Joe Hildebrand QUITS Studio 10: Tearful host breaks down live on air

Studio 10 panellist Joe Hildebrand has announced he is quitting the show.

On Thursday, the 44-year-old broke down in tears live on air as he revealed he had come to the difficult decision to leave after seven years.

The presenter’s position on the morning talk show had been in discussion ever since Channel 10 announced its latest round of redundancies last month.

His co-hosts Kerri-Anne Kennerley and Natarsha Belling had already lost their jobs, and it’s rumoured Joe chose to leave instead of taking a significant pay cut.  

Addressing the uncertainty surrounding his role on the show, Joe explained that he ‘wanted to rip the Band-Aid off and not make it harder than it has to be’.

Joe was joined by Kennerley as well as entertainment reporter Angela Bishop and journalist Sarah Harris when he announced his departure. 

A devastated Joe began: ‘I do have some news. I want to say it here first before you saw it or heard it anywhere else.

‘I am leaving Studio 10. I have given it a huge amount of thought. It’s been really hard, but also really lovely to be able to look back on all the things we have done.

‘We all know the show is getting a bit of a shake-up. Channel 10 and my lovely bosses asked me if I’d stay on in a new role. We talked about it openly and warmly about what that might look like.’  

Speaking of his bosses’ reaction when he told them he planned on leaving Studio 10, Joe added: ‘They’re really lovely about it, so don’t lash out at them!

‘I just thought, it’s probably just better to draw a line under this amazing little story that I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of.

‘[I want to] give the show a chance to breathe and have a fresh start without me hanging around.

‘With all painful things you want to rip the band-aid off quickly and not make it any harder than it otherwise would be.

‘It’s just been an amazing… I promise I wouldn’t use the word ‘journey’… but [it’s been] such an amazing time!’

Joe began tearing up as he gushed about his ‘wonderful seven years’ on the show, as well as his relationship with his ‘work wife’ Sarah Harris. 

Harris also broke down into tears upon hearing Joe’s kinds words about her.

Despite the emotional news, Joe’s reassured viewers that he was ‘talking to other people about some exciting work opportunities’. 

Noting that there was a ‘light at the end of the tunnel for him’, Joe announced his plans to help others across the country who had been left ‘absolutely smashed’ after losing their job due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Just last week, Joe revealed Studio 10 was set to dramatically change.

‘Look we are in talks, they’re rejigging the show a bit and it’s all been very civil and very lovely,’ Joe said, discussing his future with the morning program.

‘And they’ve offered me a new role and we’re sort of talking about what that might be.’

He clarified: ‘It would be a new role on Studio 10, but I think it’s already out there Studio 10 will be a different show.’

Last month, Joe’s fellow panellists Kerri-Anne and Natarsha were made redundant from the show along with 25 other staff members.   

On Saturday, the network announced that professional dancer Tristan MacManus would be joining the show as a host alongside Sarah Harris.

A day earlier, Ten confirmed Sarah, Narelda and Angela will remain on the show in a statement to media industry newsletter Social Diary.

‘Network 10 has confirmed that Sarah Harris, Narelda Jacobs and Angela Bishop will remain an integral part of the Studio 10 team with further announcements soon,’ it read.

‘Denise Drysdale, Craig Bennett, Jono Coleman and other regulars will continue as special contributors,’ the statement added, noting that the show will continue to air weekdays from 8am to 12pm.