(Left
to Right) Network Ten Chief Executive Officer, Hamish McLennan; Ita Buttrose;
Network Director of Morning Television, Adam Boland. Source:
Supplied
Ita Buttrose is about to tell morning TV audiences exactly how it is.
The media legend and Australian of the Year has been signed by Channel 10 as the headline act for a new morning show.
The show is the first salvo from a network gearing up for another fully fledged tilt at the lucrative TV timeslot.
The first name signed to front the as yet unnamed chat-style panel program, Buttrose finally inked a deal last week that will place her in the first bonafide TV hosting role of her career at age 71.
In what will surely capture the attention of Ten's commercial network rivals, Buttrose told The Sunday Telegraph she has no plans to hold back.
"I'm quite outspoken about everything, really, being who I am and being the age that I am now," Buttrose said with a laugh. "I'm like anyone, really. I'll hear something that infuriates me and like anyone I say: 'Well, that's ridiculous.'
"So I plan on saying whatever I want and I'm sure I will be able to say whatever I want. Fearless and forthright is probably the best way to describe it."
Buttrose, whose career took an upswing in 2011 with the ABC's Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo, will front one of two programs slated to debut later this year on Ten as part of its much-heralded return to the breakfast market, following the disastrous dalliance with the since-axed Breakfast last year.
Her program will go head to head with Seven's top-rated duo Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillies on The Morning Show and Nine's combination of Sonia Kruger and David Campbell, who front the improved Mornings.
Already it's clear Ten's new head of morning television Adam Boland is set to buck the formula with a veteran female anchor at the helm.
The appointment clearly fits in to Ten's grand plan - heralded by new boss Hamish McLennan - to target an older demographic.
No comments:
Post a Comment