing completely devastated, issued a grovelling apology to Adele on Weekend Sunrise and blamed the saga on a 'missed email', before admitting the interview was meant to be 'one of the highlights' of his career.  

In his candid statement, Doran said he had received a 'torrent of abuse and mockery from around the world'.

'This is a story that has sparked from around the world, a torrent of abuse and mockery from around the world, and if I'm being honest with you, the bulk of this savaging I deserve and I totally own,' he began. 

'I flew to London to interview Adele, an unspeakable privilege and what was to be one of the highlights of my career. 

'I made the terrible mistake of assuming we weren't to be given a preview a copy of this album, because our interview was airing before it was released and Adele's album was the industry's most-prized secret.'  

Doran said that he missed an email from Sony that contained a link to Adele's new album, 30, and said it was the 'most important email I've ever missed in my life'.

'The day after, after we landed in London an email came through from Sony. It didn't mention Adele, but it did contain a link to her album.

'The genuine, dead-set, hand on heart truth is that I missed it. By an absurdly long margin, the most important email I've ever missed in my life.'

The journalist confirmed that Adele 'did not walk out' of their chat and that it in fact ran overtime.

'At least half of the interview focused squarely on the new music,' he said, noting that he thought it 'reductive' to speak of the album as being about her divorce to Simon Konecki.

'I thought it was reductive to describe it as simply being about divorce, that it was about empowerment, and would inspire to summon the courage to steer their lives in a new direction.'

Doran revealed that they spoke at length about her career and artistry, fame and 'the majesty' of her voice.

He noted that Adele shared how she came up with her leading single Go Easy On Me in part while singing acapella in the shower, and how her album 30 helped repair her relationship her now-late father, Mark Evans, before his passing earlier in May. 

Doran continued: 'Throughout the 29 minutes, Adele was profound, she was very funny, she was raw and then she was honest. Honest enough to describe her depression as "end-of-the-world stuff".'

But he conceded that none of it mattered because to miss the link to the album was an insult to Adele.

Doran said: 'To Adele, I say, I'd never have knowingly disrespected you by deliberately not listening to your work. I am so sorry.'

He also apologised to her fans, saying: 'I also apologise to Adele's Australian fans, and to you, our viewers, who through my error have been denied this interview and the insight into her character.'

Doran then quoted her song Hold On, the tenth track from 30, and said: 'In the bridge after the second chorus you write that: "Sometimes forgiveness is easiest in secret".

'I'm not expecting that forgiveness, but I do owe you an apology,' he concluded. 

It came after he told The Daily Telegraph that he has 'no choice' but to speak about the scandal.

'I've had inquiries from Good Morning Britain, CNN, Dubai and Japan,' he said on Friday.

read more from dailymail.....