Melissa Doyle reveals ‘sadness’ at Seven axing after 25 years

In a candid new interview, Melissa Doyle opens up about the personal fallout from her surprise departure after 25 years with Seven.

It’s been a big year for shock TV exits: Big names like Natarsha Belling, Kerri-Anne Kennerley, Emma Alberici and Sally Obermeder have all very publicly lost their plum on-air gigs.

Perhaps the most surprising of all: Melissa Doyle, axed from Channel 7 after 25 years with the network. It was all the more odd because of Doyle’s recent on-air resurgence. She’d in recent months hosted The Latest, a late-evening news update for audiences hungry for updates about the global coronavirus pandemic.

It was the perfect role for Doyle: A quarter-century of experience under her belt, she was the reassuring, friendly figure delivering the sort of world-changing news that would make any viewer anxious.

In a new interview with Angela Mollard for Stellar magazine, Doyle opens up about getting the “really sad” news her days at Seven had come to an end – and how she allowed herself just one day to wallow afterwards.

Melissa Doyle in her early days at Seven …

… and hosting Sunday Night in 2018.

“I wouldn’t say it came as a total shock, I just felt really sad,” Doyle tells Stellar.

“Look, I would be lying if I didn’t say I would’ve loved if they could have found something [for me], but it’s the market, it’s the year,” she says.

“I don’t necessarily think it’s a personal thing. I don’t think they thought, ‘Oh, gee, we’ve got to get rid of Mel.’ I think they thought, ‘Well, we need to save money and we’ve got this person and she’s not doing a huge amount. We’re not quite sure what we’re going to do with her.’ And that’s just the way it is.”

And as Doyle sees it, her family – husband of 25 years John Dunlop and children Nick, 19, and Talia, 16 – are some of the lucky ones.

“We have a lot of friends who are out of work and there are so many in the wider community who have lost their jobs. There are so many who are worse off. I feel really lucky that we are the age we are and that our kids are the age they are. I also have the comfort of knowing that I could probably do a bunch of different things to earn an income.”

The TV star does give Stellar an oh-so-Melissa Doyle anecdote about her downward spiral after losing her job at Seven. It was brief – 24 hours, to be exact – and involved an early cocktail. “I let myself have one day when I wallowed on the couch and had a gin and tonic a little earlier than I should have,” she admits. Scandal!

Melissa Doyle for Stellar

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Doyle, who was replaced by Samantha Armytage on Seven’s breakfast program Sunrise in 2013, made the announcement she and Seven had parted ways back in August.

“For 25 years, I have called Channel 7 home,” she said in a statement. “I’ve had the privilege to share stories that mattered, meet incredible people and be there for significant moments in history.”

“I am incredibly proud of the work I have done and appreciative of the trust and warmth our viewers have shown me. I want to thank the consummate professionals I have worked with along the way, in particular our Chairman Kerry Stokes for his constant support. I leave Seven with a great deal of pride, satisfaction and gratitude.”

On Twitter, Doyle said: “Every ending is a beginning and I’m excited for what comes next.”

As for what that may be, Doyle isn’t too sure yet – she tells Stellar she’s still feeling “exhausted” after 25 years at Seven and enjoying a slower pace.

Melissa Doyle on the cover of Stellar Magazine.

Read the full interview with Melissa Doyle in the September 27 issue of Stellar, available in the Sunday Telegraph and Sunday Herald Sun.

Originally published as Melissa Doyle reveals ‘sadness’ at Seven axing after 25 years