Channel Seven star Sharnella Vella stuns newsroom after breaking news of shock defection to broadcast rivals

Seven has been rocked by the shocking death of one of its most prominent rising stars, just months after giving her a big break in long-form news and current affairs.

The network’s talented political reporter Sharnelle Vella has given her editorial boss a few weeks to line up her replacement before she leaves for the national broadcaster at the end of this month.

It comes after the state political reporter was given a star slot on Seven’s flagship investigative programme, Spotlight, in August after being given an exclusive interview with troubled former CFMEU boss John Setka.

Seven revealed earlier this week that Vella had decided to part ways with the channel in an email to staff members, while they confirmed that popular Melbourne sports presenter Tim Watson would also be parting ways with the company.

The popular reporter, who has worked at the station for seven years, plans to say goodbye to her colleagues and friends in the coming weeks before taking some time off this summer and starting her new role at ABC Radio’s Melbourne.

The move will see her team up with former Western Bulldogs skipper Bob Murphy as part of an overhaul of the station’s breakfast show, replacing outgoing host Samuel ‘Sammy J’ Jonathan McMillan, who announced his departure on Wednesday.

“Hosting Melbourne Breakfast was an unexpected opportunity that turned into an unexpected joy,” Sammy J told listeners after five years at the helm.

“But radio demands all of you and deserves nothing less, and after five years I’m ready to trade the 4:15 a.m. alarm for more regular hours.”

Vella has impressed with her hard-hitting stories on Seven’s Melbourne News, popular podcast Dead Bodies and exclusive interview with former CFMEU boss John Setka

The move will see her team up with former Western Bulldogs skipper Bob Murphy as part of an overhaul of the station’s breakfast show, replacing outgoing host Samuel ‘Sammy J’ Jonathan McMillan, who announced his departure on Wednesday.

“Hosting Melbourne Breakfast was an unexpected opportunity that turned into an unexpected joy,” Sammy J told listeners after five years at the helm.

“But radio demands all of you and deserves nothing less, and after five years I’m ready to trade the 4:15 a.m. alarm for more regular hours.”

“I leave with pride, gratitude and a litany of cash-for-comment scandals that will come to light in due course.”

The comedian will end his half-decade reign over breakfast on December 13, with Vella and Murphy taking over ahead of a return to radio ratings early next year.

Vella already had a weekly spot on Sammy J’s show on Wednesday, with radio insider suggesting the ABC wanted to take the show in a tougher, news-driven direction.

Ny Breaking Australia recently revealed that Vella was winning over more and more fans at rival networks and had previously attracted the attention of the Nine Network.

Vella will take charge of ABC Radio’s breakfast show in Melbourne, alongside co-host and former Western Bulldogs captain Bob Murphy (pictured)

Seven sources confessed that it would be almost impossible to replace the talented reporter in the network’s newsroom in Melbourne and that she would be a huge loss to the company.

“Sharnelle leaves a huge void, not just now but for years to come,” a senior executive told Ny Breaking Australia.

“She commands respect and would have been an important part of Seven’s future.

‘She never did anything with her reporting and was always honest and fair – it’s a huge, huge loss.’

Vella remained tight-lipped when approached about the switch on Wednesday morning.

“I enjoy saying goodbye to friends and colleagues at Channel Seven and will have more to say in due course,” she told Melbourne’s Herald Sun.

ABC Radio Melbourne acting manager Shelley Hadfield said Sammy J has had a huge impact on audiences.

“Sammy asked questions we didn’t know we wanted to answer,” Ms. Hadfield said.

“He has interviewed the Prime Minister and Prime Minister, he has broken the news of the Queen’s death to Melbourne, and he has interviewed musicians, magicians, meat workers and mathematicians.”

“But it’s Sammy’s connection with the audience that defines his time at 774. You only had to see listeners showing up at the crack of dawn for his outside broadcasts to understand the impact he has had on people’s lives .’

Meanwhile, Seven hopes to strengthen the ranks of its Melbourne newsroom by recruiting award-winning young sports reporter Xander McGuire to the network.

The 21-year-old son of Millionaire Hot Seat presenter Eddie McGuire has proven to be a rising star since joining Nine’s Melbourne newsroom as a sports reporter in June 2022 after interning at the network.

Xander McGuire has impressed network bosses since following dad Eddie into journalism and it’s understood Seven are now keen to sign him for a dual role in both news and sport

The young reporter revealed that he took a six-month sabbatical in May so he could complete the political component of his Melbourne University art studies at the world-famous University of St Andrews in Scotland.

Although he indicated he hoped to rejoin Nine when he returns to Australia at the end of this month, it is understood Seven has since offered the young man a dual role at the network across both news and sport in a bid to convince him to to jump ship. .

It would be quite a coup for Seven to nab the second generation Nine Star, with Nine’s chief sports presenter Tony Jones describing Xander as ‘the best young reporter I’ve seen in almost 40 years’.

Xander has been a regular on Australian television since he was almost ten years old as Charlie Hoyland on the soap opera Neighbours, when he was just 12 years old.

The talented reporter has certainly had plenty of time to get comfortable in front of the camera after landing his first television gig on Ten’s soap Neighbors in 2015, when he was just 12.

He became a series regular as troubled teenager Charlie Hoyland, the son of Carla Bonner’s long-running character, Steph Scully.