Latest news with #DebbieVoulgaris
News.com.au
a day ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
‘Temu ACA': 10 News+ roasted by viewers
Channel 10's replacement for The Project has been roasted by viewers during its debut episode on Monday. Despite Network 10 bagging an interview with the Prime Minister in a bid to win viewers over, it seems the new show has fallen flat with those watching at home. As it aired on Monday night, many took to X to share their views on The Project's replacement, and sadly for Network 10, most opinions appeared overwhelmingly negative, with some labelling 10 News+ a knockoff of rival network shows like A Current Affair. 'Anyone else bored so far? #10newsplus,' tweeted one viewer, with another agreeing: 'Same. Disappointing.' 'You replaced the project with a Temu ACA not seeing @theprojecttv is incredibly depressing. 10news+ sucks!' remarked a third viewer. Another complained about the format of the new show, tweeting: 'Please no more long investigation reports it's 6pm!' 'This is proper @Channel7 style commercial JUNK. It's like watching a cross between Fox News and Anchorman. Why the silly news voices!? questioned another disgruntled viewer. 'This is like ACA. Going to peoples houses to talk & them avoiding the cameras. Lots of nodding,' commented another viewer. One however, praised the show's lead story on convicted drug smuggler Debbie Voulgaris, who gave an exclusive interview from a Taiwan prison. 'Loving 10 news +, strong launch story. Is this the new Schapelle Corby story we all need to know about. 10 news should be very proud,' they wrote. The show's interview with the Prime Minister also sparked some viewer backlash, with journalists Denham Hitchcock and Amelia Brace being called out for their interviewing techniques, which saw the PM interrupted multiple times. 'Some ridiculous questions and hectoring tone from both hosts in this very disappointing interview with the PM,' ranted one. 'You replaced #theprojecttv for this tabloid junk??I'm turning this off!' complained another. 'This is trash, so dry and bland. Time for the project 2.0 and a game show in a prime time slot up against Home and Away. Good luck!' tweeted a third unimpressed viewer. While a fourth added: Oh dear. I thought I would give 10 News Plus a go. I feel like we have regressed 20 years! An inauthentic painfully choreographed attempt at current affairs!' Meanwhile, it was an emotional final episode of The Project on Channel 10 on Friday after over 16 years on-screen with surprise appearances from Carrie Bickmore and Lisa Wilkinson. Regular hosts Waleed Aly, Sarah Harris, Sam Taunton and Georgie Tunny bid farewell to viewers during an emotional final episode. 'I can't actually look at you all, I'm so sorry, because you've just been an absolute dream to work with,' said Tunny as she broke down. 'There can be a lot said about the media industry and it's cat fights and all of this, but this has been a family from the beginning and I know that you'll still in my life.'
Perth Now
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Aussie mum breaks silence from Taiwan jail
Television's widely anticipated replacement for The Project has kicked off with an exclusive interview with convicted Australian drug smuggler Debbie Voulgaris from a Taiwanese prison. 10 News+, which will air from 6pm on weeknights, promises viewers 'explosive' revelations in the case for its first episode. Ms Voulgaris, a Melbourne mum-of-five, speaks from an overcrowded women's prison in Taipei and states emphatically that she is innocent of the allegations that have put her behind bars for 15 years. Ms Voulgaris was caught with 4kg of heroin and a small amount of cocaine at Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan in late 2023. She pleaded guilty to the charge and in late 2024 she was sentenced to 15 years in prison. But she has maintained that she brought drugs in unknowingly. Now, appearing on the current affairs program helmed by journalists Denham Hitchcock and Amelia Brace, she pleads with two of her children via a video call to help get her back home to Australia. Debbie Voulgaris says she is innocent of her drug smuggling conviction. 10 News Credit: Supplied 'I'm innocent. I am innocent,' she says through tears. 'Please help me to get home as soon as possible. 'To my angels, that's all I can say.' The program claims to have evidence that supports Ms Voulgaris' claim of innocence. 'She confessed in court in Taiwan, didn't she?' Mr Hitchcock in a clip of the program seen by NewsWire. 'Well, prepare yourself. The truth is explosive.' In earlier promotional material, Mr Hitchcock and Ms Brace promise viewers the show will 'put the truth first'. Mr Hitchcock has also claimed Monday night's episode would be 'an absolute blockbuster'. 'It's a story 60 Minutes, Four Corners and Spotlight would kill for,' he told Stellar Magazine. The Project ran for 16 years, ending its run with a farewell show last Friday night. Mr Aly, in an emotional tribute, said the show had 'reflected the best of this country'. Journalists Denham Hitchcock and Walkley Award-winning journalist Amelia Brace will helm the new current affairs show. 10 News Credit: Supplied 'Could you do a prime time commercial news show that hooked its audience by playing with them instead of scaring them,' he said. 'That didn't trade on demonising groups of people who have no platform to respond? 'Not the done thing. Well, we done the thing.' The Project launched in 2009 and Friday's finale was its 4504th episode. Australian and international celebrities sent in supportive farewell video messages, with thanks and well wishes coming from G Flip, Robert Irwin, Jess Mauboy, Andy Lee, Pete Murray, Dannii Minogue, Katy Perry, Guy Sebastian and Shane Jacobson. The Project's longest-serving host, Carrie Bickmore, was close to tears thanking everyone she crossed paths with over 13 years. Ms Bickmore left the show to devote herself fully to fundraising efforts. Channel 10 is owned by US entertainment giant Paramount Global.
