Dr Chris Brown to leave Ten for rival network Seven

He’s been one of Ten’s most prolific TV presenters for 15 years – but in a shock shake-up, Dr Chris Brown is now heading to another network.

Popular Australian TV presenter Dr. Chris Brown will leave the Ten Network later this year, having been poached by rival network Seven.

The Daily Telegraph broke the news overnight that Brown, 44, will leave the Ten Network on July 1 after 15 years, and move to Seven.

He will co-host what will be his final season of I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! in April before making the move.

News.com.au understands Brown will be on a two-year contract with Seven, believed to be worth more than $1m a year.

Brown’s departure comes as a blow for Ten, who have used the popular TV presenter across multiple programs over the years.

Brown was spotted at the Clovelly Hotel, near his Sydney home, last night before the news broke of his departure from Ten.

The popular TV personality was photographed speaking on the phone, with his head in his hands:

Dr Chris Brown at The Clovelly Hotel last night. Picture: BACKGRID

But he was upbeat in a statement released by Seven today, saying he was excited to return to the network at which he started his TV career.

“I’m not entirely sure my old access pass works but once we get over that hurdle and I’m back from the jungle, I can’t wait to sink my teeth into some exciting new projects in the second half of the year and beyond with Seven,” he said.

Brown (left) will co-host one more season of I’m A Celeb for Ten before moving to Seven.

Brown actually got his TV start at Seven, presenting as a vet on Harry’s Practice in 2003, before moving to Nine as a Burke’s Backyard presenter.

He started on Ten as the star of Bondi Vet back in 2008, before two years later becoming a regular panellist on The Project. In 2012, he joined Ten’s Friday night lifestyle program The Living Room, and in 2015 began co-hosting I’m A Celeb with Julia Morris.

Another project with Morris, Chris & Julia’s Sunday Night Takeaway, followed in 2019, and from 2021 Brown has served as the narrator for Ten’s The Dog House Australia.

More recently, though, Brown and his co-hosts on The Living Room had publicly expressed disappointment Ten had decided to “rest” the weekly lifestyle show after 10 years on air.

Brown (left) and his Living Room co-hosts didn’t hide their disappointment the show had been “rested.”

“It’s a network decision. They want the show to continue, as do we,” co-host Amanda Keller said when she announced the news on her radio show in October.

“So we are working on tweaking it, taking a breath … I’m desperate to come back, so we will,” she insisted.

But Brown said he wasn’t so sure.

Brown also hosted The Dog House … Picture: Supplied

… and was a regular on The Project.

“I think you’d have to check the TV dictionary,” he told The Daily Telegraph in December, referring to the show being on “hiatus.”

“The Oxford TV dictionary defines hiatus as cloudy with a chance of coming back but it is very unclear. Who knows what is happening.”

In another interview at around the same time, Brown said the decision to rest the show seemed “a little odd” to him.

News of Brown’s departure comes after Ten lost another of its most high-profile stars in December, with longtime The Project host Carrie Bickmore departing the show – and the network – after more than 12 years.

“Chris Brown has provided Australians with warmth and compassion as the resident vet on Bondi Vet, treating animals large and small,” a Network 10 spokesperson told news.com.au today, reiterating that Brown is still with Ten for the time being.

“He has served up a multitude of uplifting, inspiring and hilarious stories with Amanda, Barry and Miguel on The Living Room couch and Chris, along with Julia Morris is contracted to the upcoming season of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! which will be back on screens and back in the South African jungle in April.”

Meanwhile, Seven West Media boss James Warburton said in a statement that the network “can’t wait to have (Brown) on board and to announce the great new content he will star in.”