The Project panellist Peter van Onselen off our screens over after on-air stoush

An outspoken political panellist’s summertime stint on The Project has abruptly ended for this embarrassing reason.

He is all over the news making his own headlines, but don’t expect Peter van Onselen to be back fronting The Project any time soon.

The return of Waleed Aly has avoided an embarrassing captain’s call by network bosses in drawing a definitive line on PVO’s hosting duties.

As several TV insiders told Page 13 this week, you won’t be seeing PVO on The Project panel in the foreseeable future.

One went so far as to say he isn’t slated for the job all year.

Heck, we are only in February right?

But timing is everything in TV. As Ten’s TV-savvy political editor, PVO was a natural summer fill-in on The Project while regular hosts Aly and Hamish Macdonald took their respective breaks.

Amy Remeikis sunk the boot into Peter van Onselen on The Project.

But while everyone loves a viral moment, network bosses were apprehensive as head office made calls into The Project straight after co-host Carrie Bickmore and Guardian journalist Amy Remeikis tore strips off van Onselen last week.

In what was considered uncharacteristic by cast and crew for Bickmore to weigh in so forcefully, she gave him a pounding.

PVO wrote a column for The Australian calling outgoing Australian of the Year Grace Tame “ungracious, rude and childish” after she gave Prime Minister Scott Morrison that greasy side eye at The Lodge.

But there was frostiness long before any heated on-air stoush erupted.

It’s no secret fellow co-host Lisa Wilkinson was not a fan of van Onselen’s relationship and support of long-term friend, MP Christian Porter.

Meanwhile, his defence of dealings with Brittany Higgins, someone Wilkinson has protected, provided another spark.

Carrie Bickmore didn’t hold back in the on-air roasting.

When the word “professional” is said repeatedly, you know it is euphemistic TV talk.

When sniffing about Wilkinson’s ongoing relationship with PVO, the line is on repeat.

It’s understood Wilkinson was behind the push for the return of Macdonald to co-host the show on Fridays and Sundays last year.

Macdonald had a tough time in his former high-profile ABC role when he replaced founding Q+A host Tony Jones and Wilkinson effectively pinged van Onselen from any formal panel duties with her after he had taken on Macdonald’s role.

Van Onselen is still considered a newsbreaker and hot property by honchos in his role as political editor for the network.

This is despite TV insiders saying he is under close scrutiny after being named in a workplace harassment case this week by political reporter Tegan George.

At almost the same time, PVO was putting a leaked Liberal Party text message exchange to Prime Minister Scott Morrison at the National Press Club.

Nothing like a whodunit to get people off the scent of a workplace harassment suit.

Again, timing is everything in TV. Watch this space.