Axed NRL Footy Show veteran Paul ‘Fatty’ Vautin has finally broken his silence after being sensationally dumped from the program after 23 years as its host.
The 58-year-old, who found out he had been sacked while on holiday with his family in the US, said he respected Nine’s decision to replace him with co-star Erin Molan.
‘In the end nothing lasts forever,’ Vautin wrote to WSFM’s Brendan Jones.
‘I had a great run, especially for a short, chubby, red-head who played for both Manly and Queensland.
‘That’s not a career, that’s a miracle.’
‘Nothing lasts forever’: Axed NRL Footy Show veteran Paul ‘Fatty’ Vautin (left) has broken his silence after he was sacked from the program. Channel Nine are set to re-launch a new 2018 lineup around co-host Erin Molan (right)
Vautin, who played 204 games for Manly (pictured) and represented his state and country in rugby league, said he had a ‘great run for a short, chubby red-head’
Reports emerged Monday that the Nine Network were calling it quits on their long-running rugby league show, with Molan set to receive her own one-hour program.
Ironically, Mr Vautin joked in a 2015 interview that the bubbly blonde was a ‘real talent’, hinting she could one day take his job.
‘I have noticed in the last three years she (Erin) has moved from being part-time, to being right down the end of the panel… So I think the writing is on the wall for me,’ he told News.com.au two years ago.
Vautin heaped praise on Molan in the interview, stating she was a ‘real fan’ of the sport and could hold her own among her fellow panellists.
‘She has worked hard to get where she is and she deserves to be there,’ Mr Vautin said.
The NRL Footy Show won a record 11 Logie Awards for Best Sports Program, but has been suffering dwindling ratings after an average of just 80,000 people switched on this year (pictured L-R are hosts Darryl Brohman, Beau Ryan, Erin Molan and Paul Vautin)
Reports emerged Monday that the Nine Network had called it quits on their long-running rugby league show, with Ms Molan (second from left) set to receive her own one-hour program
Ms Molan first joined the NRL Footy show in 2012, before becoming a full-time host alongside Beau Ryan in 2015.
Renowned as one of Australian TV’s longest serving hosts, Paul Vautin, began his run on the show in 1994 with Peter Sterling.
The popular sports show had won a record 11 Logie Awards for Best Sports Program, but had been suffering dwindling ratings after an average of just 80,000 people switched on this year.
Meanwhile, a new lineup of NRL shows is said to be taking the Footy Show’s place and will directly oppose Fox Sports’ Sunday-Monday-Thursday schedule, according to The Daily Telegraph.
Nine will be showing 23 live Thursday night games from next season, which reportedly helped executives make the decision to cut the Footy Show.
The costs of producing a live sporting event, as well as a two hour sports variety program on the same night, was reportedly the driving force behind the decision.
Mr Vautin’s contract runs out at the end of next year and he is expected to feature more prominently in the commentators’ box during the 2018 season.
Mr Vautin (right) had previously heaped praise on Ms Molan (left), stating she was a ‘real fan’ of the sport and could hold her own among her fellow panellists