by Sone » Sat Dec 12, 2009 11:11 pm
EDDIE McGuire and Rachael Finch are Channel 9's secret weapons in a 2010 TV ratings offensive, with the pair to present a new sports variety show. McGuire will be joined by Miss Universe Australia Finch and comedian Mick Molloy as co-hosts on the show, being considered for Monday nights.
A new-look Hey, Hey on Wednesdays and a revamped The Footy Show on Thursdays have been tipped as the other expected heavyweights for Nine in next year's ratings battle. A pilot for the McGuire-Finch-Molloy show is to be filmed tomorrow, the Sunday Herald Sun has learned.
Industry insiders said the show would be sports-based and feature audience participation. Presenters and guests would be on a round "island" stage, surrounded by the audience. "It will be a very different set and something we haven't seen before," the source said. "It will have a strong sports influence, but not be completely dominated by sport." Sets for the new pilot were still being built this weekend and the exact content and structure of the show was understood to be a work in progress.
The new show - with a working title of Between The Lines, which may change - would also feature live acts and big international guests. The pilot will be filmed at Nine's Melbourne studios. If the show was picked up by Nine, it would see a strong return to live television for the network. With Hey Hey likely to return on Wednesdays and The Footy Show returning on Thursday nights, Nine's 2010 schedule would have a strong live element.
If the show was picked up, it would represent a major showbusiness breakthrough for Finch.
Since winning the Miss Universe Australia title this year, she has been touted as having more TV star potential than our most famous Miss Australia, Jennifer Hawkins. It is believed she impressed McGuire when she appeared on his Triple M morning show, The Hot Breakfast, and she was a TV hit on Celebrity MasterChef.
Molloy has worked with McGuire in radio and had his own TV program - The Mick Molloy Show, which was cancelled after eight episodes in 1999.
If picked up, their new show would not start until after the Winter Olympics, which McGuire will cover for Nine in February.
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