Lisa Wilkinson looked like the cat who got the cream as she strutted her stuff in a peach power suit, with daughter Billi FitzSimons, at the David Jones Bright Night event in Sydney.
Confidently and stylishly storming the spotlight, insiders say that Lisa is feeling fully ready to take on the world, after a string of troubling headlines about on-set issues at The Project.
WATCH: Video reveals ‘moment Lisa Wilkinson wanted to move to Channel 10’
‘Lisa couldn’t have looked happier or more confident – or prouder of Billi,’ says an onlooker. ‘Whatever has been going on, it seems that she’s feeling on top of things again.
‘Happiness is the best revenge.’
Lisa reportedly recently demanded for $2 million to sign on again to Channel Ten – one brave power move after reports she was feeling like an unwanted outsider on The Project.
Lisa famously defected to Ten after feeling underappreciated on Nine’s Today Show, where her male co-star Karl Stefanovic was on a vastly higher salary package.
‘I am back at the job, the network and with the Sunday @theprojecttv team that I love,’ Lisa recently posted on social media, after returning from a glorious break in Italy.
Industry insider Rob McKnight, who runs website TV Blackbox, says: ‘Lisa is now one of the biggest stars on [Ten] and there’s no doubt Lisa is happier with her new life.
‘She might not have the ratings, but she has the respect and she is getting some big-name interviews.’
According to Rob, Lisa made the move from Nine to Ten for ‘better hours, a better quality of life and more respect’ and the network would now be eager to do everything they can to keep Lisa – and her fan base – which could mean giving the TV host what she wants.
Things weren’t so happy recently when a casual quip by co-host Peter Helliar that ‘we love having you on our show’ reportedly left Lisa outraged enough to leave the room.
‘Lisa is highly sensitive regarding her public profile,’ an insider said at the time.
‘While she tries to keep relationships civil off-camera, she is furious that her co-hosts are allowing nasty barbs to continue on-air.’
But if there is any lingering resentment from the awkward moment, Lisa wasn’t showing it on her face last night.
It seems that she’s got plenty to smile about, and after recent reports about her salary wishes and requests for more respect on The Project, those could be big reasons indeed.
WATCH: Tommy Little’s shocking live-on-air comment leaves Lisa Wilkinson stunned
