EXCLUSIVE
An unprecedented ‘battle of the blondes’ is about to erupt in the corridors of Channel Nine as the network’s three biggest stars – Tracy Grimshaw, Liz Hayes and Tara Brown – battle it out for crucial airtime on the network’s flagship show.
Grimshaw publicly confirmed mounting speculation that she would begin reporting for 60 Minutes after… Posting a photo of herself snuggling up to a former Australian supermodel Ella Macpherson at Bondi Pavilion on Friday.
The former A Current Affair host revealed she had just interviewed ‘The Body’ for her first 60 Minutes story after more than four decades at the network, only to be brutally ignored by her new co-stars.
Macpherson, who has appeared on the show several times before, has been in Sydney on a publicity blitz for the launch of her autobiography, Elle.
“I’m working for @60minutes9. It only took me 43 years! @ellemacpherson is on the block. More details to come,” Grimshaw wrote alongside two behind-the-scenes photos from the upcoming interview airing this Sunday.
The post was greeted warmly by high-profile television presenters, including Lisa Wilkinson, but none of his new journalist colleagues at 60 Minutes acknowledged it.
Former A Current Affair presenter Tracy Grimshaw took to social media last Friday to reveal she had finally been called back to present her first story on 60 Minutes after more than four decades with Nine.
The Channel Nine icon interviewed former Australian supermodel Elle Macpherson for an upcoming instalment of the long-running weekly news and current affairs show.
Former Today presenter and close friend of Grimshaw, Wilkinson congratulated her, saying: “About time Trace! Your fabulous interview skills have been missed.”
Newly hired Ten news anchor Sharyn Ghidella, former Sunrise presenter Samantha Armytage and former Today show presenter Jessica Rowe also offered support.
But the announcement was completely ignored online by the current 60 Minutes staff.
A Nine source told Daily Mail Australia that the unexpected post, which appeared four days before the network’s story promo was set to air, caught some of Nine’s top executives completely off guard.
It also violated a long-standing ban on any publication preemptively revealing details of upcoming storylines before the show announces them publicly.
“She’s not really supposed to tell anyone what we’re working on until the promo comes out,” a source told Daily Mail Australia.
“If it had been anyone other than Tracy, she would have been given a reprimand for that.”
Nine would not say whether Grimshaw’s post had raised any issues within the network, or whether her next story on 60 Minutes would lead to her landing a full-time role on the show, but hinted that more reports could follow.
“We loved Tracy’s contribution to this week’s 60 Minutes and would welcome the opportunity for her to bring her celebrated interview style to the show when circumstances permit,” a spokeswoman said.
Last month, Daily Mail Australia revealed that the contracts of all of the network’s stars are under review as the broadcaster attempts to control costs ahead of the biggest talent purge in the channel’s history.
Nine star Liz Hayes is one of the broadcaster’s most beloved and recognisable faces.
Tara Brown continues to impress with her razor-sharp interview skills
Nine’s embattled executives had been considering moving Grimshaw to 60 Minutes to justify his six-figure annual contract, amid shrinking staff budgets at the cash-strapped broadcaster.
But the issue is particularly sensitive given that Grimshaw’s arrival will pit the award-winning interviewer against the show’s leading ladies, Hayes and Brown.
Insiders say Nine executives are particularly stumped about how to handle the network’s trio of high-profile, highly paid icons.
“We have too many white, blonde women making too much money with too little to do,” one told Daily Mail Australia.
“It’s been a constant headache for them. (Nine boss Mike) Sneesby doesn’t want to lose any of them. Why would he want to? They’re all incredibly talented.
“The problem is: how to pay them all?”
Sneesby slashed the network’s budget in June, eliminating about 200 jobs across the company’s print and broadcast empire as part of $30 million in cuts.
While that round of layoffs ended last month, further staff cuts are inevitable.
Nine Entertainment, which owns Channel Nine along with streaming service Stan and a collection of local newspapers and radio stations, revealed last week that its net profit had fallen by almost a third to $134.9 million for the 2023/24 financial year.
And the media company’s chief financial officer, Matt Stanton, said the deal would be… cutting another $50 million from its underlying costs this financial year.
Rising star Amelia Adams has impressed bosses since joining 60 Minutes last year
What complicates matters further is the emergence of the next generation of educated female journalists in the company.
Youngsters Amelia Adams and Dimity Clancey have continued to impress since joining 60 Minutes last year.
And unlike their more experienced counterparts, who cling to the perks of business class travel, rising stars are more than happy to “live” in economy class alongside the show’s hard-working producers and crew.
“Amelia has proven herself repeatedly over the past year and Dimity has made an immediate impact since joining over the summer,” a source said.
‘The problem they have is: ‘How does 60 Minutes cover the cost of four big female stars?
“And at the end of the day, the show simply doesn’t have the budget for that; even at its best it wouldn’t have been able to afford it.”
Dimity Clancey is being touted as one of the network’s most versatile and valuable talents.
Another noted: “It’s like playing musical chairs: they want everyone to be at the Party of Nine… but someone will be left without a seat.”
This is not the first time Grimshaw has taken Nine executives by surprise with an unexpected announcement.
The news veteran shocked them and A Current Affairs viewers by revealing she would be stepping down as host of the show while it was on air live in September 2022.
At the time, network executives thought the decision was still pending negotiation.
Grimshaw has since signed a year-long contract with the network.
He remains one of the channel’s most popular faces and this year he hosted the well-received four-part medical series, Do You Want to Live Forever?
60 Minutes stars Liz Hayes and Tara Brown join new signing Adam Hegarty at this year’s Logies
But sources said Nine executives could no longer justify paying him for such a small output amid declining profits.
“Gone are the good old days of ‘stockpiling’ highly paid talent and putting it on the market for one or two special roles a year,” said a senior network executive.
‘Every dollar of every deal must be justifiable to shareholders and the market.
‘The financial controllers and the executive team have been in heated meetings for months frantically trying to figure out how we can afford to keep all our big names on the books; and the sad truth is: we can’t.’
Beloved network icon Hayes has already been on the receiving end of a quarter-million-dollar pay cut after executives quietly canceled her eponymous true-crime series, Under Investigation with Liz Hayes, as they look to cut costs.
The shock cancellation came just weeks before the popular network star was due to be up for a coveted Silver Logie for his work fronting the show, and has already resulted in a number of key dismissals.