Tuesday 14 June 2022 12:52 AM Why veteran newsreader Jana Wendt vanished from the spotlight trends now Why veteran newsreader Jana Wendt vanished from the spotlight: Popular 60 Minutes presenter speaks out after being sacked by Channel Nine in 2006 By Mary Mrad For Daily Mail Australia Published: 00:46 BST, 14 June 2022 | Updated: 00:50 BST, 14 June 2022 Viewcomments Jana Wendt was one of the most recognisable faces on Australian TV in the 1980s and '90s. The 66-year-old hosted 60 Minutes, A Current Affair and Sunday for Channel Nine, but vanished from the spotlight following her departure from the network. Wendt previously revealed how ending her television career allowed her to pursue her passion for writing. Jana Wendt (pictured in February 2020) used to be one of the most recognisable faces on Australian television, but vanished from the spotlight after her departure from Channel Nine 'I'm ensconced in what is for me the new, and deeply personal, occupation of fiction writing. From where I sit, it is hard to imagine doing anything else,' she said after being inducted into the Australian Media Hall of Fame in 2014. Wendt was infamously 'sacked' by Nine's then-CEO Eddie McGuire in 2006. The network was forced to pay her more than $2million for the remaining two and a half years of her contract. 'The only thing I'd say I was unhappy with is that I didn't leave earlier,' she previously told The Sydney Morning Herald. The 66-year-old hosted 60 Minutes, A Current Affair and Sunday for Channel Nine Wendt explained the job had made her feel 'uncomfortable at times'. She joined 60 Minutes in 1982 and soon became one of its biggest stars. In 1992, she won the Gold Logie for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television for her role as host of A Current Affair. Wendt previously revealed how ending her television career allowed her to pursue her passion for writing. (Pictured: Wendt and Sam Chisolm at the Logie Awards in Melbourne in 2004) Wendt co-hosted Seven Network's 50 Years of Television event just 10 days after leaving Nine. She also presented the Logies Hall of Fame award to 60 Minutes at the 2018 Logies. When she wasn't working, Wendt and her husband Brendan Ward spent most of their time at their home in Whale Beach. When she wasn't working, Wendt and her husband Brendan Ward (right) spent most of their time at their home in Whale Beach Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility