Sources say Lisa Wilkinson wants to return to television screens after months of inactivity and five tiring weeks in the courtroom.
The Channel 10 star and former breakfast TV darling wants to do more “blockbuster interviews” in the new year, friends told the Weekend Australian.
Wilkinson left The Project last November and although she remained on Ten's payroll until the end of 2024, she has not appeared on the channel for 13 months.
Despite her lengthy break from the network, Wilkinson remained in the public eye through her role in a high-profile libel trial.
Lisa Wilkinson (pictured on The Project) is “desperate” to return to Australian television screens after months of inaction and five tiring weeks in the courtroom
Bruce Lehrmann is suing Network 10 and Wilkinson over an interview with Brittany Higgins that aired on The Project and online.
In the interview, Ms Higgins did not mention Mr Lehrmann by name but claimed she was raped by a Liberal official in Parliament House in 2019.
The trial ended on Friday, with the judge acknowledging that its controversies made it an “extraordinarily difficult case to control in the courtroom.”
Friends of Wilkinson say her court appearances have worked in her favor by giving the TV star “a constant stream of publicity”.
“Yes, she hasn’t been on air for a while but I don’t think anyone will have forgotten her,” former Seven and Nine managing director Peter Meakin told the Weekend Australian.
“I am sure her loyal followers will remain loyal to her.”
However, a senior TV media executive, who wished to remain anonymous, said Wilkinson's return to screens might not be so easy, claiming she had committed “career suicide” over the Higgins interview.
On the final day of the trial on Friday, lawyers for Mr Lehrmann and Wilkinson disagreed over their control over the production of their interview with Ms Higgins.
Mr Lehrmann's barrister, Matthew Richardson SC, rejected the view that Wilkinson had little decision-making power over the final content of the programme.
Friends of Wilkinson say her court appearances have worked in her favor, giving the TV star “a constant stream of publicity” (she is pictured during a break on December 15).
Wilkinson's lawyer, Sue Chrysanthou SC, argued that the media personality was just the face of the show and that the producers made the decisions.
“That's what I say in the documents and we went through them very carefully. “I think about 80 to 90 percent of the material that she didn't copy in… Her suggestions weren't taken up by the producers. “So she had no authority to decide on the final content of the program,” Ms. Chrysanthou said on Thursday.
However, Mr Richardson pointed out that Wilkinson had “stood on stage and accepted a Logie award for the programme”.
“I am only dealing with a separate role from Ms Wilkinson on the day of broadcast, [producer] “Chris Bendall described her as being responsible for the development, execution and presentation of the story,” he told the court.
“Now we see her instructing the lawyer to say, 'Well, I don't really have much to do with the program, especially towards the end.'”
He said Wilkinson prepared a timeline for Ms Higgins about her allegations, spending five hours meeting Ms Higgins in the weeks leading up to broadcast and recording an interview with her a week later.
Mr Richardson then raised the extent of The Project's producer Angus Llewellyn's involvement in the programme.
“If your honor squints into the horizon and looks far, far towards the end of the river, your honor will see Mr Llewellyn on a barge destined for the next market town,” he said.
At this remark, Wilkinson looked up from her notebook, grimaced, and slowly shook her head.
Bruce Lehrmann is suing Network 10 and Wilkinson over an interview with Brittany Higgins that aired on The Project and online
A senior Paramount executive has uncovered a telling clue that Wilkinson will not be returning to Channel Ten screens.
Paramount-owned Channel Ten unveiled its 2024 content lineup at its Upfronts event last week and Wilkinson, 63, was not visible.
Network Ten claims they are in talks to develop “other projects” with Wilkinson.
TV and radio industry expert Peter Ford said Wilkinson was “Australia's highest-paid TV star at $44,000 a week and she doesn't actually do anything on camera” and would probably never appear on the Ten Network again.
He told Chron Australia the legal fallout from Wilkinson's interview with Ms Higgins was “a very toxic situation” for the embattled broadcaster.