Former Channel Seven star Denham Hitchcock reveals why he decided to live at sea with his young family - as he prepares to start new role at Ten
The veteran reporter lived on a catamaran with his wife Mari and their young children before returning to Sydney earlier this year.
He told this week's Stellar magazine how reporting on disasters and destruction and a health scare inspired him to set sail.
'I interviewed people most of the time in a terrible stage of their life, horrendous things have happened to them... And everybody says the same thing: 'I never thought it would happen to me',' he said.
'I realised there's really no good time to leave it behind and go and chase other dreams. So we should just do it and the rest will work itself out.'
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Denham also discussed the new current affairs program he is set to start co-hosting on Channel Ten.
'That's the great unknown. The journos, the network [are] fully behind it. No-one is half-hearted about this show,' he explained.
'And the platforms it will be on is also revolutionary in a way. [I'll be] let out of the gate. [I have] an absolute blockbuster. It's a story 60 Minutes, Four Corners and Spotlight would kill for.'
Industry sources say the new program will focus on long-form investigative stories.
A Ten spokesperson confirmed the shake-up to Daily Mail Australia recently, saying: 'Following the continued growth and success of our news brand, 10 News, we are investing in an investigative unit that will work on long-form stories.'
Earlier this month, Denham officially jumped ship to Network Ten, becoming the third high-profile journalist to exit Seven in a major shake-up of Australia's media landscape.
'Well here we go. I've switched channels. But also in a way – I've come full circle,' Hitchcock began.
'I grew up watching my father on Channel Ten News every night. I had a bunk bed with Eyewitness News stickers all over it – and can still sing the theme song.'
He added: 'So I'm delighted to start work here today – joining the network to help with its plans for the future.'
He also shared a throwback photo of his father, veteran Ten journalist Kevin Hitchcock, sporting a classic 1980s moustache and captioned it with some amusing words: 'Not sure I could pull one of those off – but there's still time.'
The move came just three months after returning to Seven following a break from TV journalism to live on a catamaran with his wife Mari and their young children.
He had originally helped launch Spotlight in 2019 and led the network's coverage of major crime and current affairs stories, including last year's Who Killed Marea? documentary on Sky News.
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