A teary Tracy Grimshaw thanked her viewers for supporting A Current Affair on Thursday night as she wrapped up her 17-year run as the host of the show.
In an emotional farewell speech, the TV veteran made a candid admission that the show didn’t always quite hit the mark – revealing her hatred for ‘bra stories’.
‘Now, we haven’t always got it right over the years,’ she said.
Tracy Grimshaw was teary-eyed as she thanked Australians at home for watching A Current Affair during her final episode as host of the popular investigative news show
‘A few years ago, we fell in love with bra stories… Yep, that settle on you for a second.’
Tracy continued: ‘I hated them. And now we don’t do bra stories anymore. It was a struggle to stop the power going to my head on that one.’
The 62-year-old also recalled that when she started at ACA the bosses ‘didn’t like interviews that ran longer than four minutes’ because they thought viewers at home would be ‘bored’.
In an emotional farewell speech, the TV veteran made a canidid admission that the show didn’t always quite hit the mark – revealling her hatred for ‘bra stories’
‘I hated them. And now we don’t do bra stories anymore,’ Tracy said
‘Now look at us. Interviews can run the entire show because you’ve told us you like that,’ she added. ‘Thank you for watching them. You have let me indulge my own love of the chat.’
Tracy was honoured by celebrities and ordinary Aussies who supported her over the years.
The veteran presenter, who has interviewed the likes of Oprah, Ellen Degeneres, Celine Dion and Sharon Stone in her 40-year career, was handed a bouquet of flowers as she told viewers they would ‘soon’ find out who would take her place.
A teary Grimshaw was handed a bunch of flowers as she teased to viewers they would find out ‘soon’ who would be taking her place at A Current Affair
Former 7:30 host Leigh Sales and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese farewelled Grimshaw on Thursday night, with Mr Albanese asking if Australian TV would ever be the same again
‘I’m terrible at the GB word, you know, the one that ends in ‘bye’ and starts in ‘good’ because I’ll blub and you all know that won’t be pretty,’ she said.
Tracy then paid tribute to the entire Channel Nine team and gave a special shout-out to ‘Daria’ who she said has done her auto-cue since her time on the Today Show.
A series of high-profile Aussies paid tribute to Grimshaw, with her colleagues praising her journalistic skill and ability to connect with everyday Australians.
Anthony Albanese, Hamish and Andy, Kyle Sandilands, Ita Buttrose, John Howard, Ray Hadley and Leigh Sales were just a few of the familiar faces.
ABC chair Ita Buttrose (left) said one of her career highlights was hosting A Current Affair from outside Buckingham Palace (the pair are pictured in matching Royal t-shirts)
Australian comedian Hamish Blake reminisced on the time he was busted by A Current Affair ‘selling fake handbags’ at his home and said since then Grimshaw had earned his full respect
Kyle Sandilands said Grimshaw had a way of making her interview subjects totally trust her
Mr Albanese asked if Australian television would ever be the same again, while Kyle Sandilands applauded Grimshaw for always putting her guests at ease.
During her final episode, Grimshaw spoke with flood victims in Eugowra in NSW’s central-west town who received a $50,000 donation from Coles live on-air.
The show took a trip down memory lane, returning to some of Grimshaw’s most notable interviews, including Sue and Lloyd Clarke – the parents of domestic violence victim Hannah Clarke – the Irwin family and Olivia Newton John.
Grimshaw’s emotional send-off comes just weeks after the former Today host arrived in Melbourne to film her ‘very special hometown episode’ which aired last week.
In her final episode of ACA, Grimshaw paid tribute to the Channel Nine team, the reporters, the producers and gave a shout-out to ‘Daria’ who has done her auto-cue since the Today Show
In September, the veteran presenter announced she was quitting A Current Affair, later revealing she planned to take a year off to amend her work-life balance.
‘Normally, right about now we’d be telling you what to expect tomorrow night but lately I’ve personally been thinking longer term, and I have some news that I wanted you to hear from me before you hear it from anyone else,’ she told viewers.
‘I’ve decided to finish up with A Current Affair this year.’
During her final episode of ACA, Grimshaw spoke with flood victims in the NSW town of Eugowra who received a $50,000 donation from Coles live on-air
‘It’s been a big decision and before the gossip websites start telling you rubbish, I want you to know it’s been my decision alone and I’m not being shoved out the door by the boys’ club because I’m too old,’ she added.
While Nine hasn’t made an announcement about the new host of ACA, the network is believed to only be considering candidates from within its own ranks.
Today show host Allison Langdon has emerged as a top contender for the role.
Ally, who first joined Today in early 2020, is said to be keen to move to ACA because the hours are easier as a working mother.
Today show host Allison Langdon has emerged as a top contender to replace Tracy Grimshaw on ACA
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