Tracy Grimshaw's huge news
Tracy Grimshaw has announced she will no longer be presenting A Current Affair from the end of this year, ending her 17-year stint as the show’s host.
Grimshaw shared the emotional news at the end of Monday night’s show, telling viewers she wanted them to hear it first from her.
“Normally right about now we'd be telling you what to expect tomorrow night but lately I've personally been thinking longer term, and I have some news that I wanted you to hear from me before you hear it from anyone else," she said.
"I've decided to finish up with A Current Affair this year.
"It's been a big decision and before the gossip websites start telling you rubbish, I want you to know it's been my decision alone and I'm not being shoved out the door by the boys club because I'm too old.
"I'm not too old, I'm just a bit tired. And for the record both the boys and the girls have asked me to stay.
"But I've basically been a shift worker for 26 years, driving to work before dawn for nine years on the Today Show, and the past 17 years driving home after dark here on A Current Affair and it's time for less of that daily obligation."
The 62-year-old said it had been a privilege to host A Current Affair, thanking and paying tribute to the show’s loyal viewers.
"I was just a kid in 1971 when Mike Willesee started it and in our family it was required viewing each night as Michael either forensically dismantled some politician or maybe laughed along with Hoges,” she said.
"Back then, I was going to be a vet or a flight attendant so if you'd told me that one day I'd sit in this chair, let alone occupy it for 17 years, I'd have thought you were mad. Well lucky me.
"You've let me indulge my love of interviewing here. I've talked to people who've made us all laugh and cry, who've shared their triumphs and their challenges and their wisdom and despair.
"And because it's your show not mine and you get to vote each night with your remote control, you told us you wanted more of that. So thank you for that opportunity.
"Thank you for your loyalty. I hope I've repaid it. I'm around until November then I'm going to take a long holiday, but it's business as usual until then. See you tomorrow night."
Grimshaw, who started at Channel Nine as a reporter in 1981, will be taking an extended break after she steps down from A Current Affair but will be involved in future Nine projects.
Darren Wick, the Director of News and Current Affairs at Nine, said the Walkley-award-winning journalist was “an inspiration” to everyone at the network.
"She is the best interviewer on television and has been for many years. And she will forever take her place alongside the greatest interviewers that Australian journalism has ever seen,” he said.
"Tracy is stepping away from A Current Affair at the peak of her powers. That generates mixed feelings of joy and sadness for those among us who have known her for many years.”
Wick added that feelings of sadness came as Grimshaw was “irreplaceable” and “one of a kind”, but that there was joy due to her deciding to step away from the show “on her own terms on her own timetable”.
"She cares about her colleagues and she cares about her viewers,” he said.
“We love her. We admire her. And we will miss her nightly on our screens."
Image: Nine