Sex, drugs and cock and bull stories - but insiders reveal the one reason why ... trends now
Channel Seven's scandal-struck Spotlight show will return this weekend just days after bombshell sex and drugs allegations, as TV insiders reveal how it can survive the controversy.
Spotlight was dragged into the Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial over claims it had bankrolled wild nights to win exclusive interview rights with him.
The next episode of the current affairs program will air this Sunday night despite network bosses reportedly holding a series of crisis talks about its future.
TV chiefs are understood to have taken the view that if Spotlight's Channel Nine rival 60 Minutes can overcome its infamous 'Beirut scandal', Seven's Spotlight can also survive this current outrage.
Nine's reputation was trashed in 2016 when four 60 Minutes crew members, including veteran presenter Tara Brown, were arrested in Lebanon's capital over allegations of abduction following a botched child recovery mission.
The staffers spent two weeks in jail and charged with kidnapping, assault, hiding information and criminal conspiracy after they were arrested by local authorities.
'That puts things in perspective,' a senior figure at Seven told The Australian.
However, another insider said they were 'shocked' that the show was airing and that it should be put 'into storage' until the drama dies down.
Staff are understood to have taken the view that if Channel Nine's 60 Minutes can overcome its infamous 'Beirut scandal', Seven's Spotlight can survive this scandal (pictured, 60 Minutes presenter Tara Brown is escorted from a Lebanese courthouse to Baabda Prison in 2016)
Brown and 60 Minutes producer Stephen Rice are pictured arriving home at Sydney Airport after spending two weeks behind bars over child kidnapping accusations
Another insider told the publication, 'The show must go on'.
'What else can we do?' they said. 'We have heaps of content in the can, and it's ready to go.
'As it currently stands, neither Seven nor anyone at Spotlight have been found to have done anything wrong.'
Daily Mail Australia has approached Seven for comment.
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