Australian showbiz veteran Kerri-Anne Kennerley likely won’t be appearing on another Network 10 show anytime soon.
Kerri-Anne, 70, has lambasted the embattled network, saying executives “lied to her” when she took part in the 2023 season of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!
“I got promised a bunch of stuff, and they lied. And so instead of being in there, the three weeks I agreed to, I got out in three days,” Kerri-Anne claimed in a new interview with The Sh!t Show with Tammin Sursok podcast.
Kerri-Anne also told former Home and Away star Tammin that her stint in the South African jungle was the “dumbest” move of her long career.
TV insiders say it wasn’t surprising to hear Kerri-Anne’s comments, given the brutal backlash she received following her appearance in the jungle. I’m A Celebrity viewers criticised the Logie Hall of Fame inductee’s attitude and unwillingness to participate in jungle trials.
While other campmates kept their mouths shut, former Married at First Sight bride Domenica Calarco eventually snapped at Kerri-Anne, when she refused to attempt a food trial.
“Miss big contract lady, ‘Can’t tell me what to do,’” Domenica mocked Kerri-Anne before continuing; “It’s not fair – it’s not fair to everyone in there who actually tries.’”
No love lost
TV insiders now reckon Kerri-Anne’s appearance on I’m A Celebrity could be the last time she appears on a Network 10 show for some time.
“Her podcast comments are not the first time she’s spoken out against the network,” says one insider. “It appears she’s fed up with how they operate.”
In August 2020, Kerri-Anne was let go from her role as a presenter on the since-cancelled Studio 10. She later blasted the show for seemingly becoming too ‘woke’.
“I don’t know what got into producers’ minds. They all got scared. They’ve chickened out, in my view,” she told Woman’s Day. “When I was on Studio 10, I really felt like we were getting better and better each week. I think in the 18 months I was there, they got more traction and more press than they ever did in the previous five or six years.”
She continued: “And if I’d produced it, I would have doubled down. I would have said, ‘Okay, let’s go further, let’s go more controversial.’”
