Creek to Coast, Queensland Weekender revived after backlash

Following the overwhelming backlash to Channel 7’s decision to axe its stalwart local lifestyle shows, sponsors have opened their chequebooks to keep the shows on air in a new format.

CHANNEL 7 will reinstate their slate of axed local lifestyle programs after sponsors stepped up to foot the bill.

The Courier-Mail can reveal Creek to Coast and an amalgamated version of Queensland Weekender and The Great Day Out, titled Weekender, will return from February 8 and 9, two months after they were dropped by the network following twenty years on air.

The backflip came as a result of the overwhelming backlash when The Courier-Mail reported the shows' axing in late November, which encouraged Seven Queensland boss Ben Roberts-Smith to reach out to the shows’ major sponsors, who agreed to provide the funding withdrawn by Seven in order to keep the shows on air.

Creek to Coast’s Scott Hillier and Weekender’s Laurel Edwards and Lee Carseldine are among those returning as presenters for the local Channel 7 shows in 2020 after the shows’ major sponsors agree to foot the bill.

“When we announced the changes, the viewers made it pretty clear that the shows were much loved and will be missed. We heard those comments loud and clear,” Roberts-Smith told The Courier-Mail.

“Off the back of that I started having discussions, and so did others in production, with our sponsors and partners to ascertain whether they could support it. They were very interested in getting on board.”

The three Brisbane titles, as well as Sydney Weekender, SA Weekender and The Great Weekend in Melbourne, were initially axed in line with a new business model that would redistribute the local funds to new prime-time national shows, including Big Brother and Farmer Wants a Wife.

“With the shows it really did come down to funding. We needed to look at the model and change the model … and because we have been able to do that in conjunction with the sponsors we were able to bring them back,” Roberts-Smith said.

“We wanted to keep them going, they wanted to keep them going and Queenslanders love the shows, so it’s a great outcome for everyone.”

Seven Queensland boss Ben Roberts-Smith, pictured with wife Emma at Magic Millions race day this month, approached sponsors after Seven cut funding for the local shows in late November.

Creek to Coast presenter Scott Hillier was among those talking to sponsors – which include tourism bodies, BCF, ARB, Caravanning Queensland, Sunseeker Caravans, and Brisbane Camperland – throughout December in the wake of the public feedback.

Related: Queensland presenters react to Seven’s decision to axe three local shows

The decision is a win for grassroots communities with the shows’ ongoing promotion of regions generating vital tourism dollars, as well as the pool of well-known presenters who will continue to host the shows.

“I was absolutely devastated. It was hard to swallow,” Hillier said of losing Creek to Coast.

“I had a few weeks thinking ‘Wow, what will I do next?’ It’s all I know. I didn’t do well at school – I can fish and talk, basically.

“But I read The Courier-Mail comments and it is a reassurance that we are loved and the show is loved … and thankfully Seven can see that and so have the sponsors.

“Within one conversation I had assurances over the phone that we are happy to support Creek to Coast, we can’t lose it.”

Di Fitzgerald, who conceived the idea for The Great South East with Karen Hanna in 1997, is back on board as head of production.

Creek to Coast will shift to Saturdays at 5:30pm, leading into Channel 7’s news bulletin, and Weekender, a flagship statewide tourist and travel program, will air Sundays at the same time.

“We don’t lose the brand (of The Great Day Out), but we have to build it back up. There’s nothing to say in the future that won’t come back,” Roberts-Smith said.

New episodes will air on February 8 and 9.