Tuesday 22 November 2022 07:17 AM Channel 10 insider reveals next big star to resign from The Project as mass ... trends now
Carrie Bickmore and Lisa Wilkinson may not be the end of the mass exodus for Channel 10.
Entertainment commentator Peter Ford has made the bombshell claim that several big players will not be returning to The Project in 2023.
'I believe Peter Helliar is resigning from the program and will not be there next year,' he told news.com.au on Tuesday.
There will be more resignations to come for Channel 10's The Project, a leading TV pundit has warned. The left-leaning news program has been rocked by two high-profile exits in recent weeks: Lisa Wilkinson (right) announced she was quitting effective immediately on Sunday night, and long-time anchor Carrie Bickmore (left) confirmed her departure a month ago
'I'm of the belief that Waleed Aly is not a certainty to be there next year; I think he has another project with 10.
'And fairly major secondary players are also considering whether they will be returning or not.'
Ford said that he believes that if Aly did leave the show, he would be 'redeployed' elsewhere, while Helliar would likely depart to focus on his own projects.
'Nobody is indispensable in TV, but if you take out more than one major player at a time, you're throwing a grenade and hoping for the best,' he said.
Entertainment commentator Peter Ford (pictured) has made the bombshell claim that several big players will not be returning to The Project in 2023
The left-leaning news program has been rocked by two high-profile exits in recent weeks: Lisa Wilkinson announced on Sunday night that she was quitting effective immediately, and long-time anchor Carrie Bickmore confirmed her departure a month ago.
'There will be more "shock resignations" in the next two weeks,' he tweeted after Wilkinson announced her exit at the end of The Sunday Project.
'How coincidental so many people all decide at same time they "need a change",' added Ford, the showbiz correspondent for The Morning Show and 3AW Breakfast.
'I believe Peter Helliar is resigning from the program and will not be there next year,' he told news.com.au
Ford promised to tell all about Wilkinson's exit and 'who is going next', as well as the story behind Channel 10's 'last-ditch attempt to rebrand the show', on Monday.
He later fired off a snarky tweet accusing Wilkinson of 'making herself a victim' with her resignation speech, in which she accused the media of 'targeted toxicity' and spoke of how the last 'six months have not been easy'.
'All the hard work she's put in etc. etc. for four nights a week and 20 grand a week. That poor lady!' he added.
He did not specify who would be next out the door, but The Project has a roster of regular hosts including comedian Tommy Little, former Q&A presenter Hamish Macdonald and long-time co-anchor Waleed Aly.
Aly is unlikely to leave, however, after signing a 'seven-figure, multi-year deal' with Channel 10 in March, according to The Australian.
'There will be more "shock resignations" in the next two weeks,' Ford tweeted on Sunday. 'How coincidental so many people all decide at same time they "need a change".' (Pictured: Bickmore and Wilkinson at the Logie Awards on the Gold Coast on June 30, 2019)
Ford promised to tell all about Wilkinson's exit and 'who is going next', as well as the story behind Channel 10's 'last-ditch attempt to rebrand the show', on Monday
He did not specify who would be next out the door, but The Project has a roster of regular hosts including comedian Tommy Little (left) and former Q&A presenter Hamish Macdonald (right)
Long-time co-anchor Waleed Aly (pictured) is unlikely to leave, however, after signing a 'seven-figure, multi-year deal' with Channel 10 in March, according to The Australian
Ford wasn't the only media personality weighing in on Wilkinson's exit, with radio host Kyle Sandilands speculating her departure from The Project will effectively mark the end of her life in the public eye.
He noted how her husband Peter FitzSimons had also recently stepped back from his high-profile role as the head of the Australian Republic Movement.
He added: 'Lisa Wilkinson, jobless. Thank God. Channel 10 saw the light, got rid of that $2million mistake. And now the husband [FitzSimons] has got no job either. You watch them vanish... They will disappear. They will just go away.'
Wilkinson is not actually leaving Channel 10, but only stepping back from her duties as a host of The Project and The Sunday Project.
