A teary Tracy Grimshaw has thanked Australians for supporting A Current Affair as a slew of famous Aussies farewelled the long-time host after 17 years on the show.
‘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,’ Grimshaw said.
‘But, seriously when I started here, my bosses at the time said they didn’t like interviews that ran longer than four minutes because you’d be bored.
‘And now look at us. The entire show can run interviews like that because you’ve told us you love them. Thank you for watching them.’
Grimshaw 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 the Today Show.
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.
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 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.
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 Newtown 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 September, the veteran presented announced she was quitting A Current Affair, later revealing she planned to take a year off to amend her work-life balance.
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
Grimshaw’s most biggest ACA interviews include Oprah Winfrey, Ellen Degeneres, Celine Dion and Sharon Stone, but she has also told the stories of everyday people
‘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.
‘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.’
The TV host, 62, discussed her plans after 16 years on the popular investigative news show during an interview on The Kyle and Jackie O show on Wednesday, and confirmed she was taking a well-deserved break for one year.
She said she wanted to ‘reset her work-life balance to purely life next year’ and is taking 2023 off from work completely.
Kyle Sandilands said Grimshaw had a way of making her interview subjects totally trust her
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
When Kyle Sandilands asked the TV star if she would be moving on to The Project or another news show, Grimshaw said it wasn’t on the cards for her just yet.
‘I’m having a year off and I’m not doing anything for an entire year. I’m resetting my work-life balance to purely life next year,’ she said.
‘But then, you never know what I might pop up doing in 2024.’
Rumours say the veteran 2GB and Nine News presenter Deborah Knight will be taking Grimshaw’s place on A Current Affair.
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
However, Kyle Sandilands appeared to confirm it was Today show’s Allison Langdon when he interviewed Tracy on his radio show on Wednesday.
Langdon awkwardly dodged questions about her rumoured move to A Current Affair while interviewing Kyle live on air last week.
She shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she refused to confirm or deny the speculation – despite the shock jock repeatedly pushing for an answer.
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
From grilling prime ministers, standing up to ‘bully’ Gordon Ramsay and that horror horse riding accident: A look back at the sensational 40-year career of Tracy Grimshaw as she announces she’s leaving A Current Affair
Across 17 years at the helm on Channel Nine’s A Current Affair, Tracy Grimshaw has grilled the great and the good – and had more than her fair share of feisty run-ins.
In September, the veteran presenter, 62, shocked viewers when she announced she is stepping down from her role as she was ‘tired’, insisting she hadn’t fallen victim to a ‘boys club’ wanting younger faces on screen.
Her brilliant career has seen the TV journalist lighting up the screen for Channel Nine for more than 40 years locking horns with prime ministers, A-list celebrities and abhorrent criminals.
She’s covered everything from the Beaconsfield mine collapse, to the Bali bombings and the Covid pandemic.
Daily Mail Australia takes a look back at some of Grimshaw’s most memorable moments across her stellar four-decade-long career.
Scott Morrison eviscerated
With the election just days away and the Coalition trailing in the polls, Scott Morrison may have seen his May appearance on A Current Affair as a ‘soft interview’ and a chance to regain some ground.
But Grimshaw saw it very differently and delivered a scathing assessment of the then Prime Minister’s leadership skills.
She didn’t mince her words, outlining what she saw as his numerous failures and embarrassing gaffes as leader.
‘You said on Sunday that you saved the country, (but) you didn’t hold a hose (during the bushfires), you weren’t in your tinny plucking people off rooftops (during the floods in NSW and Queensland), and you didn’t do 16 hour days in PPE (personal protective equipment) on Covid-19 wards,’ she said.
In May, Tracy Grimshaw (pictured) made headlines for a heated interview with Scott Morrison in the lead up up to the Federal Election in May this year
‘You didn’t have enough vaccines, you didn’t get enough RAT tests so we could finally have a holiday interstate for Christmas.
‘Do you think maybe you slightly over egged the part about saving the country?’
Mr Morrison managed to keep his composure before informing the fired-up Grimshaw it was ‘quite a long list you’ve been able to pull together.’
Over the years, Grimshaw has also crossed swords with many other politicians, including former prime minister Bob Hawke and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson.
Gordon Ramsey gets grilled
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey had never got on with Grimshaw when they’d previously gone head to head, but it was what happened after their June 2009 encounter that showed who was boss.
In front of an audience of thousands at a Melbourne food and wine festival, Ramsay described the Channel Nine legend as ‘a lesbian’.
He then showed a picture of a naked woman on her hands and knees who had multiple breasts and the facial features of a pig.
‘That’s Tracy Grimshaw,’ he said. ‘I had an interview with her yesterday, holy c**p. She needs to see Simon Cowell’s Botox doctor.’
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey (pictured left) faced off with Tracy Grimshaw (right) on A Current Affair in 2009
Ramsay went on to make more disparaging comments about Grimshaw at the festival. She fired back by slamming the renowned chef.
‘Gordon Ramsay made me promise not to ask on Friday about his private life. He then got on stage on Saturday and made some very clear and uninformed insinuations about mine,’ Grimshaw told viewers of A Current Affair.
‘Obviously Gordon thinks that any woman who doesn’t find him attractive must be gay. For the record, I don’t and I’m not.’
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