‘Suck it up and move on’: Kerri-Anne Kennerley opens up on Studio 10 sacking

Kerri-Anne Kennerley has discussed her exit from Studio 10, just hours after it was revealed that she was being axed from the network along with a host of other names.

Appearing on the show on Wednesday morning, the 66-year-old television star discussed the news and confirmed that she would be leaving the popular morning panel show in a matter of weeks, along with co-star Natarsha Belling.

Studio 10 star Sarah Harris kicked off the show by saying it has been a “huge 24 hours” at Network Ten. “It was pretty hard news to cop yesterday. We’re losing colleagues, we’re losing mates, we’re using family members essentially,” she said, before handing over to KAK, who joked that she was “back on the lazy susan of television”.

“It’s very, very tough for a lot of people. But I’ve always worked on a personal level, the Charles Darwin theory that says to survive you don’t have to be the most intelligent, you don’t have to be the strongest, but you have to be [to survive] the most adaptable.

“I have had such a good time, with all my new friends, and I don’t say that lightly because you’ve all been so delightful, so charming and so generous … I’ve had a ball. But, if you are being run out of town, get in front of the parade … or get in front of the crowd and make it look like a parade.”

Kerri-Anne then added: “It is what it is … it’s not the first time, unfortunately. I am very, very sad because I will miss you guys, miss the audience, miss the feedback. But it is what it is. You just have to suck it up and move on.”

"… To survive, you have to be the most adaptable…" #KAK #Studio10 pic.twitter.com/LAGnimuVlu

— Studio 10 (@Studio10au) August 11, 2020

News that Kerri-Anne had been axed from the network emerged on Tuesday afternoon, after industry publication Mumbrella saw internal documents from Ten detailing the cost-saving measures. Staff at the network were notified about the cuts in an all-staff email sent at around 1pm on Tuesday.

At least 20 jobs are said to have been slashed, including weatherman Tim Bailey, as Ten transitions to a national weekday weather model. The network is also said to be moving to restructure its news department, following a large decline in advertising revenue, partly linked with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

As part of the restructuring, presentation of the weekday 5pm to 6.30pm 10 News First bulletins will be centralised in Sydney and Melbourne. However the bulletins will continue to be locally produced and employ local reporters, news crews and operations staff. The changes to the Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth weekday news bulletins will come into effect on Monday, September 14.