Channel 10 Telly-Brates Six Decades Of Television Magic –
* For six decades, Channel 10 has provided Australians with comedy, drama, reality, news, sport, and entertainment. The list of television moments and memories are so long that we couldn’t possibly cover them all, but rest assured, each one has played a special part in our rich history. *
It’s time to raise your remote (or your smartphone, laptop, iPhone – you get the gist!) and join us as Channel 10 celebrates 60 years of laughter, drama, and the occasional blooper.
In the primetime of their lives, Channel 10 turns 60. From launching some of Australia’s most beloved shows to creating unforgettable television moments, Channel 10 has been at the heart of Aussie homes since 1 August 1964 when Channel O was first broadcast in Melbourne.
Setting the scene for six decades, the shows and the people have become part of our cultural fabric with moments that have made us laugh, cry, and shout “but he has to pick someone!” at the television screen.
From the day Kylie Minogue moved into Ramsay Street to Australian Idol turning unknown singers into household names faster than you can say “voting lines are now open”, you, the viewer, have come along for the ride.
We came out swinging in the 60s. When Channel O flickered to life with a one-hour variety program, This Is It, actor and co-host Brian James said the first televised words:
“August the 1st 1964, 7:56. Channel O is now part of the life of Melbourne and the past that made us.”
Although technically, the real start to our story was this test broadcast: “This is ATV Channel O. We are broadcasting a picture and sound so you may adjust your television receiver for this new channel in the Melbourne area. If you are not receiving a clear picture, we suggest you call your service man”.
Our first on-air female journalist lit up our screens a year later. Her name was Tanya Halesworth and, alongside Bill Peach, she co-produced and anchored a current affairs show on TEN-10 called Telescope. In 1978, Katrina Lee was appointed as co-presenter of Ten Eyewitness News. Together with Margaret Throsby (ABC) and Melody Iliffe (QTQ-9), Katrina was part of a pioneering group who became the first women to read television news bulletins in Australia.
The 70s were filled with killer hairstyles and iconic shows such as Prisoner, The Mike Walsh Show, The Box, Matlock Police, Young Talent Time, and Blankety Blanks hosted by Graham Kennedy.
But it was Number 96 – Australia’s first primetime soap airing five nights a week – that really got Australia talking. The series brought taboo subjects like sex, infidelity, drugs, racism and homosexuality into many homes for the first time.
In the very first episode of the show in 1972, actress Vivienne Garrett appeared topless after her character Rose Godolfus, was caught having sex in bed, prompting protesters to picket the Channel 10 studios the next day. Depending on which newspaper you read, Australian television either lost its innocence or its virginity.
When Lucy had her breast cancer scare, Australian women rushed to their GPs en masse and had their first-ever screening for breast cancer and when lawyer Don came out as openly gay, series creator David Sale said: “In 1971 homosexuality was against the law and in some places classed as a mental illness. I really didn’t care. It existed, so it was included”.
In 1975, Channel 10 was the first station to go to air in colour, finally letting viewers see their favourite shows in all their technicolour glory.
The 80s saw us get a perm and rock shoulder pads. Going on to be Australia’s longest running drama, Neighbours became a phenomenon, with no other television wedding ever coming close to topping Scott and Charlene’s big day in July 1987.
Fast forward to September 2018 when Neighbours made history with television’s first legal same sex wedding officiated by none other than Magda Szubanski.
If you didn’t use inflatable pool toys to create your own version of It’s A Knockout in the backyard, were you even an 80s kid?
He was the moon-faced legend of Australian Showbiz. In 1992, Bert Newton found his home on 10 as the host of The Morning Show (later Good Morning Australia) for 14 years. The country spent their mornings with Bert where he shared his cheeky charisma through interviews, music, a little cooking, a lot of fun and a few ad libs, everything Bert did so well.
Sandra Sully took the reins of Ten’s Late News, we launched our flagship sports program Sports Tonight and Meet The Press tackled national politics.
The 90s also saw Channel 10 embrace a new wave of televised comedy with specials from the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, alongside news entertainment shows like Good News Week and The Panel.
Music lovers enjoyed Take 40 Australia, and the network introduced unforgettable children’s programs like Totally Wild, with the beloved Ranger Stacey, and Cheez TV.
And of course, who can forget the irrepressible campaign for Melrose Place that created some buzz (um, and maybe some criticism!), touting that “Tuesday night’s a b*tch”.
