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“TV royalty” branded “squatter” by Today Tonight

Updated: After battling Victorian floods, Number 96's Abigail lands a Today Tonight expose, but there is more to the story coming up.

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Recently our 6:30 shows have featured stories on Young Talent Time, Prisoner, A Country Practice and notoriously, Hey Dad. But last night a classic Australian TV star became an unwilling subject of another story –Number 96‘s screen siren Abigail.

Abigail was Australian television’s first sex symbol, or as TT promos told us, “Television royalty.”

“We discovered the once-glamorous Abigail living as a hermit,” said reporter Jackie Quist.

She is living 300km north of Melbourne “about as far as you can get from the glit and glamour of television.”

An elderly and elusive Abigail was filmed “hidden under a large hat and veil”, perhaps rather like the camera that filmed her surreptitiously when she opened a door at her makeshift home. Abigail appeared to not realise she was being filmed at the time.

The reclusive 70s icon is reportedly living “in squalor” in an abandoned Sunday school hall after her home was devastated by Victorian floods. She lives with husband and actor Adrian Wright.

“Here there’s no power, no bathroom, no hot water,” said Quist.

TT claimed Wright was refusing to leave the church in the small community, but a Uniting Church minister said she had given permission for the couple to stay.

“People in need are in need, and you do what you can for them,” said Barbara Russell.

The minister thought they would stay 2 or 3 weeks but the stay had now extended to 2 months. While the Uniting Church won’t evict them she believes they would be better staying somewhere “more appropriate.”

But Wright was also unwilling to talk to TT, instead filmed from a distance as he yelled abusively at the  intrusion.

The story featured neighbours and locals giving mostly negative quotes about the couple.

Last year TT made a similar story about how Gold Logie winner Rowena Wallace was to become homeless. Wallace had agreed to the interview and it had a happy ending as viewers inundated her with offers of accommodation. The show even got a follow-up story out of it.

In the case of Abigail and Wright, the couple must have wanted to keep their privacy, but Seven was having none of that.  “Where Are They Now?” stories are flavour of the month. Our old TV stars are being uncovered under rocks and swiftly showcased as either golden day heroes or social villains.

It doesn’t matter if you want to participate in the story or not. It doesn’t even matter that you’ve been evicted out of house and home by the forces of mother nature this year. You make good telly.

This was a sad story made even sadder.

UPDATE: McLeod’s Daughters / Hi-5 creator/ producer Posie Graeme-Evans will be sharing more of her thoughts on Abigail’s circumstances on A Current Affair tonight.

48 Responses

  1. this is vintage TT, since ACA got the Hey Dad scandal, they are desperate to find something equally as shocking to draw viewers, and it doesn’t matter to them how they get it. soulless people, all of them.

  2. I have to agree with steveany. Anybody who watched this rubbish (regardless of what the story was) is responsible for it still being on the air. If no-one watched it would be gone.

  3. I agree with Paul and steveany below. I just don’t understand why there is an outrage about certain subject matter, but yet that very subject matter gets high ratings when it airs.

    People where complaining and posting outrage a couple of weeks ago about the interview of the Carleen Bryant on 60 Minutes regarding the Port Arthur Massacre but yet the show yielding the best ratings by a fair margin. It’s the same deal with this, the Abigail segment made TT beat ACA by a lot.

    So which is it? Either people want this kind of “gutter journalism” or not. Honestly, going by the ratings, I think people like to publically say they condemn it, but secretly watch and enjoy it.

  4. The problem with all this condemnation is that with the ratings last night (the only figures that count to TV executives) TT trounced ACA . Expect lots more of these stories because people want to watch them.

  6. There’s something a bit odd here.
    We all agree that TT & ACA are bottom feeders, but the fact that most of the commenters below (some of whom I respect for their opinions in other threads) evidently watched the story just amazes me and invalidates their outrage.
    If you’re watching gutter TV then you’re part of the problem. Obviously you want to be scandalised so you can complain around the water cooler next day.
    If we don’t watch it, it won’t rate and it will go away.

    1. Steveany… I don’t think it’s unusual avid TV fans watch a story on “TV Royalty.” It’s not like they tuned in for a story on dirty dishcloths.

      Posie: appreciate the extra info. Thankyou.

      This story is hitting a nerve already.

  7. I commend you for engaging in a debate about the quality (or lack thereof) of the so-called journalism on TT/ACA David, but once again I am forced to believe that they wouldn’t be doing this crap if people weren’t watching. In enough numbers so that a few people saying the sorts of things you (and Media Watch) say are a drop in the bucket.

