Ten’s The Project reveals Sarah Harris as the new host in 2023
Ten’s trouble-plagued program reveals its new anchor for 2023 after the exits of Carrie Bickmore, Lisa Wilkinson and Peter Helliar.
The upheaval at Ten’s The Project continues and the network has finally announced its new host – Sarah Harris – who will take over from Lisa Wilkinson and Carrie Bickmore.
The announcement comes after the sudden exits of Wilkinson on Sunday night, Peter Helliar who revealed on Tuesday he too was leaving and Carrie Bickmore who announced last month she was moving on from the program after 13 years on the desk.
Ten said the arrival of Harris, who has hosted Ten’s mornings program Studio 10 for nearly a decade, will join Waleed Aly as host five nights a week from Sunday through to Thursday in 2023.
“I’m beyond excited to be joining one of Australia’s most iconic and agenda-driving shows,” Harris said in a statement.
“The Project does news like no other program in Australia and it’s exactly the kind of fun and fearless TV I love to make.”
Hamish Macdonald will also continue at the program and will be reporting on the road most of the time and he will also host the show every Friday and Sunday.
Reporter Georgie Tunny, who has also been helping co-host the program this year, will add Friday nights to her duties.
The Project first aired in 2009 and in recent years has been battling falling ratings, but Network 10 executive producer Tamara Simoneau said the reboot of the show’s hosting line-up “marks the beginning of an exciting new era for the show.”
On Sunday night, Wilkinson revealed it was her last show and on the way out she took a swipe at her treatment from sections of the media.
“The last six months have not been easy,” Wilkinson told viewers.
“And the relentless targeted toxicity by some sections of the media has taken a toll, not just on me, but on people I love.”
Wilkinson made headlines after her victory speech at the Logies in June, when she praised former parliamentary staffer Brittany Higgins.
Her remarks resulted in a three-month delay to the high-profile rape case of Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann, who was accused of raping Higgins.
Following Wilkinson’s remarks, the ACT Supreme Court Chief Justice Lucy McCallum said she had no option but to delay the trial.
“The distinction between an allegation and the fact of guilt has been lost,” she said at the time.
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