The surprise detail in Seven’s TV line-up that could spell trouble for high-profile stars

October 30, 2026 — 5:00am

Channel Seven has rolled out the Melbourne end of its annual “upfronts” programming presentation, but the glossy offering has left questions hanging over the future of two of its biggest stars.

Seven, or the Seven Media Group as it is known these days following the merger between its TV assets and Southern Cross Austereo, is in its new guise a TV broadcast and audio business, and talent from both sides of the divide came together for Thursday’s roadshow at Ormond Hall, off St Kilda Road.

In the room were Seven chief executive Rohan Lund, a newlywed Andy Lee, veteran sports commentator Bruce McAvaney, Fox FM breakfast host Fifi Box, walking headline Kane Cornes, Sunrise host Matt Shirvington, funny bloke Mick Molloy, country singer and Kyle Sandilands’ replacement on Australian Idol Morgan Evans, sports presenter Rebecca Maddern, newsbreaker Xander McGuire and game show host Larry Emdur.

It would seem Ricki-Lee Coulter is very much the new golden girl at Seven, with hosting duties on Australian Idol and I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!

And after adding the family-friendly I’m A Celebrity co-hosting gig to his work as host of The 1% Club, potty-mouthed comedian Jim Jefferies has come from the clouds to now be one of the network’s most valuable presenters. We just hope none of the faint-hearted stumble across his Netflix stand-up specials.

“Everyone on our network is a star. 
I think in this case, they were just the right people for the job,” Angus Ross, managing director of TV and streaming for Seven, told CBD.

But while the stars of Coulter and Jefferies are rising, the stocks of Seven’s long-time biggest name and former Gold Logie winner Sonia Kruger and Chris Brown, who quit Channel Ten and signed with Seven in July 2023, seem to be cooling. Both have surprisingly little on their respective plates for the year ahead.

The pair co-hosted Dancing With the Stars, but that show is on the shelf for 2027. My Reno Rules, which Brown hosted, is not coming back, and Seven is yet to confirm if The Voice, which Kruger hosted, will go ahead next year.

“Sonia’s still part of the Seven family. She’s one of the great hosts of Australian television – very, very funny and superb at what she does,” Ross said.

“We are still looking at how we can potentially bring The Voice into the schedule and [for 2028] Dancing With the Stars, but we are looking at different production models for those shows.

“They’re both very expensive programs, but if they come back, Sonia will definitely be involved.”

Brown, meanwhile, has Once in a Lifetime, an animal show filmed over a year ago, as his sole screen offering next year. It is never a good sign when shows are filmed and sat on for extended periods.

“We will see how the ratings for Once in a Lifetime go, and we’ve already had conversations [with Brown] about if that does the numbers for us, how we would bring that back,” Ross said.

Radio, however, will keep Brown busy in 2027, but not with the Seven stable. He is hosting Breakfast in Sydney for ARN-owned KIIS.

The upfronts are events that take place annually in spring at which TV networks, including Nine, the owner of this masthead, reveal their line-up of programs for the year to come to media, sponsors and advertisers.

Evvr. more branding work to do

Billionaire Dennis Bastas and his troops at DBG Health are working double time to distance themselves from accused domestic violence perpetrator Sam Wood.

Bastas acted fast to axe Wood from his employ in the days after the former Bachelor star turned fitness entrepreneur was arrested for allegedly assaulting his wife, Snezana Wood, in Noosa on October 3.

Shortly after sacking him, DBG Health dropped Wood’s name from the 28 by Sam Wood fitness program, which became just 28. This week it told the world the fitness group had been rebranded as the “evvr. Group”.

So 28 became evvr., as Wood sat in jail awaiting his fresh application for bail, which will be heard on Friday in the Queensland Supreme Court.

“A new name. A new chapter. But the same heart,” the website declares.

“evvr.ybody, evvr.yday, evvr.ywhere. Welcome to our new chapter,” was the messaging on the brand’s new-look social media platforms.

But a cursory click through the program’s website reveals 28 Group branding throughout – on the terms of use, the privacy policy, the blog page, the online shop, the page spruiking the various programs’ results and testimonials, even the recipes.

Despite the hype, it seems there’s still plenty of leg work to be done to erase the Wood era from the brand.

Inside Neil Wilson’s milestone VRC dinner

As the Melbourne Cup carnival approaches the starting gates, Thursday evening marked a milestone for outgoing Victoria Racing Club chair Neil Wilson.

Wilson, who announced recently that he would step down as head of the club after this year’s carnival following six years in the role, hosted his final VRC Chairman’s Dinner. He has spent a total of 14 years on the VRC board.

The dinner is arguably the most inner circle of the suite of annual high-end events leading into Cup week. One hundred and twenty guests – a combination of racing industry figures and sponsors – attended the event, which was held in the Club Stand at Flemington. They dined on a menu created by Society Restaurant.

CBD hears beef wellington – or to be exact beef en croute, the French version of beef wellington – was served up for the main course. We seem to have missed the memo about how beef wellington or its European variation has become the dish of choice at elite-level corporate events in Melbourne, but there is a trend developing.

Beef wellington was the main course at the AFL Chairman’s Lunch at the footy grand final in September.

Inside the Chairman’s Dinner, UK pop star Jess Glynne – fun fact, she appeared in Neighbours back in 2019 – performed. Eddie McGuire was emcee and guests included VRC chair-elect Vin Cox and his wife, Nicole; VRC chief executive Kylie Rogers; Chris and Sarah Lucas; and Frankie Foster.

“Frankie who?” you might ask. Fair question, we say.

Foster is a former contestant on Love Island UK and since his reality TV moment in the sun in 2018 has turned himself into a horse racing content creator and tie maker.

In a sign that times are very much changing, he is here talking up the Cup to his online fans and landed a seat at one of the VRC’s most exclusive dinners.

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