This was published 5 months ago
Lisa Millar announces exit from ABC Breakfast
By Nell Geraets
Lisa Millar has announced she will leave ABC News Breakfast after five years as co-host.
“After five years of sharing this couch with awesome people and people behind the scenes as well, it is time to say farewell,” Millar told viewers on Wednesday morning. “I’m going to be moving full-time over to the content division of the ABC, where I’m going to be having more adventures with Back Roads and Muster Dogs. Muster Dogs keeps getting bigger and bigger. So much to do, and exciting new projects. That means it’s goodbye. You’ve got me for a little while longer, though.”
ABC journalist Lisa Millar will move away from news.Credit: Justin McManus
Millar, 55, also took to Instagram to share the news. “It’s a tough decision, but I’m excited about what the future holds,” she said.
She went on to thank the viewers for their passion and loyalty. “I’m going to miss the fact that you have invited me into your homes every morning, and you’ve shared your stories with us.”
Millar permanently replaced Virginia Trioli as co-host of the breakfast show in 2019, joining Michael Rowland on the couch.
Fellow ABC journalist Leigh Sales, who has been friends with Millar for nearly 30 years, took to Instagram to share some words of support.
“The one thing I know after 25 years working with this woman is whatever she delivers is done with quality, warmth and integrity,” Sales wrote. “You get a colleague like Lisa working alongside you once in a lifetime and Michael Rowland and the team have benefited hugely from having her there for five years. I’m proud of the amazing job she’s done and can’t wait for the next chapter!”
Following the announcement, ABC News director Justin Stevens described Millar as a “superb journalist and broadcaster who personifies the very best values and attributes of ABC journalists”.
“She’s done a fantastic job presenting News Breakfast over the past five years – one of the toughest jobs in Australian TV. The relentless hours never impeded her incredible warmth and energy, or her passion for delivering the best program for the audience,” Stevens said.
Millar first joined the ABC in 1993 and, before starting with the show, spent a decade as a bureau chief in both London and Washington DC. In that time, she covered the Boston Marathon bombing, the Sandy Hook school shooting and terrorist attacks in Paris. She won a Walkley Award for her investigative journalism in 2005.
Alongside the breakfast show, Millar has narrated the Logie-nominated program Muster Dogs, guest-presented Back Roads and co-hosted The Newsreader podcast.
Millar spoke in 2021 about the barrage of abuse she had faced on Twitter (now X), including messages she would see whilst she was presenting. “It got to a point where there was nothing I could do and the balance had totally swung,” she said. “I could not stop the constant barrage of criticism while we were on air.” She deactivated her account.
Millar’s final appearance on News Breakfast will be on August 23.
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