Carrie Bickmore to leave Channel 10 after announcing exit from The Project

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Carrie Bickmore will leave Channel 10 when she signs off from The Project next month, the network has confirmed.

‘Yes, Carrie is leaving 10, but we hope to work with her again,’ a network spokesperson told industry website TV Tonight.

Bickmore, 41, has been employed by the Paramount-owned TV network for 17 years, and spent 13 years at the helm of The Project. 

Carrie Bickmore to leave Channel 10 after announcing exit from The Project

Carrie Bickmore (pictured at the Logies on June 30, 2019) will leave Channel 10 when she signs off from The Project next month, the network has confirmed 

The network also revealed Bickmore’s final day on The Project will be November 30. 

Rumours began swirling that Bickmore was leaving Channel 10 last week after a telling Instagram post by her Project co-host Peter Helliar. 

Less than 24 hours after Bickmore announced her decision to leave The Project, her photo was removed from the ‘hall of stars’ at the network’s Pyrmont headquarters.

Rumours began swirling that Bickmore was leaving Channel 10 last week after a telling Instagram post by her Project co-host Peter Helliar (pictured)

Rumours began swirling that Bickmore was leaving Channel 10 last week after a telling Instagram post by her Project co-host Peter Helliar (pictured) 

Helliar posted a photo of Bickmore standing in front of the empty poster frame where her promo photo was once on display.

‘Wow. Channel 10 have reacted swiftly to Carrie’s big farewell news!’ he wrote. 

Bickmore joined the network in 2006 as a contributor to variety show Rove Live. 

Less than 24 hours after Bickmore announced her decision to leave The Project, her photo was removed from the 'hall of stars' at the network's Pyrmont headquarters

Less than 24 hours after Bickmore announced her decision to leave The Project, her photo was removed from the ‘hall of stars’ at the network’s Pyrmont headquarters 

Bickmore, 41, has been employed by the Paramount-owned TV network for 17 years, and spent 13 years at the helm of The Project. (Pictured from L-R: original Project panellists Dave Hughes, Charlie Pickering and Bickmore)

Bickmore, 41, has been employed by the Paramount-owned TV network for 17 years, and spent 13 years at the helm of The Project. (Pictured from L-R: original Project panellists Dave Hughes, Charlie Pickering and Bickmore)

She went on to appear on network flagships So You Think You Can Dance Australia, and The 7PM Project, which was renamed The Project in 2011.

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It follows reports Channel 10 executives were taken by surprise when network golden girl Bickmore announced her departure from The Project. 

Bickmore was apparently earning a whopping $1.1million per year to host the current affairs program for just three nights a week between 2021 and 2022, making her a higher earner than top-tier stars at Seven and Nine.

It follows reports Channel 10 executives were taken by surprise when network golden girl Bickmore announced her departure from The Project

It follows reports Channel 10 executives were taken by surprise when network golden girl Bickmore announced her departure from The Project 

Ten bosses were ‘caught off guard’ when Bickmore threw in the towel, as they were under the impression Bickmore was satisfied with her lucrative part-time gig, reports The Australian.

Bickmore’s salary is said to be so generous that it places her among the highest-paid TV talent in Australia.

She reportedly earns more than David ‘Kochie’ Koch, who is paid about $800,000 a year to host Channel Seven’s Sunrise four days a week, as well as his full-time co-anchor Natalie Barr.

Bickmore was apparently earning a whopping $1.1million per year to host the current affairs program for just three nights a week between 2021 and 2022

Bickmore was apparently earning a whopping $1.1million per year to host the current affairs program for just three nights a week between 2021 and 2022

Bickmore also makes more per year than Tracy Grimshaw, the long-serving host of Channel Nine’s A Current Affair, sources tell Media Diary. 

The Gold Logie winner’s salary was revealed thanks to a leaked internal memo.

‘Diary is assured that details of that particular draft contract got out when it was accidentally sent to another Ten department during Bickmore’s last round of contract negotiations,’ the report states.

She reportedly earns more than David Koch (pictured), who is paid about $800,000 a year to host Channel Seven's Sunrise four days a week, as well as his full-time co-anchor Natalie Barr

She reportedly earns more than David Koch (pictured), who is paid about $800,000 a year to host Channel Seven’s Sunrise four days a week, as well as his full-time co-anchor Natalie Barr 

Meanwhile, speculation continues to swirl that Bickmore is being primed to take the helm at 2Day FM’s Sydney breakfast show.

