Weekend Sunrise
Weekend Sunrise | |
---|---|
Genre | Breakfast news program |
Presented by | Matt Doran Monique Wright Sally Bowrey James Tobin |
Opening theme | (Reach Up for The) Sunrise, Duran Duran |
Country of origin | Australia |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 18 |
No. of episodes | 600+ |
Production | |
Producer | Sean Power |
Production locations |
|
Running time | 180 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | Seven Network |
Release | 10 April 2005 present | –
Related | |
Sunrise The Morning Show |
Weekend Sunrise is an Australian breakfast television program, broadcast on the Seven Network and currently hosted by Monique Wright and Matt Doran.[1]
History
In 2005 the Seven Network replaced its struggling Sunday morning program Sunday Sunrise with a program called Weekend Sunrise, as an extension of the weekday brand. It originally was an hour-long (8 am – 9 am). Hosted by Chris Reason and Lisa Wilkinson, the program was successful and various critiques at the time called for the program to be lengthened to two hours (7:00 am – 9:00 am) and be extended to Saturday mornings as well as Sunday. Head of Morning TV’s Adam Boland’s intention was always to have the show across both days (hence the name), but news boss Peter Meakin talked him into just starting with Sunday given families usually were out doing sport on Saturday.
In 2006, Weekend Sunrise was extended from an hour to a two-hour show, running every Sunday from 8 am till 10 am. When Sportsworld returned for the football season Weekend Sunrise settled into a 90-minute format, 8:00 am – 9:30 am. After Sportsworld's series concluded, the show returned to a two-hour format. Andrew O'Keefe initially temporarily replaced host Chris Reason in 2006, but after improved ratings he was given the hosting position permanently. In 2007, Wilkinson moved to the Nine Network to host Today, and was replaced by Samantha Armytage.[2] In 2008, Weekend Sunrise moved their start time 30 minutes earlier to 7:30 am, to match the new start time of Nine's Sunday program. The program continued to run through to 10:00 am, meaning the program had a two-and-a-half-hour running time.
In 2009, the program's start time was moved even earlier. Originally, it was announced that Today on Sunday (now Weekend Today), the replacement the long-running Nine's Sunday, would run from 7:30 to 9:00 am. But this was changed on 28 January 2009 to 7:00 am to 9:00 am. As result, Seven announced that Weekend Sunrise would also commence at 7:00 am and run through to 10:00 am, meaning the program would go for three hours, the same as the weekday version of Sunrise.[3]
On 13 February 2010, Boland got his wish as Seven announced that Weekend Sunrise would extend to Saturdays to compete against
In November 2011, Adam Boland was appointed executive producer of the program.[7] Boland overhauled the program introducing a new format, a number of new segments and new regulars. These changes were scheduled to introduced on 5 November 2011,[8] however due an apparent server crash, the program was cancelled at the last minute.[9] The relaunch took place the following day as a result.
In September 2012, executive producer
In February 2016, Angela Cox joined and filled-in for
In December 2017, after twelve years in the role, O'Keefe resigned, citing his desire to spend more time with his family on weekends.[15] Basil Zempilas was announced as his replacement.[16] In September 2019, Zempilas stepped down as regular host of Weekend Sunrise, citing a desire to spend more time with his family in Perth.[17] Matt Doran was named as his replacement; he appeared as a regular co-presenter for the first time on 12 October.[18]
Simon Reeve made his last on air appearance on Weekend Sunrise in May 2020 before the Seven Network made him redundant in June 2020.[19] Reeve would later sue the network over his axing.[19][20]
Weekend Sunrise moved to South Eveleigh on 29 July 2023, after the last broadcast in Martin Place on 23 July 2023.[21] With this change, the show received a new logo.
Format
Similar to Sunrise, Weekend Sunrise blends a mixture of news every thirty minutes, interviews and light-hearted feature pieces into three hours each morning. Occasionally, Weekend Sunrise may present the show from other locations, however, unlike Sunrise, this is less common.
News
As with Sunrise, national news updates are provided at the half-hour mark, followed by a summary of overnight sport and weather.
Hosts
Presenter | Role | Tenure |
---|---|---|
Monique Wright | Co-host | 2013–present |
Matt Doran | Co-host & Sport | 2019–present |
Sally Bowrey | News | 2016–present |
James Tobin |
Weather | 2009–present |
Current presenters who have been fill-in hosts or co-hosts of Weekend Sunrise in recent times include
Fill-in presenters for other roles, in order from most likely to be used to least likely to be used:
- News: Natarsha Belling and Angie Asimus.
- Weather: Katie Brown.