News.com.au
a day ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Convicted drug smuggler Debbie Voulgaris gives exclusive interview to 10 News+ from Taiwan prison
Television's widely anticipated replacement for The Project has kicked off with an exclusive interview with convicted Australian drug smuggler Debbie Voulgaris from a Taiwanese prison. 10 News+, which will air from 6pm on weeknights, promises viewers 'explosive' revelations in the case for its first episode. Ms Voulgaris, a Melbourne mum-of-five, speaks from an overcrowded women's prison in Taipei and states emphatically that she is innocent of the allegations that have put her behind bars for 15 years. Ms Voulgaris was caught with 4kg of heroin and a small amount of cocaine at Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan in late 2023. She pleaded guilty to the charge and in late 2024 she was sentenced to 15 years in prison. But she has maintained that she brought drugs in unknowingly. Now, appearing on the current affairs program helmed by journalists Denham Hitchcock and Amelia Brace, she pleads with two of her children via a video call to help get her back home to Australia. 'I'm innocent. I am innocent,' she says through tears. 'Please help me to get home as soon as possible. 'To my angels, that's all I can say.' The program claims to have evidence that supports Ms Voulgaris' claim of innocence. 'She confessed in court in Taiwan, didn't she?' Mr Hitchcock in a clip of the program seen by NewsWire. 'Well, prepare yourself. The truth is explosive.' In earlier promotional material, Mr Hitchcock and Ms Brace promise viewers the show will 'put the truth first'. Mr Hitchcock has also claimed Monday night's episode would be 'an absolute blockbuster'. 'It's a story 60 Minutes, Four Corners and Spotlight would kill for,' he told Stellar Magazine. The Project ran for 16 years, ending its run with a farewell show last Friday night. Mr Aly, in an emotional tribute, said the show had 'reflected the best of this country'. 'Could you do a prime time commercial news show that hooked its audience by playing with them instead of scaring them,' he said. 'That didn't trade on demonising groups of people who have no platform to respond? 'Not the done thing. Well, we done the thing.' The Project launched in 2009 and Friday's finale was its 4504th episode. Australian and international celebrities sent in supportive farewell video messages, with thanks and well wishes coming from G Flip, Robert Irwin, Jess Mauboy, Andy Lee, Pete Murray, Dannii Minogue, Katy Perry, Guy Sebastian and Shane Jacobson. The Project's longest-serving host, Carrie Bickmore, was close to tears thanking everyone she crossed paths with over 13 years. Ms Bickmore left the show to devote herself fully to fundraising efforts.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Aussie mum breaks silence from Taiwan jail
Television's widely anticipated replacement for The Project has kicked off with an exclusive interview with convicted Australian drug smuggler Debbie Voulgaris from a Taiwanese prison. 10 News+, which will air from 6pm on weeknights, promises viewers 'explosive' revelations in the case for its first episode. Ms Voulgaris, a Melbourne mum-of-five, speaks from an overcrowded women's prison in Taipei and states emphatically that she is innocent of the allegations that have put her behind bars for 15 years. Ms Voulgaris was caught with 4kg of heroin and a small amount of cocaine at Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan in late 2023. She pleaded guilty to the charge and in late 2024 she was sentenced to 15 years in prison. But she has maintained that she brought drugs in unknowingly. Now, appearing on the current affairs program helmed by journalists Denham Hitchcock and Amelia Brace, she pleads with two of her children via a video call to help get her back home to Australia. 'I'm innocent. I am innocent,' she says through tears. 'Please help me to get home as soon as possible. 'To my angels, that's all I can say.' The program claims to have evidence that supports Ms Voulgaris' claim of innocence. 'She confessed in court in Taiwan, didn't she?' Mr Hitchcock in a clip of the program seen by NewsWire. 'Well, prepare yourself. The truth is explosive.' In earlier promotional material, Mr Hitchcock and Ms Brace promise viewers the show will 'put the truth first'. Mr Hitchcock has also claimed Monday night's episode would be 'an absolute blockbuster'. 'It's a story 60 Minutes, Four Corners and Spotlight would kill for,' he told Stellar Magazine. The Project ran for 16 years, ending its run with a farewell show last Friday night. Mr Aly, in an emotional tribute, said the show had 'reflected the best of this country'. 