“Say hi to your mum for me” – the infamous catchphrase that Rove McManus made iconic on his show Rove Live. So iconic, that it went viral, becoming the parting phrase of choice that Aussies used to end every conversation.
We were there with Sandra Sully on September 11, 2001, as she broke the news, live on air, to Australians right across the country, that New York was facing a terrorist attack.
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The new century heralded new groundbreaking content. We led the industry in the noughties with pioneering reality television at its best.
Big Brother premiered on 10 in 2001 and when 2004 housemate Merlin taped up his mouth and refused to answer Gretel Killeen’s questions, it became a moment in the history of live television.
In 2003, a pre-streaming era, more than 3.3 million people tuned in to watch Guy Sebastian win Australian Idol, a moment cemented in pop culture history.
Bare skin, blatant lies, and a whole lot of backstabbing. No, we aren’t talking The Bachelor, it’s Australian Survivor. From Jonathan LaPaglia’s end of tribal one-liners to King George’s tribal council masterclass that New York Times called one of the best television episodes of 2023, Australian Survivor is a lesson in world class reality.
In 2009, our cheeky new news baby, The 7pm Project, was born. Sporting a name change to The Project, the now 15-year-old, has made an art of combining serious news reporting with entertainment and light-hearted banter, making complex topics more accessible. It’s the place where the biggest stars in the world come to chat and play, as well as somewhere to tackle the issues that matter. After the Paris terror attack in 2015, Waleed Aly’s passionate calls for unity against ISIS was viewed more than 13 million times on Facebook and went viral across the globe.
In the same year, culinary revolution, MasterChef Australia, made cooking something to look forward to. For five nights a week, the show inspired millions of viewers to try their luck at a croquembouche and turned Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston into instant household names. Cravats also made a comeback. But it wasn’t just the mind-blowing cooking that made this show revolutionary.
In an emotional television moment, Jock Zonfrillo supported contestant Brent Draper through his brave decision to leave the show, informing Jock he ‘had nothing left’. Brent returned two years later in 2023 to win the title of MasterChef Australia.
Dramas like E Street, The Secret Life Of Us, Puberty Blues, Offspring and Five Bedrooms had us hooked and were appointment viewing in a time when binge-watching an entire series wasn’t a thing. When Dr Nina Proudman had finally found love with the handsome and brooding Dr Patick Reid and was expecting their first baby together, to the horror and despair of viewers, Patrick died.
While one New South Wales police department put out a Facebook post informing bereft locals that investigating the sudden death would be beyond their jurisdiction, #Offspring trended worldwide, much to the confusion of American rock band The Offspring, who had no idea why thousands of people were suddenly abusing them for killing a man.
2015 saw Carrie Bickmore win the red-carpet fashion stakes, and the hearts of the nation when she placed a bright blue beanie on her head, using her two-minute Gold Logie acceptance speech to raise awareness about Brain Cancer.
“Can I steal you for a second?” to “Our connection is real” to “She’s not here for the right reasons”, to “Will you accept this rose” to “I’m a Gemini”, they are the catchphrases that made The Bachelor Australiafamous. Special shout out to cupid and host, Osher Günsberg and his ever changing, ever perfect hairstyles which had a fan base of their own.
Over the past 60 years, Channel 10 has broadcast nearly every code of sport both local and international from Horse Racing to Formula One, MotoGP to Football, Rugby Union to Rugby League and AFL, as well as Olympic and Commonwealth Games.
Logie awards for Sport commenced in 1977 and since that time, our sport coverage has won on seven different occasions including for the KFC T20 Big Bash League Cricket in 2016 after we took the sport to a whole new level.
But we didn’t just broadcast sport, we went behind-the-scenes, dissected and relived every heart-stopping moment with shows like Sports Tonight, RPM and Before The Game.
If there is anything we have learnt in the last six decades, it’s the location of a nation’s funny bone. When laughter was mandatory and seriousness optional, 10 had it covered with shows like The Comedy Company, Russell Coight’s All Aussie Adventures, Skit House, The Panel, and Have You Been Paying Attention?
While we can’t list all our favourite and memorable moments and whether you’ve joined us from your living room, travelled with us to the jungle, cooked with us, watched breaking news with us, cheered with us, giggled with us in the studio, on the set of a game show or on a panel, here’s to many more years of laughs, drama, and maybe a few more kidnappings in Ramsay Street.
Thank you, our Aussie viewers, for being a part of our incredible story, we are your number one fan!
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Channel 10 Telly-Brates Six Decades Of Television Magic
