Channel 10 hope Chris Bath can bring the ratings for weekend news
She is Sydney’s best-loved television news personality without a permanent gig — until now. Chris Bath, the most successful female prime-time newsreader to anchor a Sydney news bulletin on commercial TV, has now been snapped up.
She is Sydney’s best-loved television news personality without a permanent gig — until now.
Chris Bath, the most successful female prime-time newsreader to anchor a Sydney news bulletin on commercial TV, has been snapped up to join the news team on Channel 10.
“Bathie”, as she is affectionately known in the industry, has emerged as Ten’s secret weapon in their battle to reforge their news reputation.
She will present 10 News First every Saturday and Sunday, replacing colleague and friend Natarsha Belling, who has taken a spot on Studio 10, the CBS-backed network’s morning program.
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As a high-profile scalp, she joins former breakfast TV star Lisa Wilkinson, who was poached from Nine’s Today Show 12 months ago.
Bath will also contribute to other Network 10 programs and platforms.
In nearly 20 years with Seven, Bath was made their Sydney nightly news anchor in 2009, a position she held until January, 2014, when she was moved aside for Mark Ferguson.
n a hotly contested battle, Seven has not won a year in Sydney since Ferguson’s appointment. The last year it did win it was 2010, with Bath in the chair.
Since then she has made casual appearances on television, presents a radio show on the ABC, as well hosting the Invictus Games on SBS.
Giving Ten depth to their on-air news team, Bath, 51, is eager to once again cover live news events.
“I am really excited about this,” Bath said.
“I think hosting The Invictus Games, which was such a fantastic event, made me realise how much I really love doing live TV.
“But secondly, this is the right opportunity for me and the right time and right place.”
With her son Darcy, 18, now old enough to take care of himself, the veteran news reader said she was lured to Ten because of its non-toxic culture and “vibe”.
“Darcy did his HSC this year, so he is done with school and will be off doing his own thing,” she said. “I am just lucky the timing is right on a number of levels. I am ready for it. Ten is the right place for me to be.
“I was lucky to work in a number of different places after I left Seven and the thing that always struck me about Ten whenever I walked in there was the vibe.
“It is such a lively and friendly place to work. It is a lovely environment and I think they have a great culture at Ten. I am really excited to not just be visiting anymore.”
Bath was particularly impressed by the women at Ten, including close friends Belling and Sandra Sully.
“I have known Tarsh through the industry and she is fantastic,” she said. “All the women at Ten are.
“I think there is an amazing bunch of women that work here. I remember going to Sandra’s (Sully) 25th celebrations a the MCA a couple of years ago and I remember thinking at the time what a great bunch of women work at the network and a lot of them are all still there.”
Bath’s new role will be in addition to her radio commitments which include Evenings with Chris Bath on ABC Radio Sydney.
“I am really looking forward to it and juggling both roles because I get to have my cake and eat it too — a bit of radio and a bit of TV,” she said.
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