Melbourne’s stage four lockdown has had a drastic impact on many of Australia’s favourite reality TV shows, with several stars trapped inside the Victorian capital or forced to isolate for 14 days after heading back home interstate.
Now Channel 10 has confirmed its star host Osher Gunsberg will sadly miss out on hosting several crucial episodes of The Bachelorette, as he is currently stuck in quarantine after a coronavirus cluster shut down filming of The Masked Singer in Melbourne.
WATCH: Osher gets tested for COVID-19
Last week, Channel 10 revealed several crew members on The Masked Singer tested positive for coronavirus.
“The entire production team, including the masked singers, the host and panellists are now in self-isolation,” the network posted in a statement on Twitter at the time.
“They are all being monitored closely and are in constant contact with medical authorities.”
Osher and the show’s cast and crew are currently halfway through their mandatory 14-day self isolation period.
Once that is over, the grand finale of the fan-favourite singing show will need to be filmed, and then the 46-year-old can safely return home to Sydney to be with his wife Audrey and the couple’s baby son Wolfgang.
But that means Osher will be unable to appear in several episodes of Ten’s other hit reality program, The Bachelorette, which is currently being filmed in New South Wales.
Ten confirmed the sad news in a statement on Monday.
“Osher Günsberg remains the host of The Bachelorette Australia. He will not appear in some of the later episodes due to quarantine restrictions,” the network said in a statement to the Herald Sun.
This is the second time Osher has been absent from his hosting duties on The Bachelorette. He did not appear during the finale on Angie Kent’s season last year, as he was attending the birth of his son.
Ten did not bring in a replacement then – and it’s unclear if they will do the same this year.
The Bachelorette format will look a little different to previous years in 2020, with Bachie alumni Elly Miles, along with her sister Becky Miles, starring as the program’s first double Bachelorettes.
It’s a format that’s seen success previously in New Zealand, with two women simultaneously seeking love on the show during the same season.
Elly rose to fame on Matt Agnew’s season of The Bachelor last year.
While he was stuck in quarantine, Osher sadly missed out on celebrating the first birthday of his son last week.
The star took to Instagram to wish his baby a happy birthday and sent a message of support to other Australians separated from their loved ones right now.
“I know I’m not alone in missing my family. I know there’s a lot of people who can’t be with their loved ones right now. It sucks that’s for sure, but it is the thing that we need to do to keep everybody safe,” Osher wrote.
“We will be able to deal with this, we will be able to cope. A day at a time, an hour at a time if we need to.”