One of television’s favourite personalities Mark Beretta has signed off from Sunrise after 22 years.
The breakfast show veteran announced his departure this morning on the program, thanking the likes of Seven’s chairman Kerry Stokes and the network’s executives who have played a major part in his extraordinary career.
“They’ve been so generous to me,” he said on air.
He then expressed his heartfelt thanks to the audience.
“From the bottom of my heart, thanks to all of you, our viewers, who have taken me in, treated me like family and been on this incredible fun ride with me,” he said. “You will always be the best part of the Sunrise experience.”
News.com.au reported last month that some of Seven’s top talent were facing contract reviews, with Beretta being among them.
The reports came after news of a proposed merger between Kerry Stokes’s Seven Network and radio network Southern Cross Austereo (SCA).
Twelve months after Seven cut 150 jobs nationally via redundancies and shed many more in contract terminations, network staff were said to be holding their breath waiting to learn who might next get their marching orders.
According to insiders CEO Jeff Howard and his senior executive team were taking stock and looking to further streamline operations before merging with the radio network.
More to come …
