Project Star Breaks Down as Final Sunday Edition Airs

The Project’s Rachel Corbett could not make it past her introduction before getting emotional as the recently axed show aired its final Sunday edition this weekend.

Corbett, 44, who has been on the panel show since 2015, also seemed to set off host Sarah Harris who was also seen to fight back tears.

‘You know it doesn’t take me much,’ Corbett said as she tried to keep a brave face.

‘But you’re such a pretty crier,’ Harris joked, in an attempt to lighten the emotional moment. 

Corbett replied that that ‘wasn’t true’ before sharing a heartfelt tribute to her outgoing colleagues.

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The Project’s Rachel Corbett (pictured) could not make it past her introduction before getting emotional as the recently axed show aired its final Sunday edition this weekend

Corbett, 44, who has been on the panel show since 2015, also seemed to set off host Sarah Harris who was also seen to fight back tears. Sarah Harris pictured with Waleed Aly

‘Anyway, we’ve got plenty of show to get to but I just want to say it’s been a bloody privilege doing this show with you guys. I love you so dearly.’

The broadcaster, who regularly appears as a panellist on The Project’s Sunday edition also thanked the show’s regular studio audience who she said turned up ‘week after week for this wonderful show.’

The show’s producer’s later shared the moment to X with the caption, ‘It only took us 30 seconds to start crying during our final week on air.’

It comes after news that Waleed Aly is bracing himself for life after primetime TV after fronting The Project for more than a decade.

Speaking to Stellar, the 46-year-old broadcaster revealed that while he had a little more notice than some, the show’s cancellation still came as a sudden shock.

‘I only knew for less than a week before it was public. So it was all fairly sudden,’ he said.

‘The hardest day was definitely the day it was announced – that’s when you are in the room with all your colleagues. 

‘People that you’ve worked with, in some cases, for more than a decade.’

While Aly admitted the situation isn’t unique to the television industry, he said the emotional weight of the announcement was felt deeply – especially by his own family.

Corbett paid a heartfelt tribute to The Project team as the show heads into its final week after its 16 years on the air

‘That’s what’s added to the emotional weight of all this, because my kids grew up through this show,’ he said. ‘And talking to the kids about it was actually harder than I expected. It hit them in a way that I didn’t quite anticipate.’

Aly, who shares two children – Aisha, 22, and Zayd, 18 – with wife Susan Carland, said returning to a regular home routine is a bittersweet adjustment.

After years of missing family dinners due to his evening work schedule, he’s preparing for a lifestyle shift that includes more cooking – and plenty of cleaning.

Despite the changes, Aly said he recognises that job losses and major career shifts are a part of life across all industries.

‘This isn’t a unique experience to us,’ he added. ‘[It] happens across lots of industries and in lots of workplaces. It’s sad every time.’

The Project hosts Waleed Aly, Sarah Harris and Hamish Macdonald are set to exit the network, while comedian Taunton will continue his guest appearances on other Ten shows. 

The Project would be pulled from the schedule after 16 years and more than 4,500 episodes.

Its final episode is set to air on June 27, and will be replaced by a single national 6pm news bulletin.