Lisa Wilkinson and Delta Goodrem head list of TV stars who have something to prove in 2018
Some of Australia’s biggest stars — including Lisa Wilkinson, Delta Goodrem, Aaron Jeffery and Sophie Monk — are under pressure to make a big impact with their latest TV projects. Here’s who needs to step it up this year.
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LISA Wilkinson heads a swag of A-list Aussie TV stars who are under pressure to shine in 2018.
The former Today co-host recently scored a $2.3 million per year payday with Channel 10 and this year she needs to deliver.
Wilkinson needs to turn The Sunday Project into a hit and that is no easy task. Ten’s Sunday night version of its weeknight news and current affairs show has been a ratings dud ever since it launched in late August.
WILKINSON’S ATTACK ON CHANNEL NINE
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In 2018, The Sunday Project will likely go up against ratings phenomena including My Kitchen Rules, Married at First Sight and The Block.
Maybe it is sour grapes, but some Nine bosses have privately said that Wilkinson isn’t the right fit for Ten’s show, which attracts a much younger audience than Today.
Media analyst Steve Allen says Wilkinson will have to reinvent herself for her new role.
“Today and The Sunday Project have vastly different audiences, and I see little chance of changing that,” Allen said.
“So yes, the challenge is huge as reinvention is definitely required. But so too Ten know they need to change and to offer something different.
“I think the whole Sunday Project is an odd place to start. In my view, it will be nearly impossible to break through in any meaningful way.”
Here is the list of stars who will want to make every post a winner in 2018.
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LISA WILKINSON
When you get $2.3 million a year, you need to deliver. There is no guarantee Wilkinson will resonate with The Project’s viewers, which are far younger than Today’s. She also has the mighty task of rescuing The Sunday Project, which is a ratings basket case. Good luck.
AARON JEFFERY
He has a huge act to follow. Eric Bana’s performance as Mark “Chopper” Read in the 2000 film Chopper was a career-defining showstopper. How can Jeffery, of McLeod’s Daughters fame, possibly compete?
The early trailer looks impressive.
If Jeffery can pull this off, he could be showered with Logie and AACTA awards.
SOPHIE MONK
The former Bardot singer won hearts and rekindled her fame on The Bachelorette.
But the decision to host the local version of sleazy dating show Love Island on Nine’s digital channel Go! feels like a backward step.
EDDIE McGUIRE
Eddie stemmed The Footy Show’s ratings free fall, but the challenge in 2018 is to return it to hit status.
McGuire’s production company JAM TV is in charge. If anyone can do it, McGuire can.
DELTA GOODREM
Biopics are on the nose after disappointing ratings for Brock and Hoges: The Paul Hogan Story . Can Goodrem’s take on pop queen Olivia Newton John in Olivia: Hopelessly Devoted to You turn things around?
There is no doubting Goodrem’s singing. Let’s see if she’s got the acting chops to pull it off.
ANDREW DENTON
Denton is back at Channel 7 more than 20 years after his short-lived Denton series.
His new show, Interview, looks like Enough Rope with a different name.
Does he still have what it takes to get leading celebrities to spill their guts?
DAVE HUGHES
Hughes has something to prove after a series of misfires at Nine. Australia’s Got Talent, which he hosted, was a flop. His appearances on The Footy Show grated.
Now he has returned to Ten to front comedy program Hughesy, We Have a Problem.
Will this be the TV hit he so desperately needs?
GEORGIE GARDNER
Nine management had to twist Gardner’s arm to get her away from the family to co-host Today,but hopefully the result will be worth it.
She has the sort of no-nonsense personality that could take the cocky Karl Stefanovic down a peg or two.
That would be worth watching.
SHAUN MICALLEF
The last time Micallef was at Nine, he fronted the ill-fated Micallef Tonight.
Now he is back with a revamped Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation — a change from ABC’s Mad as Hell.
Has he made the right choice revisiting past glories?
PIA MILLER
The last time a star went from Home and Away to a Nine crime thriller it was Kate Ritchie and Cops LAC — and we know how badly that turned out. Miller is in Nine’s new Bite Club and needs it to be a hit after having left Seven’s soapie.
MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT RELATIONSHIP EXPERTS
How many failed couplings does there have to be on Married at First Sight before viewers start questioning the expertise of John Aiken, Trisha Stratford and Mel Schilling?
So far Zoe and Alex from Season 1 are the only pair still together.
The other 23 couples have separated. Need to do better.
PETE EVANS
Have those controversial views on paleo finally caught up with Pete Evans?
My Kitchen Rules tumbled in the ratings last season — hurt by rival Married at First Sight.
Another sizeable fall and alarm bells will be going off.
LISA McCUNE
She was Australia’s biggest TV star when she played Constable Maggie Doyle in Blue Heelers.
After a feature role in the ABC’s The Warriors, McCune will be back in the limelight of prime time TV with Ten’s How to Stay Married, alongside Peter Helliar.
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