Lisa Wilkinson ‘will probably not return to TV screens until early 2024’ amid her continued involvement in the Brittany Higgins saga
Lisa Wilkinson won’t be returning to TV screens this year, a new report claims.
After leaving Channel Ten’s The Project in November, the veteran TV presenter is ‘unlikely’ to return to the airwaves ‘until early 2024’, but will still be paid a full-time salary.
Tien is waiting for her involvement in the Brittany Higgins/Bruce Lehrmann trial to be over before putting her back on screen, according to The Australian.
Wilkinson’s name recently came up in the ongoing Commission of Inquiry, led by former Judge Walter Sofronoff KC, investigating the ACT criminal justice system.
This investigation places special emphasis on the Lehrmann criminal trial, which was finally terminated last year.
Lisa Wilkinson (pictured) quit Channel Ten’s The Project in November and now it looks like the veteran TV presenter won’t return to the air until 2024
One of the issues the board is looking at is Wilkinson’s bold speech at the Logies last year where she publicly praised Brittany Higgins.
It was later alleged that she was advised by ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold not to give the speech, although Wilkinson has disputed this.
Earlier this year, a Project insider and veteran TV commentator both said Wilkinson will never return to the Channel Ten screen and that her television career, at least as a major star, is likely over.
The network is waiting for her involvement in the Brittany Higgins/Bruce Lehrmann trial to be over before Lisa returns to screens, The Australian reports.
Television and radio pundit Peter Ford said Wilkinson was “Australia’s highest paid TV star at $44,000 a week and she doesn’t really do anything on camera” and would probably never appear on the Ten Network again.
He told Daily Mail Australia that the legal fallout from Wilkinson’s interview with Brittany Higgins – which now involves some ten colleagues – was “a very toxic situation” for the embattled network.
Wilkinson and Ten are being sued for defamation by Bruce Lehrmann over her high profile interview in which Ms Higgins told The Project star she was raped by ‘a male colleague’ in Parliament House in 2019.
The network is waiting for her involvement in the Brittany Higgins/Bruce Lehrmann trial to be over before Lisa returns to screens, The Australian reports.
Mr Lehrmann was not mentioned during the TV programme, nor was he publicly identified as Ms Higgins’ alleged rapist until August 2021, when he was formally charged with assault.
He pleaded not guilty and continues to maintain his innocence.
The Project insider, who wished to remain unnamed, said Wilkinson was probably “done for good” at Ten and as far as her prospects with other networks were, “I don’t think anyone else will hire her.”
In March, in Federal Court, Wilkinson named eight of her 10 colleagues involved in checking the validity of Ms. Higgins’ allegations.
Ten has reportedly made the decision to wait until Lisa’s involvement in the process is completely over before getting back on the air. Pictured with Hamish McDonald, co-host of The Project