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Our top-rating stories of all time

In our six years on the air we have broken news, recounted tragedy and shared joy. Here are just a few of the biggest and best of our stories as they rated over the past 200 episodes.

1. Tessa James' cancer battle

Former Home And Away actress Tessa James has revealed she is in remission in an exclusive interview with Sunday Night.

The actress, who is best known for playing Nicole Franklin on Home and Away, was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma – a rare and potentially fatal blood cancer — in 2014.

FULL STORY: Tessa James reveals she is in remission

"You know you realise how precious life is and at the same time try to keep moving forward."

Having been given the all-clear now, Tessa is living in the US to pursue her acting career.

2. Simon Gittany

On Tuesday 11 February at 11:06am, convicted killer Simon Gittany was sentenced to 26-years prison for murdering his 30-year-old fiancee Lisa Harnum.

But it was his new girlfriend, Rachelle Louise, who caught the nation's attention, when she opened up to protest his innocence.

Simon Gittany trial: Part 2

The second part the exclusive inside look at the murder of Lisa Harnum became another ratings winner as Gittany received his sentence of 26 years prison, 18 years non-parole.

Sunday Night reconstructed the crime scene inside Simon Gittany's apartment and called upon experts to investigate both the Prosecution and Defence versions of those fateful 69 seconds inside an exact reproduction of the apartment’s living area, and balcony.

3. INXS

That INXS frontman Michael Hutchence had planned to leave his girlfriend Paula Yates in the days before his death, was just one of the revelations that came out in Sunday Night's exclusive with the band members.

INXS: The untold story

The untold story of the band's rise and fall coincided with the release of Seven's telemovie INXS: Never Tear Us Apart and over 2 million viewers tuned in to see Rahni Sadler's interview.

The band also spoke of Hutchence's many famous romances, including his time dating budding Australian songstress and Neighbours star Kylie Minogue.

4. Sinkholes

Sinkholes are sudden, catastrophic, and almost entirely unpredictable and just like in the US, some Australian cities are far more at risk than others.
In the last year alone they have caused houses, apartment blocks and roads to disappear into the ground without warning – and in this Sunday Night special we spoke to experts from around the world about the threat they pose to Australians.

5. America’s Biggest House

The Siegels are in the midst of building a 30-bedroom mansion, but even billionaires make bad decisions: their dream of a modern-day Palace of Versailles starts to crumble when the money runs out.

You can see a photo gallery here

6. Dana Vulin

After an all night crystal meth binge two people broke into the apartment of Perth woman Dana Vulin. What happened next would change Dana’s life forever. She was doused in methylated spirits and set alight then left for dead.

Her incredible courage in the face of near-death and life-changing injuries astounded us all. We first met her in October 2013, one year after the attack:

Read the full story

It would be another year before Dana could finally remove her mask and begin to live a normal life again.

Her attacker was jailed for 17 years and Dana's recovery was startling doctors everywhere, finally, we revealed her big moment.

7. Barry Gibb – The last Bee Gee

Nothing was off limits in our world-exclusive and deeply moving interview with the last remaining Bee Gee, Barry Gibb. Four months after the death of his brother Robin, Barry was moved to tears as he talked publicly about his grief for the first time.

The founding member of the Bee Gees, whose hits spanned five decades, opened up to reporter Rahni Sadler about his relationship with his brother.

“My biggest regret is that every brother I’ve lost was in a moment when we were not getting on, and so I have to live with that."

8. Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson celebrates food like never before, but behind the scenes her life was often blighted by tragedy, and how she coped is a remarkable story.

9. ABBA's Agnetha
FULL STORY: Agnetha back on song

When four badly-dressed Swedish musicians won the Eurovision Song Contest 40 years ago, Agnetha, Frida, Benny and Bjorn called themselves ABBA and became a music phenomenon.

Reporter Rahni Sadler meets ABBA golden girl Agnetha Faltskog and the notoriously private star opened up about her life today, her marriage to Ulvaeus, her love of Australia and the highs and lows of life in ABBA.



She also met Ulvaeus, who said he has Australia to thank for the band breaking free of their initial Eurovision ‘one hit wonder’ tag.

Want more Sunday Night? Check out this showreel from our first 200 episodes!

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