Craig Hutchison reveals the inside story of his Footy Show sacking

Craig Hutchison has revealed the inside story of his fateful final episode as The Footy Show host and how he knew the axe was coming.

Craig Hutchison (centre) and The Footy Show line-up in 2017. Picture: Supplied

Craig Hutchison has revealed he knew he was going to be sacked as The Footy Show host before the fateful episode where Sam Newman staged his famous ‘silent protest.

Hutchison has told for the first time he knew the axe was going to fall on him in July 2017, he just did not know exactly when.

And Hutchison believes Newman, who refused to speak to him or anyone else during the two hour show after producers refused to let him do a particular skit, was not responsible for him being sacked.

He said Newman knew a change was coming and his zipped-lip sit-in was not designed to undermine or damage his career.

“I knew he was in a really angry mood the day before because the production meeting ended poorly and he stormed out. He had a view of what he wanted to do off the top of the show and the network said ‘you can’t do that’,” Hutchison said on The Sounding Board podcast.

“I knew it was going to be a rough night in the office.

Craig Hutchison and Eddie McGuire in 2017. McGuire hosted after Hutchison was fired.

“I also had a fair idea, better than a fair idea, that I was about to be told I wasn’t required any longer.

“I was reading the tea leaves that it might be my last show.

“I did not know necessarily if it was going to be that show or the one after, but I had an idea what was happening.”

Hutchison said he believes Newman was aware an upheaval was pending and his hosting days were numbered.

“My theory is that he found out that week that I was gone (and) he was brought into the tent so he knew he was doing me no harm (by staging his silent protest) anyway,” he said.

Hutchison said Newman’s refusal to speak on the live show was “two of the more challenging hours of my broadcast life.”

“The whole show was built around him,” he said.

“We got a run down: grab one, grab two, Sam does this, Sam does that, Sam overlay, Sam this, Sam that, Sam the other. You are just there to play the sixth man role on a basketball team and feed him the ball.

“So when he is not going to participate there is nothing else to do for two hours. He was it.”

The axe fell on Hutchison the following day and he was replaced by Eddie McGuire.

Newman’s silent protest was front-page news.

The Footy Show’s 25-year run came to an end in 2019.