Veteran Australian TV presenter Sarah Harris is back - and has never looked better.
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The former co-host of The Project, 44, stunned on the cover of this week's Stellar magazine, debuting a bold new look that showed off her toned figure, glowing complexion and signature blonde locks elegantly styled back.
Dressed in sleek, high-fashion ensembles and striking a series of confident poses, Sarah proved she is firmly entering a new era following the brutal axing of Network Ten's long-running panel show last year.
And while Sarah may be fronting a glamorous magazine shoot, she is also using her return to the spotlight to speak candidly about the state of television - and why she believes cancel culture has turned the medium 'beige'.
The journalist, who recently joined Nova Sydney's breakfast show with Ricki-Lee Coulter and Tim Blackwell, made the remarks in her first interview since The Project was brutally axed last year after 16 years on air.
Sarah has claimed cancel culture has helped sanitise Australian television, pushing audiences toward podcasts and radio instead.
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Veteran Australian TV presenter Sarah Harris is back - and she has never looked better. The former co-host of The Project, 44, stunned on the cover of Stellar magazine this week, debuting a bold new look that showed off her toned figure and glowing complexion
'I think that's the reason why mediums like radio, longer-form live television and podcasts have become so popular... you can have complicated conversations,' she said.
‘When you have to talk in sound bites, you can't be nuanced. There's no cheekiness on TV anymore, like the stuff Bert Newton used to get away with on Good Morning Australia.
‘He could do that because people knew who he was, they knew the intent behind it, and knew he was having a laugh... we didn't need to get our knickers in a knot about it.'
Sarah said broadcasters had become overly cautious, producing safe - but uninspiring - content.
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‘It’s sad, I think by jumping down people's throats for every misstep, you get a media industry so sanitised, it's boring. It's not risky – and I think that's why people have gravitated towards podcasts and other types of media.'
Sarah spent two-and-a-half years on The Project before the show was axed last year, admitting the decision came as a shock.
‘I'm of the opinion that you don't get angry when a show is axed, you just be thankful that you were able to have the experience,' she said.
Dressed in sleek, high-fashion ensembles and striking a series of confident poses, Sarah proved she is firmly entering a new era following the brutal axing of Network Ten's long-running panel show last year
It follows reports that Sarah is embarking on a shock career move, and is set to join Ricki-Lee Coulter and Tim Blackwell on Nova's Sydney breakfast radio show
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‘I think people who watched The Project had grown up and their lives had changed – it was on air for 16 years. They might have started watching the show in their mid-20s. Now they've got a mortgage and kids... they're not watching TV as much as they used to.'
After stepping away from television, Sarah put her phone on 'do not disturb' for eight months to focus on her two sons.
Now, she is embracing radio as a more personal medium, and as for whether she would ever return to commercial television, Sarah remains hopeful.
‘I love TV, I grew up in TV... I'm rooting for it. I just think it's in that funny kind of zone where there needs to be a bit of a pivot point,' she said.
It follows reports that Sarah is embarking on a shock career move, and is set to join Ricki-Lee and Tim Blackwell on Nova's Sydney breakfast radio show.
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She expressed her excitement about joining the program in a statement.
'This is a massive "pinch me" moment. There's something hugely authentic about radio. So pumped to be waking up with Ricki-Lee and Tim,' she began.
Nova announced a huge shake-up in January when the station revealed it had axed Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie from the early morning slot and replaced them with Ricki-Lee & Tim.
The pair previously co-hosted the station's drive show alongside Joel Creasey.
It comes after news broke that Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie would be leaving the Breakfast time slot and shifting into national Drive instead.
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