Bruce Lehrmann’s ‘other’ secret Channel Seven role is revealed – as the TV network paid for his luxury digs

Bruce Lehrmann was an unofficial advisor on as many as two episodes of Channel Seven’s Spotlight program, while the TV network paid about $105,000 for his luxury rental home in Sydney.

The TV station covered Lehrmann’s rent for 12 months in Balgowlah, on the northern beaches, thanks to a lucrative arrangement with the network in exchange for exclusive interviews on the current affairs show, airing in June and August last year.

Former Spotlight producer Taylor Auerbach then told a court last year the network paid thousands for Lehrmann’s use of sex workers, Thai massages, cocaine, and dinners at expensive restaurants – all in a bid to entice him into the exclusive deal.

Seven and the former Liberal staffer have fiercely denied those claims.

However, Daily Mail Australia can reveal Lehrmann’s involvement with the program didn’t stop with his own interviews.

Lehrmann advised Spotlight executive producer Mark Llewellyn on an episode called ‘Unmasking the vaping crisis’, which aired last June, due to his experience working for British America Tobacco (BAT) in 2021.

‘I was very happy to closely advise my friend Mark Llewellyn with the Spotlight production about the sinister and influential impact big tobacco still has on some medical and government sectors,’ Lehrmann told Daily Mail Australia.

It is understood he also provided advice on another episode about the transgender community called ‘Breaking the Silence: The Reality of De-Transitioning’ in September – but that was contested by Mr Llewellyn.

Bruce Lehrmann is pictured being interviewed by Spotlight’s Liam Bartlett in 2023

Bruce Lehrmann is pictured outside his Balgowlah rental with two mystery women earlier this year

‘[Lehrmann] had absolutely nothing to do with [the] trans [show],’ Mr Llewellyn said, labelling that particular claim as a ‘crazy conspiracy’.

Referring to the vaping episode, he said: ‘[Lehrmann] knew the doctor [featured in the episode] from his time at BAT and knew of his links to big tobacco which we confirmed independently.’

Lehrmann’s vaping advice was the result of his position as regulatory affairs manager for BAT after he left Parliament House in 2019, which involved lobbying tobacco products to the government.

His employment effectively came to an end in February 2021 when a journalist contacted the company asking about Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations against him.

He took personal leave, on full pay, until June that year before BAT let him go due to fears he would not be able to work with government officials in light of the rape claims.

The non-disclosure agreement he signed before leaving BAT had expired by mid-2023, when Spotlight’s episode on vaping was being produced.

Lehrmann’s involvement in the production of that episode extended to alerting them to the existence of Dr Colin Mendelsohn, a controversial medical doctor who advocates for vapes as an aid for quitting cigarettes.

Bruce lehrmann is pictured outside Parliament House in Canberra, during a promotion for his tell-all interview on Spotlight

Lehrmann told Spotlight about Colin Mendelsohn, a medical doctor who advocates for vapes as an aid for quitting cigarettes. He is pictured during an interview on Spotlight

Dr Mendelsohn founded the Australian Tobacco Harm Reduction Association, which takes funding from tobacco companies. 

It is further understood that Lehrmann provided material which helped the team formulate questions to ask the doctor.

There is no suggestion that Lehrmann gave advice in a professional capacity, or that he was paid for his advice.

When contacted for comment, Network Seven rubbished claims that Lehrmann advised the program.

A spokesperson said: ‘At no point was Bruce Lehrmann an adviser to Spotlight. To suggest otherwise is false and deliberately misleading.’

The network has been under fire since the $105,000 rental deal with Lehrmann was exposed in the Federal Court during his defamation against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson last year.

He launched the civil suit over an episode of The Project in February 2021, during which Ms Higgins alleged in an interview with Wilkinson that Lehrmann raped her when they were colleagues in Parliament House in 2019.

Mark Llewellyn is pictured, left, with Taylor Auerbach, right, on a plane to see Lehrmann to entice him into an exclusive interview

His two Spotlight episodes were his first tell-all interviews after his rape trial collapsed in late-2022, during which he talked about the trials and tribulations of being accused of rape on national television. 

However, Lehrmann lost the defamation trial in April when a Federal Court judge found, on a balance of probabilities, that he had raped Ms Higgins. 

He launched an appeal in May. The matter has not yet been heard in court.

In the wake of the sex and drugs allegations that hit Spotlight, Seven has been struck with a wave of leadership turmoil and financial cuts.

Among those to depart the network include then-director of news and current affairs Craig McPherson, managing director James Warburton, commercial director Bruce McWilliam, and Mr Llewellyn. 

Within the last couple of months, veteran journalist Robert Ovadia left the network after ABC Four Corners made inquiries about the alleged toxic culture in the Seven newsroom.

Ovadia allegedly took images from a female producer’s personal Instagram page and turned them into a ‘caricature’ before sharing them with her, Daily Mail Australia revealed last week.

Meanwhile, Seven has swung the axe on major job cuts with Seven’s chief executive Jeff Howard expected to announce 150 cuts across the television and print divisions, sales and marketing teams.

Newsreader Sharyn Ghidella was reportedly axed from the network because she was on a much higher salary than her co-host Max Futcher.

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