Eddie McGuire to make shock return to The Footy Show six years after he last hosted the controversial program
- Eddie McGuire presents a one-off episode of The Footy Show
- The show will take place on April 2 to celebrate the Gather Round
- McGuire hosted the hit TV show until 2018
Eddie McGuire returns to The Footy Show for a one-off episode, six years after he last fronted the show that made him and Sam Newman household names.
McGuire, who was the show’s original presenter with Newman, will host the program celebrating the Gather Round in South Australia on the evening of April 2.
The program features big names Nathan Brown, Billy Brownless, Tony Jones, Kane Cornes and Jimmy Bartel.
Pop star Delta Goodrem will also perform her new single Hearts on the Run live that evening.
“I’ve spent so many weekends in South Africa cheering on my brother Trent when he played in the SANFL, and I can’t wait to get everyone warmed up for the Gather Round,” Goodrem said.
Eddie McGuire (pictured left at a Nine promotional event on Tuesday) returns to host a one-off episode of The Footy Show for Gather Round
The show was suddenly axed in 2019 after a 26-year run (pictured from left to right, presenters Sam Newman, McGuire and Rebecca Maddern)
The very first Footy Show Grand Final Spectacular aired on Nine in 1993, before the weekday Footy Show was launched in 1994.
The show was a hit, becoming Australia’s longest-running sports entertainment program with 735 episodes.
Eddie McGuire and Sam Newman left the program in 2018, with the show receiving a dramatic overhaul for 2019.
The program suffered dramatic viewing figures and Nine stopped production just eight episodes into the season.
‘It disappeared 26 years ago, when we first started the show we were told we had six weeks to review it and here we are 26 years later and we’ve gotten 729 more episodes out of it than someone would have thought,” McGuire said in 2019.
The former Collingwood president said the show was a “great success” and he was proud of how it has transformed football over the years.
“All things must pass, for 26 years this has been the longest running show in the history of sports entertainment,” McGuire said.
McGuire has said he is proud of the way the show has changed football over the years
“I’m not going to look back and talk about anything other than saying it had the biggest impact on my life. It has given me everything I have ever had in my life.
‘It gave me everything I ever dreamed of. I like the show. I love what it did on television and I really have a great affinity and a good feeling for everyone who has ever been on the show.”