Channel 10 is set to make new star recruit Lisa Wilkinson into Australia’s own Oprah Winfrey

SHE’S got the “every woman appeal” and boasts the biggest pay packet on TV. Now Ten will promote Lisa Wilkinson as an Oprah Winfrey-style media maven.

Lisa Wilkinson leaves her home in Sydney’s Cremorne the morning after her shock resignation. Picture: John Grainger

EXCLUSIVE: CHANNEL 10 is expected to expand the prime-time role of new recruit Lisa Wilkinson beyond her entry positions on The Project, with insiders speculating her new pay packet as Australia’s best paid TV star could be mirrored in an Oprah-style gig.

The embattled network is counting on incoming US owners CBS to bankroll a slate of new programming when they take over next month — including opportunities for the former Today co-host, which could be unveiled as early as Ten’s upfronts on November 9.

Ten’s chief programmer Beverley McGarvey would not be drawn on the new platforms for their big-name recruit, referring queries to her statement when Wilkinson confirmed her jump to Ten.

Lisa Wilkinson will start her Ten contract in January 2018. Picture: Jack Tran

“In a career that has spanned magazines, radio, television and digital media, Lisa has established her credentials as a leading figure in the Australian media industry. She has a great connection to the Australian public and a reputation that is second to none. We are proud that she has agreed to join the acclaimed team at The Project and The Sunday Project.”

FUN TIMES: Lisa Wilkinson’s best Today moments

The 57-year-old may start her Ten contract — already signed and set to begin from January — as part of The Project team, anchoring the new Sunday show out of Sydney, “much more is planned for her,” a source close to the deal said.

Carrie Bickmore congratulated Lisa Wilkinson on Instagram and welcomed her to The Project on Twitter.

Welcome my lovely friend @Lisa_Wilkinson 🤜🤛

— Carrie Bickmore (@BickmoreCarrie) October 16, 2017

“The main focus for now is The Project but other things are to be announced.”

CBS boss Les Moonves, whose broadcast news presenter wife Julie Chen anchors US panel show, The Talk, is known for throwing big money at talent and content, with the hope it will eventually pay off in revenue.

And like Winfrey, Wilkinson’s “every woman appeal” has lucrative advertising value, even if her blindsided ex-bosses at Nine tried to downplay her worth to their network yesterday.

One report sneered at her endorsement deal with a vitamins company, which earned Wilkinson $250,000 but also added to Nine’s own coffers (with the TV commercial produced in-house at its Willoughby studios).

Former colleagues Karl Stefanovic and Lisa Wilkinson.

Wilkinson has an “every woman” appeal. Picture: Adam Taylor

Besides pay parity concerns with her co-host Karl Stefanovic, one of Wilkinson’s biggest frustrations at Nine was being consistently overlooked when major news would break — most often left to man the desk while her male counterpart was flown to front Today’s news coverage.

Industry veteran, Ita Buttrose said her new Ten stablemate had set a valuable benchmark for women in media by standing firm on wage equality.

“She wanted equal pay and she didn’t get it [at Nine]. She did what any self-respecting woman should do and she walked. She was very important to that show and I guess we’ll soon find out just how depending on how it goes without her,” the Studio 10 star said.

Dee Madigan, brand strategist and Sky News contributor, said Wilkinson was “everything brands would want to associate themselves with,” calling the decision to break up her double act with Stefanovic “a mistake.”

Originally published as Channel 10 is set to make new star recruit Lisa Wilkinson into Australia’s own Oprah Winfrey