Latest news with #DancingWithTheStarsAustralia
Sky News AU
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sky News AU
'The show is not being cancelled': Seven denies Sonia Kruger in trouble after debunking reports Dancing With The Stars not renewed
Channel 7 has publicly denied reports that Dancing With The Stars Australia will not be renewed after speculation the cancellation could impact the show's hosts Sonia Kruger and Dr Chris Brown. Dancing With The Stars is set to return to Channel 7 next week with 12 popular Australian celebrities set to tackle the foxtrot. Kruger, 59, is reportedly under contract with Seven for over $1 million a year and currently hosts The Voice and Dancing With The Stars. The TV star, who began her career as a ballroom dancer and appeared in the iconic film Strictly Ballroom, has been closely associated with the dance series since it first aired on Seven in 2004. However, the TV star could soon be down to just one gig at Seven amid reports the upcoming season of the long-running dance competition series will be its last. A TV insider who spoke to claimed Seven was 'tipped to axe' Dancing With The Stars because the show is too expensive to produce. Seven's decision to 'revive' the show in 2021 was reportedly at the centre of contract negotiations to woo Kruger back from Channel 9. The contract, which made Kruger one of the highest-paid women in Aussie TV, also included gigs on the now-cancelled Holey Moley and Big Brother. If true, Kruger will be down to just her hosting duties on The Voice to justify her seven figure salary, a rarity in the industry amid a massive drop in viewers and advertising revenue in free-to-air. In a statement to the Daily Mail, Seven debunked reports that Dancing With The Stars will not return to screens in 2026 and insisted 'the show is not being cancelled'. Nine gave Kruger her first on-air presenting role on the series Wonder World! in the 1990s before she moved over to Seven to work as an entertainment reporter. In 2011, Kruger joined Nine for the second time where she hosted the morning program Mornings alongside David Campbell and its successor Today Extra, as well as Big Brother and The Voice. Kruger was rehired by Seven in 2019 by then-CEO James Warburton, who she infamously called 'God' in her Gold Logie acceptance speech. Despite decades of experience, Kruger was only nominated for the Bert Newton Award for Most Popular Presenter at the Logie Awards for the first time in 2022. She was first nominated for the Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television in 2022 and won the top gong in 2023.
Sky News AU
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sky News AU
Shocking Dancing With the Stars salaries leaked as Gold Logie winner Rebecca Gibney tops pay bracket
Salaries for the upcoming season of Dancing With The Stars Australia have reportedly been leaked with Gold Logie winner Rebecca Gibney securing the biggest payday. The long-running dance juggernaut sees a group of Aussie celebrities battle it out on the dancefloor for the iconic Mirror Ball Trophy. Dancing With The Stars is set to return to Channel 7 next week with 12 popular Australian celebrities set to tackle the foxtrot. This year's cast features a variety of well-known TV presenters, actors, newscasters and sports stars 'competing for a charity of their choice'. Stars also receive a participation fee for their appearance on the show, which was entirely pre-recorded in Sydney earlier this year. According to a production insider who spoke to Woman's Day, the 2025 cast has been split into three different pay brackets to reflect their star power. Industry veterans Rebecca Gibney, ex-Bachelor host Osher Günsberg, and comedian Shaun Micallef are reportedly each earning $100,000 to take to the dance floor. Gibney, who won the prestigious Gold Logie in 2009 at the height of her Packed to the Rafters fame, is arguably the biggest name from this year's contestants. Beneath the top three earners, Olympic swimming legend Susie O'Neill, AFL star Trent Cotchin and 7NEWS presenter Michael Usher are reportedly receiving a clean $47,000. O'Neill, who won gold in both Atlanta and Sydney, was recently elected to the prestigious Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) board. At the bottom end of the scale are Olympic boxer Harry Garside, comedian Felicity Ward, Home and Away star Kyle Shilling and 7NEWS presenter Karina Carvalho. All four have reportedly signed on for the bargain price of just $27,000 in exchange for weeks of intensive dance training, minus management fees and tax. The surprisingly paltry salaries come as free-to-air broadcasters slash talent budgets in order to get more bang for their buck amid declining audience numbers. This year's season of Ten's I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Outta Here was reportedly the cheapest in the show's history. 'There's just nowhere near as much money in free-to-air television as there used to be,' an I'm A Celeb source told Yahoo! Lifestyle in January. has reached out to Channel 7 for comment.
