A veteran newsreader has quit Channel Ten after ten years, and has been replaced by a younger co-star who is more than 20 years her junior.
Australian journalist Chris Bath is the latest big name to exit the network, with insiders claiming Ten has decided not to renew her contract as it no longer has the budget to keep her on as a weekend newsreader.
Bath, 58, will be replaced by 34-year-old Georgie Tunny, who was hired by the network in 2022 as a presenter on The Project, news.com.au reported on Friday.
Bath joined Ten in 2015 after leaving Seven, initially making regular appearances on Studio 10 and The Project.
She went on to become a regular co-host of The Sunday Project in 2017 but was replaced by Lisa Wilkinson in 2018.Â
The Project was axed in June due to high production costs, cutting hosts Waleed Aly, Sarah Harris, Steve Price and Hamish Macdonald from the Ten talent pool.Â
Veteran newsreader Chris Bath, 58, has quit Ten after ten years, and has been replaced by a younger co-star who is more than 20 years her junior
Bath went on to replace Natarsha Belling as a presenter on 10 News Weekend in December 2018.Â
She has recently been hosting a national 90-minute Saturday evening bulletin, a separate Perth bulletin, and a one-hour Sunday evening bulletin for both markets.Â
The journalist also currently hosts Drive at ABC Radio Sydney, where she replaced Richard Glover in January.Â
Before taking on her role at Ten, Bath enjoyed a lengthy tenure at Seven, landing her first gig with the network in 1996.
During her years there, she worked as a weekend presenter of Seven News in Sydney, as well as host of the current affairs program Sunday Night.
She left Seven on July 27, 2015, and began a ten-year career at Ten shortly after.
Daily Mail has reached out to Ten for further comment.Â
Bath’s exit from Ten comes just hours after news broke that the network’s new current affairs show has been axed amid ongoing struggles to win over viewers.Â
Bath will be replaced by Georgie Tunny, 34, who was hired by the network in 2022 as a presenter on The Project
10 News+ has had its running time halved, cut down from hour-long episodes to half-hour slots, it was revealed on Thursday.
Just four months after the debut episode aired in June, the hard-hitting news program, hosted by recently poached Seven journalists Denham Hitchcock and Amelia Brace, has failed to find an audience.
Brought in to replace The Project, which was axed after 16 years on the air, 10 News+ has struggled to attract a significant viewership despite being touted as a fresh, informative replacement for its ailing predecessor.
10 News+ will continue to air six days a week, hosted by Brace and Hitchcock between Sunday and Thursday, with Ursula Heger and Hugh Riminton stepping in on Fridays.
‘It will take some of the pressure off and allow them to break more stories,’ Ten’s news chief, Martin White, told the Sydney Morning Herald.
‘It’s a lot easier to break stories if you’re not having to file every single night, so I think this will serve the team really well.’
10 News+ was said to be a ‘classy’ current affairs series — but it has struggled to impress viewers since it began broadcasting on June 30 at 6pm, following the 5pm news bulletin.
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Veteran newsreader QUITS Channel Ten and is replaced with a younger co-star