Why Paul Henry never returned to our screens as promised

Coming amidst booming ratings and a bonkers Canvas interview, Paul Henry's exit from Mediaworks last year was a very big deal.

The controversial broadcaster announced his departure from the network last November, and filmed his final show in December.

Henry said he was entering a period of "semi-retirement" and could no longer face the early mornings that his role on his Paul Henry morning show demanded of him.

But much was also made about Henry's continued ties to Mediaworks, with appearances on Three's 7pm show The Project promised as well as work on special projects.

"I very much want to remain part of the MediaWorks family," Henry reportedly told crowds at Three's new season launch last November.

But that hasn't really happened.

Henry has made just one appearance on Three this year, when he appeared as a guest panelist on The Project in February.

During that show, things got a bit strange when Henry called then Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei "foxy" during a live interview, and engaged in banter about genitals and office sex.

When asked, a Three spokesperson said Henry was spending too much time overseas to appear more frequently.

"With Paul spending much of his time overseas, it's a little tough to have him on the rotating panel for The Project."

Three's spokesperson also confirmed Henry was not under contract at the network.

Henry owns property in Palm Springs, and according to his daughter Bella Henry's Instagram account, he appears to be living the American dream.

She posted a birthday pic for her dad in August that showed him looking relaxed while wearing a Palm Springs T-shirt.

It read: "Happy birthday to my Palm Springs dad."

View this post on Instagram

Happy birthday to my Palm Springs dad ❤️ #birthdayboy #loveyou #retiredlife

A post shared by BellaCollett (@belllhenry) on Aug 3, 2017 at 7:15pm PDT

View this post on Instagram

Can you guess where we went today ? 🏰 #myhappyplace #america

A post shared by BellaCollett (@belllhenry) on Jun 1, 2017 at 12:23am PDT

Henry courted controversy in his final months at Three when he gave a strange interview to canvas that included comments about a woman's "perfect titties".

The interview seemed to spark a war of words with Henry's former newsreader Hilary Barry, who later took a dig at her former co-host when she moved to TVNZ's Breakfast.