    I honestly feel my only recourse is to not watch, and so I haven’t, not for a year or more, not even when there is a tempting promo about an issue or person I am intersted in (not terribly often I have to say). If more people who were appalled by what they saw turned off it would have an impact – because eyeballs equals dollars to the networks – it doesn’t matter to them if you’re watching because you love them or watching because you think they’re shameful – you’re watching which means they’re getting advertising dollars thanks to you.

  8. This was disgusting. How is it even legal for Seven to air hidden camera footage like that? It is one thing when you are doing a sting on criminal, another entirely when it’s a former TV star who has lost her home in a natural disaster.

  10. I think this is more than sad. It is deeply unkind that Abigail’s life has been trashed in this way just for the sake of very cheap sensationalism. They’ve had three floods through their former house, rescued last time by boat, and pretty much lost everything. Abigail is a gentle person and she does not deserve to be pilloried for a situation that has affected so many other people. Other flood victims have had nothing but support form TV and the general public – why is Abigail any different? This item is a very dark comment on voyeuristic tabloid TV and I personally think it is disgusting.

  11. I watched the story and TT done it again,another beat up on a person who wants her life private.Abigail who has retired and wants a private life is the latest person TT has blown a story up about.Her home was flooded and TT took advantage and made a story out of it.I did notice,her husband was at there home cleaning up.I like to know where TT got the footage of Abigail at her front door.I believe they tricked her into opening the door,of course a hidden camera was used by TT. Why didnt they play that footage with her talking at the door?Maybe because she explained what was going on with her home,and if they aired it they had no story.A very typical story by TT,nothing wrong TT with living in small country towns.Abigail is not the beauty she was when she was younger,so what TT .We all age and looks fade as we all know,part of life.Abigail doesnt want to be in public eye,unlike Rowena Wallace.Looks like TT is chasing all former tv starsand wanting to make up stories about them now,very low TT.But thats what the programme is!

  15. I met Abigail many years ago when she was starring in Sons And Daughters. She was a guess DJ at a disco in Sydney I used to go to. I remember her being a very genuine, beautiful and happy lady. We spoke for a while and she seemed happy doing so. I always wondered what happened to Abigail and sadly last night I found out. How unfortunate that the life of a celebrity such as Abigail has deterioated to this. However it’s her life and if she commands privacy so be it. All I can say is Shame on Channel 7 for exposing ner. I find it sickening that for the sake of ratings you have violated the privacy of this once famous lady. The glamour has gone in her life and now I’m sure that after yesrtday night’s story any self pride and confidence has been stripped from her. Congratulations Channel 7 for ridiculing Abigail so harshly. What a cruel, insenstive and horrible act. Hope you are all so proud of yourselves!!!!!! Shame!! Shame on you all!!!!

  17. Disgusting! And yet another reason why I don’t watch the trash that is TT & ACA. TMZ cameramen are better journalists than those responsible for the gutter TV that comes from TT & ACA.

  19. I absolutely loath those “Where Are They Now” stories so beloved by our 6:30 tabloid shows. How they can be considered to be in the public interest is beyond me, as they are often about actors/actresses who have been out of the spotlight for 20-odd years, at least. Who cares if Rowena Wallace lives in housing commission accommodation? I couldn’t give the proverbial rats. That is her problem, not mine. My care factor re these stories is zero as actors so long out of the spotlight hold no interest for me.

    Last night’s story was a particularly voyeuristic beat-up. The reporter made out that Abigail (who nobody born after 1977 would have little, if any awareness of) was squatting on an abandoned church property. Um, no, the minister of said church had clearly given them permission to stay there untll their own property was habitable. Ergo, there was no story. The producer should have abandoned the story at this point as it obviously had no legs, but no, TT padded the story out with locals gossiping and b*tching about Abigail and her hubby. I’m predicting this story will feature prominently on Media Watch very shortly.

  20. i thought you were being moderate in your observation of this story david. i thought it was discusting what TT did. they arent shonky car dealers or builders on the run, theyre just a couple of people down and out. TT just wanted a cheap look at how old abigail looks now. so obviously a hidden camera. did they even approach them for an interview?

  23. Thank you for your comments on this , David. I was again lured into this tale from the promo, and was pretty appalled and affected by this story. In one moment it revered the targets of the story and the next makes them ultra villains! It was a hotch potch of a story, in part ‘where are they now?’, inpart Vic floods clean up and a gotcha of alleged untoward behaviour from Abigail and Adrian. Shameful piece of ‘journalism’! If she is the tv legend that the host and reporter termed her, she deserves better than this. No compassion, no regard.

  24. This was an a appalling “story” that was nothing more than an invasion of privacy and is probably the reason i normally dont watch Today Tonight

  25. TT and to a lesser extent ACA are absolutely horrible, how about sticking to the www rather than invading the personal lives of pyres, without their consent!

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