Geelong’s Rebecca Maddern to leave The Footy Show

REBECCA Maddern won’t be returning to The Footy Show, which is expected to undergo a major makeover during the off-season.

Sam Newman, Rebecca Maddern and Eddie McGuire. Picture: Supplied.

REBECCA Maddern won’t be returning to The Footy Show which is expected to undergo a major makeover during the off-season.

News Corp yesterday confirmed with Channel 9 that Maddern, who gave birth to her first child four months ago, would not feature again on the show this year.

While Nine isn’t confirming the show will be back, insiders say it will definitely return in 2019 with a new format.

Given the decline in ratings this year, it’s understood significant changes will be made to the ailing show.

Maddern was announced on Friday as one of the faces of Nine’s tennis coverage, along with Tony Jones and James Bracey.

She is also co-host of Australian Ninja Warrior which may relocate filming to Melbourne later this year.

Maddern joined The Footy Show with much fanfare as the first woman on the panel in 2016.

She co-hosted alongside James Brayshaw after switching from Seven to Nine.

When Brayshaw was dumped by the network the co-hosting gig went to Craig Hutchison who was axed after less than one season. He was replaced late last year by original host Eddie McGuire after a 12-year absence, with a promised shake-up.

Ratings have fallen badly this year with Seven’s The Front Bar regularly pulling in more viewers.

When she announced her pregnancy in November, Maddern said she would be a part of Nine’s AFL Footy Show “as much as I can possibly can in 2018”.

In July she was non-committal about a return, saying she was enjoying being a new mum to daughter Ruby Mae.

“There is no update because I’m so busy at the moment.

“I just know for myself, and for my family, and most importantly Ruby, who is No. 1, that I can’t do everything. I knew Ninja Warrior was going to air at this time of year, and I knew that she would be about 10 weeks old. I can’t put too much on my plate because my focus right now is on Ninja Warrior, and on Ruby.

“And because I have been working since she was three weeks old, I still haven’t put a date on it. Channel 9 have been great with that, saying ‘We know you’re a new mum, you’re not going to take 12 months off like a lot of women do in the workplace’.