Rob Sitch ruined my Logies night with four simple words

I had a very brief behind-the-scenes encounter with Rob Sitch at the Logies, and the exchange did not go the way I’d hoped.

Rob Sitch ruined my Logies.

He wasn’t rude to me, he didn’t snap at me. No, it was worse. He crushed my dream.

Allow me to explain.

In the early 2000s I was obsessed with The Panel, the Channel 10 talk show that featured Sitch and fellow comedians Tom Gleisner, Santo Cilauro, Kate Langbroek and Glenn Robbins discussing the news and events of the week.

The show ran for seven seasons and I was devastated when it came to an end in 2004.

Ever since, I’ve been praying that Sitch and co’s production company, Working Dog, would bring it back to entertain a new generation of Aussies.

Glenn Robbins, Rob Sitch, Tom Gleisner, Kate Langbroek and Santo Cilauro on The Panel.

So when I found myself face-to-face with Sitch in the media room at this year’s Logies after he won Best Lead Actor in a Comedy for his role in Utopia, I seized my chance.

“Rob, will The Panel ever return to our screens?” I asked him enthusiastically.

He seemed genuinely surprised by the question, a fair reaction given I’d asked him about a 20-year-old TV show rather than the one he’d just accepted an award for.

Sitch started his answer by giving me a brief history lesson about how The Panel came to be.

“Every show we’d (Working Dog) ever done involved so much writing and I said to the others, ‘I’d love to do something that’s a bit disposable, where you didn’t have to write all week,’” he said. “It was to scratch that itch.”

That wasn’t the only reason The Panel got made.

“The X-Files was on (at the time) and we said, ‘it has such a great lead-in, wouldn’t it be great to have a show after it (to capitalise on the number of viewers),’” Sitch said.

“And Bert Newton was doing his show (Good Morning Australia) in this tiny studio in Channel 10 (Melbourne) and we loved that studio, and we thought, ‘wouldn’t it be great (to do a show in there).’”

Rob won a Logie on Sunday. Picture: James Gourley/Getty

Glenn and Kate on The Panel.

The stars aligned and The Panel was born, and it certainly lived up to its brief as a “disposable” show.

“It went to air at 9.30pm and we turned up at 8.45pm or 9pm,” he recalled.

“Then it got later, like 9.15pm. I remember one year Warnie was on the show and he beat me to my own show,” Sitch laughed.

While I was enjoying the history lesson about one of my favourite shows, I couldn’t help but notice Sitch hadn’t answered my question.

Being the tough investigative reporter that I am, I pressed him again.

“So … will The Panel ever return to our screens?”

His answer was a punch in the gut.

“I don’t think so,” Sitch said nonchalantly.

And with those simple four words, my night was ruined.

The Panel hosts did get back together for a few Xmas specials.

Sandra Sully also loves The Panel.

Other Panel lovers

I’m not the only person who considers The Panel to be one of Australia’s best TV shows.

Sandra Sully recently raved about the program in an interview with news.com.au.

“I have always considered The Panel to be one of Network Ten’s best ever shows,” Sully said.

“Its format was bold, brassy and brave.

“At the time, the concept was so innovative and creative that it became an appointment to view each week.

“In the ensuing years, just about every other Network tried to emulate The Panel with varying degrees of success.

“I believe it catapulted the news of the day into the conversation of the day and revolutionised the way Australians interact and discuss major events.

“Interestingly, humour was the surprise key ingredient and guaranteed it ratings success,” the news presenter told news.com.au.

Angela Bishop is another fan.

She recently told TV Tonight: “A definite career highlight was getting a call from Tom Gleisner at Working Dog asking me to join their brand new show The Panel to talk about what was going on in the showbiz world.

“That first night, live on air Wednesday at 9:30pm, was one of the most exhilarating and terrifying of my life.”