Lisa Wilkinson appears in surprise cameo on The Project as the show celebrates its best celeb interviews

As The Project paid tribute to some of its best celebrity interview moments, some viewers may have been surprised to see a familiar face.

An unexpected face made a brief appearance on Wednesday’s episode of The Project as the show continues to celebrate its last week on air.

A number of archive clips featuring Lisa Wilkinson were included in a segment looking back at the show’s most memorable celebrity interviews.

It included vision from Wilkinson’s 2020 interview with Robbie Williams that saw her ask the rocker if there was anything he hadn’t tried yet that he’d like to.

Williams’ answer was bleeped, with Wilkinson laughing: “I can’t use that”.

Despite briefly appearing in the montage, Wilkinson wasn’t mentioned first-hand by any of the panellists.

A surprising face made a brief appearance on The Project on Wednesday. Picture: 10

Wilkinson quit The Project in November 2022, but remained with Network 10 for another two years despite never returning to air.

Her appearance, even in clips, may be surprising to some viewers considering the former Ten star had been locked in a legal battle with her former employer until earlier this year.

Back in February, Channel 10 were ordered to pay an additional $590,000 – and a total of $1.15m – to cover her legal costs for the Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial.

Lisa Wilkinson was locked in a legal battle with the network until earlier this year when she came out victorious. Picture: 10

Justice Michael Lee last year dismissed Lehrmann’s high-stakes lawsuit against Ten and Wilkinson after he found — on the civil standard of the balance of probabilities — that the former political staffer had raped Brittany Higgins inside Parliament House in March 2019.

Lehrmann sued Ten and Wilkinson, claiming he had been defamed by a The Project interview in which Higgins alleged she was raped by a colleague after a night out drinking in Canberra.

Ten and Wilkinson were at odds over her legal bill and how much the network should reimburse her after she hired outside counsel, prominent barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC, to defend her separately to the network during the trial.

Ten had already paid $558,548 of Ms Wilkinson’s legal bill.

She had initially sought $1.8m.

And the remainder of her costs were examined by a referee.

Justice Lee in February made an order in the Federal Court that Ten pay Wilkinson an additional of $591,000 before March 19.

It took the total amount to be paid by Ten to its former start to $1.15m

Justice Lee last year ordered that Lehrmann pay Ten $2m, after finding in favour of the broadcaster.

Originally published as Lisa Wilkinson appears in surprise cameo on The Project as the show celebrates its best celeb interviews