Craig Hutchison opens up on Footy Show axing

CRAIG Hutchison has made a shocking revelation about one of the reasons he believes Channel Nine replaced him with Eddie McGuire.

The Footy Show — May 2017 — Supplied by Channel 9. Craig Hutchison and Eddie McGuire.

SHOWBIZ is a tough gig. Just ask Craig Hutchison.

The veteran sports journalist and former Footy Show host was controversially axed last Friday after the program suffered a noticeable ratings dip.

The 42-year-old was replaced by former host and Collingwood boss Eddie McGuire as the network scrambled to recruit viewers.

“The numbers weren’t there,” Hutchison told Garry Lyon on Channel Nine. “The ratings — we lost four nights of the year.

“It’s like the Harlem Globetrotters losing four games. It never happens, and it never has happened. The only discernible difference to the year before was me.

“I have to take it on the chin and take full responsibility for it.”

But the footy personality thinks there’s another reason he was axed, making a brutally honest confession on his podcast The Sounding Board.

Former Footy Show host Craig Hutchison says his physical appearance wasn’t fit for TV.

“I think there’s a reasonable expectation that if you’re going to host a television show is that you’re in good nick to do it and that you’re visually appealing to the audience,” he said on Wednesday.

“There’s a clear expectation — as there should be. The weird part about it is that I actually lost 16kg. But I’m still overweight.

“It was just too far to come back in such a short period of time with the commitments I’ve got. That probably sounds like a bit of a cop-out because I could have got myself in better nick. No question.

“I’m just not naturally equipped to do it. I find it a bit trickier than the average bloke. But again, you’ve got to take all of that on the chin. I knew it’d probably take a year for people to shift their view of me — and some never will. But it didn’t work out.”

Hutchison then made another heartbreaking confession.

“I would have done the same thing. If there’s an opportunity to go and get Eddie, you’ve got to do it,” he said.

The Footy Show — May 2017 — Supplied by Channel 9. Craig Hutchison and Eddie McGuire.

Hutchison’s axing means the Footy Show is facing a massive shake-up as McGuire takes the reins.

“We’re not just doing a little change here,” McGuire said over the weekend. “We’re going to bring fun back to football. We’re going to have fun and give it back to the people.

“It’s a fresh start and hopefully we’re going to have the success and fun. That’s the main thing, the fun. We did it for a long time Sam (Newman) and I.

“From this moment I’m dedicated to having the best footy show and best live entertainment show on Australian television.”

Newman looked to be making an on-air statement on last Thursday night’s episode of the program, which came following reports that Footy Show producers rejected his comedic skit focused on the AFL affair saga. But McGuire says such differences were not uncommon between he and Newman, when the show was at its highest point, saying the pair regularly engaged in car park shouting matches over creative differences.

“For me, that shows the passion of Sam Newman,” McGuire said.

“24 years in, he doesn’t dial the show in. He gets up there every night and he leaves nothing behind. He wanted to do something last night, whether it was right, wrong or indifferent, he had the passion to go in there and throw himself in the grenade to make the show work — that’s the best thing you want to have. Someone prepared to do anything to make the show work.”