Leigh Sales to anchor Australian Story, ABC to reboot Mother and Son
The former 7.30 host will return to TV screens in 2023, along with a remake of 1980s comedy favourite Mother and Son.
Former ABC 7.30 host Leigh Sales will return to television in 2023 as the presenter of Australian Story.
Sales, who hosted 7.30 for 12 years until she stepped down in June, will become only the second permanent anchor in the 26-year history of Australian Story.
The inaugural presenter of Australian Story, Caroline Jones, retired in 2016, and since then the show has not been introduced by a host.
Jones died in May.
Sales’ appointment was announced on Thursday at the ABC’s showcase of program plans for next year.
When Sales left 7.30, she told News Corp Australia: “I need a break to have some time to figure it out but I love working at the ABC and I know that whatever I do next here, it will be interesting and meaningful.”
Sales, 49, is expected to present her first episode of Australian Story in February.
The ABC has also announced a 2023 reboot of comedy series Mother and Son.
The original award-winning series, which aired on the ABC from 1984 to 1994, starred Ruth Cracknell and Garry McDonald. The new version will have Matt Okine and Denise Scott in the central roles.
As previously announced, the ABC’s flagship political chat show Q+A will revert to Monday nights in 2023.
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