Waleed Aly’s ‘emotional’ reaction to Channel 10 axing The Project revealed

Carrie Bickmore confessed that she’s never seen Waleed Aly ‘so emotional’ after bosses at Channel 10 broke the news that he’d be losing his job.

Carrie Bickmore has described her former The Project co-host Waleed Aly’s “emotional” response to Channel 10’s decsion to axe the long running show.

Channel 10 officially announced on Monday that the news and current affairs show is coming to an end after 16 years on air.

Hosts including Sarah Harris and Waleed Aly later addressed the news during an awkward segment on the show that night.

Speaking about the cancellation on her radio show, The Hit Network’s Carrie & Tommy, on Tuesday, Bickmore revealed that she’d been in contact with Aly following the news going public.

Waleed Aly and Sarah Harris announced the news during a tense segment on Monday. Picture: 10.

She shared that she had never seen him “so emotional” in all the time they’ve known each other.

“I spoke to Waleed yesterday and I don’t think I’ve ever heard him that emotional,” Bickmore said. “He was so emotional about it. To Sarah, Sam, and Georgie, all the four hosts that have been on that desk. It’s live. It was happening every night on air. It’s never nice to find out your show is no longer, and I think there’ll be a lot of people that miss having the company of those people on the screen.”

Bickmore went on to share her own feelings about Channel 10’s decision to axe the show, confessing that she feels “sad” about its fate.

Carrie Bickmore and Waleed Aly have been close since they starred on The Project together. Picture: 10.

“I feel sad,” she continued. “I don’t want people to feel alone – and that’s the power of TV and free-to-air TV. It’s a thing that’s dying. But we should be proud, 16 years of a live six-night-a-week TV show is phenomenal. I’m thinking of everyone there today.

“I’ve made so many friends on that show, and I’m thinking of them all today. Many of them are still there and had to hear the news yesterday that they don’t have a job anymore. If you are looking for people to employ in this industry, they are some of the most talented people you will find. Their ability to pivot and cover light and shade and be on top of the news, finding a completely different angle is a certain suite of skill sets not a lot of people have,” she added. “They’re just bloody awesome people.”

According to industry insiders as many as 100 jobs overall will be impacted by Channel 10’s decision to drop the show, which has production offices in both Melbourne and Sydney.

Among these are program hosts and panellists, including Sarah Harris, Waleed Aly, Hamish Macdonald and Steve Price.

Originally published as Waleed Aly’s ‘emotional’ reaction to Channel 10 axing The Project revealed