Studio 10 host Joe Hildebrand quits program after seven years
Studio 10 host Joe Hilderbrand broke down in tears as he confirmed he was leaving the Channel 10 morning show program after seven years at the helm.
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Studio 10 host Joe Hildebrand broke down in tears as he confirmed he was leaving the Channel 10 morning show program after seven years at the helm.
Hildebrand, who is also a News Corp columnist, announced the news live on air on Thursday morning after weeks of negotiation with the network.
“I am leaving Studio 10,” Hildebrand, who been on the show since it started in 2013, said on air. “I have given it a huge amount of thought. It has been really hard.”
Hildebrand’s exit is the latest in a long line of departures from the embattled breakfast show. Last month Channel 10 announced that due to cost-cutting, Kerri-Anne Kennerley and Natarsha Belling were set to leave the program.
The panel show also declared it would return to a more traditional morning television format by bringing on Dancing with The Stars judge Tristan MacManus to co-host the show alongside Sarah Harris.
Hildebrand wouldn‘t discuss any of the changes with The Daily Telegraph but said he wishes the show well.
“The truth is that Channel 10 offered me a job two days a week and wanted to keep me on as part of the show but not as one of the two hosts,” Hildebrand told The Daily Telegraph.
“I was very grateful that they wanted me to stay on but I felt it was best for me and best for the show if I made a clean break. It would hardly be fair to Tristan to have me hanging around.”
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Hildebrand said he was looking at his options with industry murmurs suggesting work could be in the mix across radio, television and print.
On air he added he was thinking of those left unemployed because of COVID-19. He added, “People often stare down their nose at daytime television because it is only watched by pensioners at home or … housewives. They’re the people I love. They’re the battlers. They’re people who have often had really tough lives and they’ve overcome that and I just draw great strength and inspiration from them.”
Harris, who Hildebrand calls “my best friend, my work wife,” was visible distressed during the live announcement, reaching out to hold his hand throughout.
“Losing my best mate and work husband of seven years is utterly heartbreaking,” Harris wrote on Instagram. “On the upside … I’ll be better behaved at the Logies without my partner in crime.”
Hildebrand’s last day will be tomorrow, while MacManus starts Monday. Narelda Jacobs will continue to read the news while Angela Bishop will cover entertainment.
Originally published as Studio 10 host Joe Hildebrand quits program after seven years