Talk of TV show's demise gathers pace

Paul Henry. Photo / Doug Sherring

Rumours were circulating last night that Paul Henry's low-rating Australian breakfast show is set to be cancelled.

A Sydney-based News Ltd reporter tweeted that staff of Network Ten's Breakfast show had been called to an urgent meeting at 10 this morning (Sydney time) and speculated that the programme was going to be axed.

Last week, the network tried to douse the rumours about the demise of the show, mostly based on Henry's performance.

A Ten spokesman dismissed the chatter and called it the work of "naughty" people at other networks, a local newspaper reported.

The show has struggled to gain viewers. It has an average daily national audience of around 28,000 people, but on one day this month it attracted just 1000 viewers.

Henry has made no secret of problems on set. In an interview with media website Mumbrella last month, he said: "Where do I begin? You want everybody to be on the same page at the same time. If it is truly going to evolve properly it will take a long time to get to its best. It's a long, long way from its best now."

And during an appearance on Ten's The Project last month, Henry joked about the size of the studio audience: "It is just so nice to get the entire Breakfast audience in one room at one time."

It's been reported that ongoing tension between Henry and his co-hosts led to the departure of presenter Andrew Rochford last month.

The show's executive producer, Majella Wiemers, also quit. Former TVNZ staffer Sarah Bristow - who worked with Henry on TVNZ's Breakfast - took her place.