Wendy Petrie has signed off TVNZ's 1 News programme for the last time.
The veteran journalist, who has co-anchored the nightly bulletin job alongside Simon Dallow for the past 14 years, was TVNZ's highest-profile casualty from the broadcaster's recent Covid-19 restructure.
And she had a message for everyone watching the show from at home: thank you.
"Thank you for having me for the last 14 years," she said to the camera as the show ended.
"It's been an honour and a privilege."
Petrie will continue to present across TVNZ's news and current affairs shows in a support presenter role, but will no longer front the 6pm news show.
Her co-anchor Simon Dallow is staying on as 1 News changes to a single presenter format, in line with TVNZ's other news shows Te Karere and 1 News at Midday.
Around 70 TVNZ employees were also made redundant in the network's Covid-related restructure.
Professional to the last, Petrie shared a shared a photo behind the scenes, as she took notes - an entire 8B exercise book worth of them - during the daily Covid-19 press briefing.
"Taking notes, as journos do, on my last live 1pm Covid-19 press briefing for a bit," she captioned the post.
"Filled an entire 8B exercise book!"
Colleague John Campbell paid tribute to the journalist ahead of tonight's show, calling her time on 1 News a "long, great run".
"A shout-out to Wendy Petrie, who (after the split rosters of level 3) is just beginning her last night as a permanent One News presenter," Campbell shared on Twitter.
"Wendy's staying on at TVNZ, working across all programmes (which is so good), but this is the end of a long, great run. Go, Wendy P! You rock!"
Petrie's last show was meant to be August 14, however because of the level 3 lockdown in Auckland she stayed on for TVNZ's split lockdown teams.
What may have been a proper on-air sign off for Petrie was delayed as Auckland entered Covid-19 alert level 3 for a further 12 days.
CEO Kevin Kendrick spoke to Newstalk ZB's Heather Du-Plessis Allan last week about the reaction to Petrie being axed.
"The general mood across our business and across the economy as a whole, is that no one celebrates the loss of a job, and I think everyone feels very keenly for the individuals, and particularly when you've got someone who you've welcomed into your living room for so many years, I think that people feel that personally.
"I think there's been a lot of support for Wendy and I think that's well deserved."
Last month Petrie posted a heartfelt message to her social media after the news was confirmed by TVNZ.
"Driving into Judy Bailey's carpark 14 years ago was a daunting moment, with a newborn baby & a 2 year old at home," she wrote on Instagram.
"It's hard to believe it's been so long & that it's over but I loved every minute.
"Thank you for all the wonderful messages. I've been overwhelmed by your kindness. My now 16 & 14 year old daughters (& son!) tell me how proud & inspired they are, so that's all the motivation I need to keep going for my next exciting step."
Last week TVNZ posted its full-year results, revealing the state broadcaster recorded a $26 million loss.
Chief executive Kevin Kenrick maintained that while the advertising market in the fourth quarter of the 2019/20 financial year (April, May, June) was incredibly challenging, the broadcaster has not seen an equal fallout in advertising revenue this second lockdown.
But the network has capitalised on its ratings dominance of TV3 in news and current affairs programming during the latest lockdown - with 500,000 more Kiwis on average tuning into 1 News at 6pm than Newshub.
Ratings over the past month from July 22 to August 22, have shown TVNZ's 1 News at 6pm has an average nightly audience of 751,421 in the +5 overall demographic.
TV3's Newshub 6pm bulletin had an average audience of 241,656.
While the ratings for both stations' news programmes bumped significantly the week of August 9 to 15 - in which Auckland's second lockdown began - the increase was more significant for TVNZ.
1 News at 6pm increased its viewers by 108,500 the week lockdown began, whereas Newshub only increased by 36,200.
An amicable settlement was reached – but the terms remain confidential.