Previous hosts
Presenter | Role | Tenure |
---|---|---|
Chris Reason | Co-host | 2005 |
Andrew O'Keefe | Co-host | 2005–2017 |
Lisa Wilkinson | Co-host | 2005–2007 |
Samantha Armytage | Co-host | 2007–2013 |
Basil Zempilas | Co-host | 2018–2019 |
Kylie Gillies | Sport | 2005–2007 |
Ryan Phelan | Sport | 2014–2015 |
Simon Reeve | News Sport |
2005–2007 2007–2014 2015–2020 |
Sharyn Ghidella | News | 2008–2010 |
Jessica Rowe | News | 2010–2013 |
Talitha Cummins | News | 2007–2008 2013–2016 |
Previous hosts of Weekend Sunrise include Chris Reason, Andrew O'Keefe, Basil Zempilas, Lisa Wilkinson and Samantha Armytage. Kylie Gillies was the original sports presenter until she moved to The Morning Show and Talitha Cummins presented the news from June 2007 until July 2008. Sharyn Ghidella presented the news from 2008 until 2010. Larry Emdur hosted Weekend Sunrise on Saturdays in 2010. Sarah Cumming previously presented the news on Saturday until she became the weather presenter on Seven News Sydney in 2011. Samantha Armytage hosted the program from June 2007 until August 2013 before becoming co-presenter of Sunrise. Jessica Rowe presented the news from 2010 until 2013. Ryan Phelan presented sport throughout the first half of 2015 before Simon Reeve returned to his post following the axing of Million Dollar Minute. Talitha Cummins presented the news from 2013 until 2016. Cummins was later dismissed from the Seven Network whilst she was on maternity leave; Sally Bowrey later replaced her.
Regulars
Presenter | Role | Tenure |
---|---|---|
Steve Hargrave | UK/Entertainment correspondent | 2013–present |
Paul Marshall | Correspondent | 2014–present |
Richard Arnold |
UK entertainment | 2009–present |
Lucy McLeod | Sydney reporter | 2023–present |
Hope Wilson | Melbourne reporter | 2022–present |
Jordan Bissell | Queensland reporter | 2021–present |
Mark Riley | Chief political correspondent | 2005–present |
Jabba | Movie reviews | 2013–present |
Sarah Di Lorenzo | Nutritionist | 2018–present |
Jane Caro | Masters of Spin | 2011–present |
Nick Cater | Masters of Spin | 2014–present |
Meg Coffey | Masters of Spin | 2022–present |
Adam Ferrier | Masters of Spin | 2014–present |
Keith Suter | Foreign affairs | 2005–present |
Broadcasting
Because Australia has more than one
Occasionally, broadcasts of Weekend Sunrise are altered during special circumstances. On the morning of 17 July 2010, Weekend Sunrise was extended well past 9am continuing into 1pm when
Neither
Logos
-
25 January 2010 – 31 January 2016
-
31 January 2016 – 8 August 2021
-
29 July 2023 – present
Theme song
Weekend Sunrise used Duran Duran's "(Reach Up for The) Sunrise" as its theme song until 2010 when MGMT's "Electric Feel" replaced it. In November 2011, "(Reach Up for The) Sunrise" was reinstated as the theme song.
See also
References
- ^ "Sunrise". 7NEWS. 6 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- ^ Knox, David (23 June 2007). "Weekend With Sam". TV Tonight. Retrieved 23 June 2007.
- ^ Knox, David (28 January 2009). "Weekend Sunrise wakes up to Today's alarm". TV Tonight. Retrieved 28 January 2009.
- ^ Knox, David (7 February 2010). "Sunrise wakes to Saturday". TV Tonight. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
- ^ Knox, David (8 February 2010). "Bumped: Saturday Disney". TV Tonight. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
- ^ Knox, David (10 February 2010). "Larry and Sam For Sunrise on Saturday's". TV Tonight. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
- ^ Knox, David (28 October 2011). "Adam Boland Returns To Weekend Sunrise". TV Tonight. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
- ^ Knox, David (31 October 2011). "Weekend Sunrise Gets Serious". TV Tonight. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
- ^ Knox, David (5 November 2011). "Weekend Sunrise (Almost) Hits Refresh". TV Tonight. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
- ^ Knox, David (11 September 2012). "Weekend Sunrise Extends on Saturdays". TV Tonight. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
- ^ Knox, David (20 June 2013). "Melissa Doyle Leaving Sunrise for Primetime". TV Tonight. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
- ^ Knox, David (25 February 2014). "Monique Wright Named As Permanent Co Host of Weekend Sunrise". TV Tonight. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
- ^ Knox, David (2 March 2016). "Weekend Sunrise: Parathon". TV Tonight. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
- ^ Knox, David (7 March 2016). "Gallery: Weekend Sunrise Parathon". TV Tonight. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
- ^ Knox, David (8 December 2017). "Andrew O'Keefe quits Weekend Sunrise". TV Tonight. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
- ^ Knox, David (9 March 2018). "Basil Zemphilas Joins Weekend Sunrise". TV Tonight. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
- ^ Knox, David (18 August 2019). "Basil Zempilas to scale back Weekend Sunrise role". TV Tonight. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
- ^ Knox, David (3 October 2019). "Matt Doran to join Weekend Sunrise | TV Tonight". TV Tonight. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
- ^ a b McPhee, Sarah (23 September 2020). "Axed Channel 7 presenter Simon Reeve alleges network breached contract". News.com.au. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ Mitchell, Georgina (24 September 2020). "Ex-Seven star seeks 'at least $500k' from network, court told". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ Knox, David (24 July 2023). "Weekend Sunrise final broadcast at Martin Place | TV Tonight". TV Tonight. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
- ^ "Sunrise Team - The Presenters, Cast & Hosts of Sunrise | Sunrise". 7NEWS. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
External links
- Official website
- Weekend Sunrise at IMDb