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“People will read into the situation however they want”: Peter Helliar latest to quit The Project

Exodus continues for 10 panel show with Peter Helliar departing after nearly 9 years at the desk.

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Comedian Peter Helliar has quit The Project, the third big name to quit the show in what is now an extraordinary exodus by key presenters.

He departs in two weeks’ time on Wednesday, December 7.

“It’s been something on my mind for a while,” he told viewers tonight. “People will read the situation however they want to read into it. But I feel like I need to create some space for some some projects that I want to work on. I’ve been able to juggle over the years… How to Stay Married, stand up and books over the years, but I feel like there’s some new areas that I’m going into next year that I need to be present for.”

He follows from Carrie Bickmore and Lisa Wilkinson’s announcements, with the former to exit next week after a 13 year run.

Referring to Carrie Bickmore’s announcement he said, “You said that you are glad you’re leaving The Project whilst you still love it. And I still love the show. I really do. It means a lot to me. It’s done amazing things for me, I interviewed Luke Skywalker once… I look forward to seeing what the show is in the future.

Helliar joined The Project in 2014, replacing original cast member Dave Hughes.

Beverley McGarvey, Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer, Paramount Australia and New Zealand, said: “It’s incredible to think Peter Helliar has been part of the 10 family for 22 years.

“Of course, we all remember Pete delivering his comedic brilliance on Rove Live back in 2000, but also his role on the much-loved AFL show, Before The Game where his alter ego Strauchanie was born.

“Pete’s talent at 10 has also extended behind the camera as writer, director and star of How To Stay Married which ran for three seasons, plus his comedy shows Skithouse and Cram.

“One of the most loved and respected comedians in the country, Pete joined The Project in 2014 filling the comedy seat, a seat which he has held for the past eight years. Given the breadth of his work, it is amazing that we have been lucky enough to have him sit at The Project desk four days a week.

“Pete has made the decision to take more time to dedicate to his first loves – writing and stand-up and we look forward to our continuing relationship.”

Rumours are swirling that the show will undergo a major refresh for 2023, including speculation around Waleed Aly as host. Sources tell TV Tonight he is not departing.

This post updates.

30 Responses

  1. I have not missed an episode of the Project since it began 13 years ago. So I’m so annoyed at all these stupid opinions from people who don’t watch and who have long stopped watching. I don’t always like everyone that’s been on either occasionally or permanently but unlike you all I’ve stuck by it because the format is brilliant and every change they’ve made I haven’t always liked either. But as long as Waleed is there I can cope. Better than trying to watch ‘real news’ or A current affair!

  2. Peter is a funny man but it doesn’t show on The Project too scripted, stilted, too much false laughter. Too many big opinions as well. I haven’t watch a whole episode in months and the snippets I have seen haven’t made me want to stay watching.

  3. I stopped watching after Peter Van Onselen started appearing. Does he still make appearances on the panel? I’m disappointed Lisa Wilkinson is leaving. Never could stand Carrie Bickmore, so no loss there for me, and I could give or take Peter Hellier. If there were a guarantee of no more PVO or Kate Langbroek, I’d possibly give it another go, as I really like Hamish McDonald and Sarah Harris.

    1. I’m a regular watcher and if memory serves me correctly pvo has not been on there since around February after more controversial comments he made that did not go down well with fellow hosts

  4. The Project needed fresh faces. It was a bit stale and wasn’t as good since covid. Waleed and Hamish are the anchors and a good base to start from. Sarah Harris is a great choice as co-host. She is a real person and this comes across on air. Gorgi Coghlan should be in the mix. She did a fantastic job as fill in host. How about Tommy Little or Lehmo is the comedy chair. Anything is an improvement on Pete. He is like nails down a blackboard sometimes and not funny. I am looking forward to watching The Project in 2023, its going to be a better show to watch.

  5. Very sad that Pete is leaving The Project, but good luck to him with whatever he does next. I hope he does another comedy show for Channel 10. I loved his show “How To Stay Married”.

  6. Well, something had to give on The Project. The talent it’s had doesn’t come cheap and it’s ratings haven’t been good for a while now. It’s never been a star total people performer, but for a long while it got by on solid demos, but even that’s fallen away. Is it possble that the audience The Project is chasing just isn’t sitting down to watch an hour of news/current affairs anymore? And, it’s not really the kind of thing you’d watch on catch-up a day or tow later. Quite the quandry for 10.

  7. Great! Bring back Neighbours on 10 main channel at 6:30 pm, they should never have moved it to Peach.
    So glad all these Project people are going, now get rid of the biggest ego of all Tommy Little.
    Dr Chris Brown and Sarah Harris for a 7pm 30 x min slot will increase The Project ratings, just no more ex reality show people on seats Network 10 and much less sponsorship in your programs please, it’s really obvious and tacky now and doesn’t even make sense it’s just blatant, I get having sponsorship in some lifestyle and entertainment shows but not in big name shows it just makes you switch off.

    1. Yes the level of cross promotion of show’s on Ten is getting ridiculous and it’s kinda creepy. You watch the Project, Studio 10, hybpa etc and there pops up somebody from the latest reality show, not just once though but across all of them. I usually skip those bits because I’m not watching those shows anymore, they are too long. So if the Project got rid of a lot of that filler & stuck to other stories it would be much better.

  8. I originally watched it at the beginning and I was surprised that 10 gave it the space and time to develop. In an age of rate or die, it was a bold move by 10 and one that did eventually succeed for 22 years.

