Friend reveals Lisa Wilkinson is poised for a TV comeback

Lisa Wilkinson has been accused of burning bridges wherever she goes but a friend has made a startling revelation about the star.

A friend of Lisa Wilkinson has revealed that she is poised for a TV comeback following her explosive legal battle with Bruce Lehrmann.

Lisa, who hasn’t worked in 13 months, is now ready to return to screens after she quit The Project last year citing “media toxicity”.

Despite not working, she has continued to take home a seven figure sum from Channel 10 as per her contract which comes to an end in 2024.

Some commentators have said the star has come off well during the legal proceedings against her and there is no doubt she is still popular among some viewers.

Veteran news and current affairs boss Peter Meakin, a consultant to The Project and a good friend of Lisa’s, told the Weekend Australian that she was ready to return to work.

“She’ll be back,” he said.

Lisa Wilkinson pictured with lawyers leaving Federal Court Sydney. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Monique Harmer

“I know Lisa is keen to get back to work and I’m sure Ten would appreciate a few blockbuster interviews, not that they are easy to arrange.

“Yes, she’s been off air for a while but I don’t think anyone will have forgotten her. The constant stream of publicity has kept her very much in the public eye. I’m sure her loyal followers will remain loyal.”

However, not everyone in the industry agrees that her career will pick up where it left off.

A senior TV media executive, who did not wish to be named, claimed some would be reluctant to work with Lisa in lieu of recent events.

“It takes big teams to produce television and what has Lisa done?” the executive said.

“She’s thrown all of her team under the bus, so why would anyone want to bring her in to work with her?”

Lisa has also been accused of “burning bridges” with networks after she sensationally quit Channel Nine because her co-host on the Today show, Karl Stefanovic, was paid significantly more than her.

An insider claimed that the issue was more complex that Lisa made out, with Stafanovic being paid more because he was still being chased by Seven.

When she found out that he was on around $2 million a year compared to her $780,000 Lisa asked for a pay rise and did not get it. She was axed from the network soon after.

One TV media executive said this week: “No mainstream media organisation would touch her in the realm of news and current affairs. She’s totally committed professional suicide with what she has been shown to have done.

Bruce Lehrmann is suing Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Monique Harmer

“The way she left Nine, even though the narrative was she was standing up for pay equity and female rights, it is not the case …

“She’s burned bridges at Seven, she’s burned bridges at Nine, she’s burned bridges at Ten, so in terms of mainstream commercial TV where else has she got to go.”

Another exec said that Lisa had gone from the “darling of TV” to a “problem wherever she goes”.

They added that she may have also put off future bosses with her political views.

Lisa openly criticised former Prime Minister Scott Morrison as well as former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian for her handling of the Covid-19 pandemic

“It’s like everybody: your time comes for a period of time and then opportunity goes at some point, she was pretty good for a while there and got ahead of herself,” the executive said.

“She became too much of an activist and became more of a lecturer than an interviewer and that increased when she went to Ten because you go there for a left-wing lecture.

“You try and tread the line of being down the middle and she was going the other way, fuelled by her cheer squad.”

Originally published as Friend reveals Lisa Wilkinson is poised for a TV comeback