'Could you do a prime time commercial news show that hooked its audience by playing with them instead of scaring them,' he said. 'That didn't trade on demonising groups of people who have no platform to respond? 'Not the done thing. Well, we done the thing.' The Project launched in 2009 and Friday's finale was its 4504th episode. Australian and international celebrities sent in supportive farewell video messages, with thanks and well wishes coming from G Flip, Robert Irwin, Jess Mauboy, Andy Lee, Pete Murray, Dannii Minogue, Katy Perry, Guy Sebastian and Shane Jacobson. The Project's longest-serving host, Carrie Bickmore, was close to tears thanking everyone she crossed paths with over 13 years. Ms Bickmore left the show to devote herself fully to fundraising efforts. Channel 10 is owned by US entertainment giant Paramount Global.
News.com.au
a day ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Network 10 to air The Project replacement, 10News+ on Monday night
Channel 10's replacement for The Project will air for the first time on Monday evening as part of the Network's latest bid for a ratings win. The Project aired its last episode on Friday and is being replaced by 10News+ which will be the first commercial free-to air news program to also be available as a video podcast via global streaming service Spotify. Television journalist Denham Hitchcock will co-anchor the show with his former Seven Network colleague Amelia Brace, with the pair insisting in promos for the show that they will 'put the truth first'. Hitchcock has also promised a banger of a first episode too. He told Stellar Magazine that he was excited to have been 'let out of the gate' on stories and revealed he had one up his sleeve for months. 'It's an absolute blockbuster,' he teased. 'It's a story 60 Minutes, Four Corners and Spotlight would kill for.' 'It's a story on a Melbourne mother of five called Debbie Voulgaris. She was in the news cycle not too long ago. She got caught going into Taiwan with seven kilos of heroin and cocaine in her suitcase. She said that she was not guilty. In February this year, the day before her trial, she pled guilty. She was sentenced to 16 years prison in Taiwan, and since then, she's disappeared from the news cycle. 'The real truth behind that story is something quite different. At the heart of it is a scam, and she was asked to go by someone that she knows very well, to go and deliver a suitcase. She did not know the contents of that suitcase. Now this investigation that you will see, will have all of the messages, the scam, how it started, who the person is, who sent her there who asked her to go and what is currently happening with her in Taiwan. In fact, you'll hear from her from a Taiwanese prison cell.' Starting off his career straight out of high school in 1995, Hitchcock answered phones and filled the biscuit barrel for Today Tonight on Seven. 'To truly try and make a difference and enrich the lives of the people you come across is what I'm most proud of,' Hitchcock said of his 30 years on the road. 'I've managed to do that in a lot of cases, and that gives me the most amount of hope. There's still beauty among the rubble and devastation. You just have to look for it.' Meanwhile, it was an emotional final episode of The Project on Channel 10 after over 16 years on-screen with surprise appearances from Carrie Bickmore and Lisa Wilkinson. Regular hosts Waleed Aly, Sarah Harris, Sam Taunton and Georgie Tunny bid farewell to viewers during an emotional final episode. In the end, it all came down to heartbreaking final speeches from Georgie Tunny and Waleed Aly, both of whom fought back tears but in the end relented to their emotions as they clocked out of the studio one final time. 'I can't actually look at you all, I'm so sorry, because you've just been an absolute dream to work with,' said Tunny as she broke down. 'There can be a lot said about the media industry and it's cat fights and all of this, but this has been a family from the beginning and I know that you'll still in my life.' 'Thanks to the people who built this from nothing,' began Aly. 'The people who made this show 4,504 times, on camera and off. People long gone and here today. Every one of you is indispensable. Thank you to our guests over the years. To those who came to play, or persuade. To those who came on to be challenged, to meet us in the great public square of our lives, who disagreed with us in good faith over the years: thank you so much. You made us better. And thank you to you at home. Thanks for letting us into your hearts. Cliche thing to say is to let us in your living rooms but that is inadequate. Instead, thank you for letting us into your hearts.'