    I haven’t watched the show for ages and it isn’t pitched at my news tastes. Whenever I have dipped into the show I have found the ratio of content to advertisement very lob sided towards advertisement. I am sure they abide by the regulation, but it doesn’t “feel” that way.

    The show was obviously pitched at the “soft” news side. But like others have said, if you are chasing a younger audience, then TV is not their medium. I am not saying going “hard” news is the answer, but the fact that Waleed and Hamish are still in the picture, indicates to me that they may be taking a stronger news focus, but tackling it from a different angle. Hamish is an excellent journalist and Waleed can bring the bigger philosophical angle.

  9. Yeah i don’t buy it. Its no coincidence 3 have already left and more will be on the way. Something tells me Channel 10 are either cancelling the show or something else is happening behind the scenes. Its just all very very odd to me. Guess time will tell but in a way this could be the perfect way to reintroduce Neighbours to 6:30pm weeknights although it isn’t clear if its going to have the same amount of episodes it used to have or if its more limited (maybe i missed those deets).

  10. The show has been going for a long time now, i’ve been watching right from the start but realize all good things end at some point & maybe this is the beginning of the end for the Project. There are some shows that will keep making it work for 20+ years but not many, over a decade is a pretty good success story.

    As for it’s future, an obvious financial problem would be paying the revolving door of hosts & co hosts, although it is good to have variety there’s gotta be about a dozen now?? (just counting the past year). Or maybe its not so much how many are on their books, just having more than 2 main ones & a sidekick each night is too much cost. They def need to slim it down, refocus & do something a bit different, and for god’s sake…..get rid of the hot pink fonts on their titles, ugh!

  11. Not a fan of Peter Hellier and never have been. Not at all funny. That said, I dislike just as much Tommy Litttle. Also not funny. I also dont like Carrie Bickmore or Lisa Wilkinson. I do like however Waleed and Hamish. I stopped watching the show when Gorgie Coghlan left. Waleed and Hamish dont try to be funny. Just honest and to the point. And bring important info to our attention.
    I also like the glasses male newsreader. Cant think of his name.

  12. Wow so where does this leave the project? My worry is if 10 see this as an opportunity to cut costs it never results in higher ratings just embarrassing ratings- like their news and studio 10. There has to be an investment in quality and target the show to a newer older audience. Young do not watch free to air anymore. Have not for years. Aim for 40 plus audience and give us balanced reporting and debate so more can be engaged with the show. News with personality can work! And if roving enterprises can’t do it give it over to working dog to find a solution. The concept is great. Just needs to be delivered to the right audience!

  13. Adding my 2 cents…I think it’s time for The Project to return to a short sharp 7pm half hour. Free up the 6.30 slot for Neighbours to return to the primary channel mid year. I used to be a regular viewer, but I lost interest and moved on…never had any particular issue with one person or with the left leaning views

  15. 10 have long tried to get a cut of the 6pm – 7.30pm but always failed. With a diminishing FTA audience, is 3 channels simply not commercially viable? 10 is able to draw moderate ratings for different 7.30pm shows but suffers greatly from the poor lead-in.

    Perhaps a refreshed ‘Project’ moves to a sharp 30 minute show and key shows then start at 7pm? I also like the idea of a Monday to Thursday ‘Project’ at 8.30 or 9.00pm but that leaves 10 to find a suitable early evening replacement … which appears highly unlikely.

    #TheProjexit

  16. Damn!
    I had hopes that Micallef would return for a two-hander with Peter in a new show called “Mad as Hellier” – but I guess that won’t happen now…

  18. It’s refresh or bust for The Project. Simply changing the show’s colour palette isn’t enough – maybe a restructuring of the format.

    Or, maybe The Project’s time is just up. When it debuted in 2009, it felt fresh and new. It now feels pretty stale. Times have changed. Maybe time to step aside.

  19. Not surprising. Ratings for the show are pretty bad given the investment. Industry story is are the show was only renewed for 1 year and there will be considerable changes to bring down costs; possibly only 2-3 hosts ans 30 minutes duration; especially on Sunday where seven and nine shows get a 30 minute start on ten shows

    1. I’ve long felt The Project’s runtime was too long. Half an hour always seemed adequate without having filler. Cutting it down to half an hour could potentially allow for Neighbours to return to 10 in the 6:30pm timeslot, with The Project doing a full circle back to 7pm. Or, it could take the 6pm slot, and Ten News could be trimmed back to the more reasonable duration of 1 hour (90 minutes of news is too much), with some other show to fill the 7pm slot.

      I can’t imagine 10 would put Neighbours up against Home and Away, although I wouldn’t put it past them.

  20. Peter Ford wasn’t kidding when he said to expect more resignations after Lisa’s announcement. Two down (three if you include Carrie)… I wonder who else will be jumping ship?!

  21. Is there something in the water at Ten? What the hell is going on? I’m stoked Carrie and Lisa are leaving… and Helliar was ok but no huge loss. Bit’s time for fresh blood and new voices… are they really going to keep Waleed? Ugh… this needs to be the moment Ten streamline the show and completely overhaul it. It needs to happen now. There won’t be another chance as good as this.
    I do fear they will keep it 6:30-7:30 though… which is the wrong move. But I digress… I never talk about programming on FTA because the current climate ensures a losing battle. I just know that Ten can’t keep going with its current early evening schedule.

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