Speculation has been rife regarding where Bickmore will go next, with some insiders saying she’s primed to host A Current Affair or could even be replacing Allison Langdon on Nine’s Today show. 

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However, television industry veteran Robert McKnight believes Bickmore will instead take on a bigger role at the Hit Network. 

Bickmore also makes more per year than Tracy Grimshaw (pictured), the long-serving host of Channel Nine's A Current Affair, sources tell Media Diary

Bickmore also makes more per year than Tracy Grimshaw (pictured), the long-serving host of Channel Nine’s A Current Affair, sources tell Media Diary 

‘I don’t think she’s going to ACA. Channel Nine has been pretty emphatic that it will be someone promoted internally. Although things can change from day to day,’ McKnight said on the TV Blackbox podcast

The former Studio 10 executive producer believes Bickmore, who hosts the Hit Network’s top-rating drive show with Tommy Little, has plenty of reasons to take over the breakfast slot from its current hosts Dave Hughes, Ed Kavalee and Erin Molan.

‘We need to consider… [Bickmore is] earning, what, a million dollars for her afternoon [radio] show per year? The question is, is [Bickmore] priming to take over the Sydney breakfast radio show?’ he said.

‘[The current show is] rating like crap. I have already heard whispers she’s being offered $2million a year to do the Sydney radio show with Tommy Little.’ 

‘Television doesn’t have the kind of money that radio does,’ McKnight later added. 

Television industry veteran Robert McKnight believes Bickmore's future lies at the helm of 2Day FM's Sydney breakfast show. She already hosts the Hit Network's top-rating drive show alongside Tommy Little (left) and is said to be earning a million dollars per year

Television industry veteran Robert McKnight believes Bickmore’s future lies at the helm of 2Day FM’s Sydney breakfast show. She already hosts the Hit Network’s top-rating drive show alongside Tommy Little (left) and is said to be earning a million dollars per year

Joining breakfast radio would also give the mother of three free time in the evenings to spend with her family, which is something Bickmore mentioned she was looking forward to in her resignation speech.

However, McKnight did note that Sydney listeners may struggle to connect with Bickmore, given that she is ‘a very Melbourne personality’.

‘But Carrie and Tommy have a really great show! It is really an enjoyable show in the afternoon,’ he added.

Hughesy, Ed and Erin took over 2Day FM’s breakfast slot it January, but the show has failed to rise to the top of the ratings ladder.

The show reached an all-time ratings low in 2021, but has been clawing its way back and hit its highest-ever audience earlier this year.

Yet the program still remains at the bottom of the pack, trailing behind Nova’s Fitzy & Wippa and KIIS FM’s The Kyle and Jackie O Show. 

Joining breakfast radio would give the mother of three free time in the evenings to spend with her family, which is something she said she was looking forward to in her resignation speech

Joining breakfast radio would give the mother of three free time in the evenings to spend with her family, which is something she said she was looking forward to in her resignation speech 

It comes after a Nine Network executive denied rumours Bickmore is joining the Today show following her announcement she is leaving Channel 10’s The Project.

Industry sources said Bickmore, who has been linked to the Today gig on at least one other occasion, will take up the job in 2023 alongside Karl Stefanovic, while Allison Langdon is drafted to replace Grimshaw on A Current Affair.

But Steven Burling, Nine’s Director of Morning Television, shut down these claims on Twitter, saying the proposed moves will not be happening.

Hughesy, Ed and Erin took over 2Day FM's breakfast slot it January, but has failed to rise to the top of the ratings ladder. (Pictured left to right: Dave Hughes, Ed Kavalee and Erin Molan)

Hughesy, Ed and Erin took over 2Day FM’s breakfast slot it January, but has failed to rise to the top of the ratings ladder. (Pictured left to right: Dave Hughes, Ed Kavalee and Erin Molan)

The show reached an all-time ratings low in 2021, but has been clawing its way back and hit its highest-ever audience earlier this year. Yet the program still remains at the bottom of the pack, trailing behind Nova's Fitzy & Wippa and KIIS FM's The Kyle and Jackie O Show

The show reached an all-time ratings low in 2021, but has been clawing its way back and hit its highest-ever audience earlier this year. Yet the program still remains at the bottom of the pack, trailing behind Nova’s Fitzy & Wippa and KIIS FM’s The Kyle and Jackie O Show 

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