EXCLUSIVE:
It was August 1st 1964 when ATV-0 first broadcast from its Nunawading studios, built in 1963 under Reg Ansett. The studios were identified as the Best Building of the Year by the Royal Victorian Institute of Architects in 1965, later given heritage overlay in 2016.
The new station opened with a preview program hosted by Barry McQueen and Nancy Cato followed by a variety program, This Is It!
The site has been home to countless productions including Neighbours (still filmed on site), Prisoner, Young Talent Time, Rove Live, The Magic Circle Club, Holiday Island, The Comedy Company, Carson’s Law, The Box, Kommotion, The Early Bird Show and TEN Eyewitness News.
To mark the network’s 60th anniversaary today, TV Tonight sought some memories from some of the longest-serving network faces -all of them in News.
Jennifer Keyte, 10 News First Melbourne Presenter.
1. What show did you first appear on 10 and which year?
My first job at Channel 10 in Nunawading was with the 10 Eyewitness News team as a very young reporter.
2. What are your earliest memories of working at Channel 10?
Channel 10 was a powerhouse in the early 80s! It was a great place to work. The news was number one. I was working with the best in the business. Jana Wendt and David Johnston were presenting the news. We had two helicopters!
3. Any career highlights you can share? A highlight was working on the Ash Wednesday bushfires. I learnt how important our jobs were in a time of crisis. 10 had the best Live eye facilities in the business. I also loved presenting the weekend news with Charles Slade who used to have a sneaky cigarette during the ad breaks. Other highlights included interviewing Sophia Loren, Jimmy Stewart, and Freddie Mercury from Queen.
4. What shows have been your favourites over this period?
Apart from the news and Good Morning Australia, I loved The Comedy Company, Before the Game, The Panel, MasterChef, Survivor and who can forget Number 96 and The Box! I also loved Charlie’s Angels, Colombo, The Good Wife, Hawaii Five-0, Gilligan’s Island, Lost in Space. And Murphy’s Law.
5. Give us 3 adjectives you feel best describe the 10 brand.
I think you can describe the 10 brand as dynamic, entertaining and fun.
Stephen Quartermain, 10 News First Melbourne Presenter.
1. What show did you first appear on 10 and which year?
Eyewitness News… December 1984
2. What are your earliest memories of working at Channel 10?
The Melbourne news department was arguably the best ever TV news team assembled in Australian history. Big statement I know. But take a look at all the names working there at the time. We were based in Nunawading and it was such an exciting place to work. The station was star studded with shows like Neighbours, Young Talent Time, Prisoner, Comedy Company. Just great people all walking around the corridors every day. Fun times!
3. Any career highlights you can share?
I’m probably best known for getting slapped around by Laurie Lawrence in 1988 at the Seoul Olympics. And for calling the famous “Leo Barry you star” mark in the 2005 AFL grand final. I also thoroughly enjoyed working on Working Dog’s show “The Panel”.
4. What shows have been your favourites over this period?
My favourite 10 shows would be news (of course), The Panel, Comedy Company, all our big sporting events, MasterChef, Have You Been Paying Attention? Good Morning Australia with Bert Newton was also a hoot… and I was lucky enough to fill in as host for the great man on quite a few occasions.
5. Give us 3 adjectives you feel best describe the 10 brand.
Young. Brash. Tumultuous… because we’ve had a lot of owners and financial dramas… there’s never been a dull moment!
Angela Bishop, Host and Network Entertainment Editor.
1. What show did you first appear on 10 and which year?
The first show I appeared on was Eyewitness News in May 1989 as a general reporter.
2. What are your earliest memories of working at Channel 10?
I was so excited to be working at the big studios at North Ryde, mainly because I knew they had filmed my all-time favourite Channel 10 show “Graham Kennedy’s Blankety Blanks” there in the 70s. In fact, I was so excited to get to my first day I checked myself out of hospital, where I’d been all weekend after being a passenger in a car accident. A few broken ribs weren’t going to stop me turning up for my first day. They were heady times. There were two helicopters parked outside the newsroom which we could jump into if a story broke. One Christmas Day I had to fly to Orange to cover a horrific murder. Some of the people I worked with in the early days include Larry Emdur, Steve Liebmann, Geraldine Doogue, Mike Gibson, Derryn Hinch, Alan Jones, Sandra Sully, Kevin Hitchcock, Eric Walters, Ron Wilson, Tim Webster, Jessica Rowe, Anne Fulwood, Kerri-Anne Kennerly, Bert Newton, Eddy Meyer, Damian Ryan, Rebecca Wilson, Sean Flannery and of course the legend Harry Potter.
3. Any career highlights you can share?
A definite career highlight was getting a call from Tom Gleisner at Working Dog asking me to join their brand new show “The Panel” to talk about what was going on in the showbiz world. That first night, live on air Wednesday at 9:30pm, was one of the most exhilarating and terrifying of my life. I’d flown in from Perth that day, having spent the previous evening partying backstage with Molly Meldrum and U2 after the band’s Zooropa concert.
4. What shows have been your favourites over this period?
I learned a lot, and really enjoyed my time working as a reporter on Hinch – that was before I switched to covering entertainment. Working with Bert Newton on GMA was a joy and a lesson in how live TV could be done, and of course I’ll always love Studio 10.
5. Give us 3 adjectives you feel best describe the 10 brand.
Bold, innovative, friendly.
Sandra Sully, 10 News First Presenter.
1. What show did you first appear on 10 and which year?
I started with the Network in 1990.
2. What are your earliest memories of working at Channel 10?
I had the great privilege of starting my career in 10’s Canberra, Parliament House bureau and working alongside the wonderful Paul Bongiorno and Maxine McKew. A snap federal election was called within a few months of me starting, so it was certainly a baptism of fire for a young and very green journo.
3. Any career highlights you can share?
Gosh there are so many to be honest. Aside from my wonderful colleagues throughout my decades at 10, the camaraderie in the Newsroom has always been just outstanding. In terms of opportunities, I can’t beat presenting 10’s Late News for nearly 18 years, as well as working on the Victoria Commonwealth Games and Atlanta Olympic Games, where aside from the shocking bombing – our athletes shone. Of course, who can forget Kieran Perkins winning gold from Lane 8, and our Hockeyroos Gold medal!
I was also privileged to work on several documentaries including: September 11, New York One Year On as well as Bali, 12 months after the Bali bombings. East Timor, a decade after self-government for the world’s youngest nation. For sheer fun – it’s pretty hard to beat driving in the Celebrity Car Race at Albert Park and having a week of driving training at Sandown with Allan Moffat and Geoff Brabham to prepare for it – what a hoot!
4. What shows have been your favourites over this period?
I will always have a soft spot for The Panel and Rove. They were so innovative at the time and must watch TV. That late night banter made the show, and of course, gave me such a wonderful lead in for Late News.
5. Give us 3 adjectives you feel best describe the 10 brand.
Cheeky, Innovative, Fun.
An intimate event will also be held to mark the 60th today at 10’s Project studio in South Yarra.
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