Jamie blitzes Nine for Seven.

So Jamie Durie not only quits Nine, but he signs with Seven. No wonder the press release from Nine announcing his departure included the words “the network will make no further comment.”

There are lots of stories spinning about Jamie wanting more money, having no shows offered from Nine and even talk that small successes in the US have gone to his head. Sounds a lot like he went to whichever network could include his local / US schedule. What is clear is that Nine last year was on record as saying that they felt the gardening / lifestlye genre had been exhausted. Seven doesn’t seem to agree, quickly adding Durie to a new show it already had in development, Best Backyards.

Personally, I happen to agree with Nine. Who wants to see more backyards in prime time? Half the country is in drought for god’s sake.

That said, Durie is good talent and will make an ironic inclusion on Dancing with the Stars 6, particularly given he was host of Dancing on Ice (a show that thankfully seems to be permanently on ice now). Durie has of course had dancing lessons before with his ManPower strippers group, so we look forward to more cries of “foul” and media spin.