Kerri-Anne Kennerley announces her big return to morning TV
TV legend Kerri-Anne Kennerley has been announced as the new host of Channel Ten’s Studio 10, following the high-profile departures of hosts Ita Buttrose and Jessica Rowe this year.
The showbusiness veteran has a tough job ahead of her to recover the show’s lagging ratings of around 50,000 viewers in capital cities daily.
“That is obviously an issue,” she told The Daily Telegraph.
“I have been on the record as saying before that I think the show has such a feel-good factor that if it wasn’t on Channel 10 it would have rated a whole bunch better.
“Channel 10 now has a committed owner in CBS and good things are going to happen.
“The ratings are obviously pretty shocking, to be quite frank, at the moment so let’s hope they improve.”
The 64-year-old, who will work two days a week, returns to morning television seven years after hosting Channel 9’s Mornings with Kerri-Anne.
“I have been asked for quite some time to return to doing bits and pieces and I actually kept saying no,” she explained.
“Going back to morning TV didn’t have that much interest for me, it was like, ‘been there, done that’, but now I am ready and two days a week will suit me just fine.
“I do not want to do any more because I value my life and lifestyle and time with my husband John. I don’t want to slog at life.
“I am now in the wonderful part of my life where I can make choices for me. It is a bit of have fun, all care and no responsibility.”
Kennerley will join hosts Sarah Harris, Joe Hildebrand and Angela Bishop on Monday and Tuesday mornings.
“Live TV is still the best buzz in the world, there is no question,” she said.
“I was always a live TV person, from Good Morning Australia to Midday to Mornings. I love live TV — you’ve got to be there, you’ve got to be present and sharp and you’ve got to be relevant.
“I don’t know I’ll remember how to do it.”