Mark Llewellyn returns to Nine

News producer Mark Llewellyn is returning to Nine, following his departure from Seven last month.

He joins from today in a new role as the Creative Director for News and Current Affairs, developing original longer-form content.  He will also work with Nine’s Factual Production Unit, under Janeen Faithfull, producing documentaries for the network.

Most recently he was executive producer of Murder Uncovered but his contract was not renewed when Seven culled the show as part of cost cuts. He was also a co-founding executive producer on Sunday Night until 2014.

Nine News boss Darren Wick sent a note to staff today noting, “He is a brilliant out of the box thinker and I encourage everyone to tap his brain.

“Many of you know Mark as a colleague during his previous time at Nine. He joined as a young Sydney-based reporter, has been the Network Director of News and Current Affairs, Managing Director of 60 Minutes, Executive Producer of A Current Affair and a London correspondent.

“For those of you not familiar with him, Mark has an acclaimed track record as one of Australia’s finest and most forward-thinking producers in current affairs and news documentaries.”

Seven’s Director of News & Public Affairs Craig McPherson recently told TV Tonight that shutting down Murder Uncovered just weeks after it had been announced in network Upfronts was difficult.

“It was a creation of mine and Mark Llewellyn’s and there were a lot of good people involved in it,” he said.

“It was a strictly economic decision and a hard decision to make, and hard to tell people it no longer existed when… it was announced and it was planned.”

In 2006 Llewellyn was famously part of the media stories surrounding the exit of Jessica Rowe from Today.

His affidavit claimed then-CEO Eddie McGuire had said in an executive meeting about Today, “What are we gonna do about Jessica? When should we bone her? I reckon it should be next week.”

McGuire denied using the term.