Kerri-Anne Kennerley's unexpected new gig after Studio 10 axing
Kerri-Anne Kennerley has revealed her next career move just two months after being unceremonially axed from her hosting job on Studio 10.
Proving that she’s the unofficial ‘Queen of reinvention’, the 67-year-old is waving goodbye to TV (for now) and is set to take the stage in her first-ever musical.
Kerri-Anne took to Instagram on Thursday to share that she’s landed the role of Berthe in the upcoming production of Pippin which opens at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre at the end of November.
“I told you I wanted to join the circus!” she captioned a short clip of herself swinging on a trapeze.
“So excited to be playing Berthe in Pippin. Now I have the chance to sing upside down,” she added.
Kerri-Anne’s fans were thrilled with her news, flooding the comments section with praise and congratulations.
“Good on you,” wrote one.
“One door closes another opens. I love Pippin,” added another.
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Kerri-Anne’s ‘great gig’
The Morning Show’s entertainment editor and KAK’s friend, Peter Ford, spilled a few more details about her upcoming gig earlier that day.
“The role that Kerri-Anne will be playing is really just one scene and one big number,” he told hosts Kylie Gilles and Larry Emdur.
“But it’s a show-stopping number. You basically walk in there, steal the show and go home.
“It’s a great gig for her.”
He also revealed that Kerri-Anne is already getting stuck into circus school in preparation for her role which requires a few dangerous tips and tricks.
And as Kylie mentioned, while this is her first time treading the boards Kerri-Anne is no stranger to dancing having competed on Dancing With The Stars in 2012.
Why KAK was axed
A former executive producer from Studio 10 has made explosive claims about why he believes Kerri-Anne Kennerley was been axed from the show.
Rob McKnight, who worked on the show from 2013 to 2017, revealed on the TV Blackbox podcast that budget issues were not the reason Channel 10 decided to fire Kerri-Anne.
Rob claimed that the network wanted to keep Kerri-Anne off TV screens because of the divisive views that often see her in the press for all the wrong reasons.
He added that Kerri-Anne is under contract until the end of the year, so Channel 10 has put her on ‘gardening leave’ and will ‘pay her out’ until then.
“They're paying her out because they don't want the controversy. They don't want an advertiser backlash based on the controversial comments that can come,” Rob claimed.
It comes after a source told New Idea that while Kerri-Anne has remained calm about the axing during her appearance on Studio 10 last week, she would be secretly furious that The Project was untouched by the cuts.
“KAK would not be happy The Project has been left alone,” the source claimed.
Kerri-Anne has also reportedly been blacklisted from appearing on The Project in any way during the remainder of her contract.
'Can’t resist' being controversial
Appearing on Sky News' The Death of the Aussie Larrikin?, which dove into whether political correctness has killed comedy, Kerri-Anne admitted that she plays it fast and loose when it comes to speaking her mind.
“They really pray I do. They really go, 'Now, you know, maybe, we don't want you to pull back, but you know, maybe' and I go, 'Oh what the, so fire me!’”
“If I'm on Studio 10 and I'm having a cheeky day, and something like [political correctness] comes up, I can't resist it,” she said.
Kerri-Anne’s Channel 10 colleagues Natarsha Belling and Tim Bailey also lost their jobs at around the same time.
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