Lisa Wilkinson has sparked speculation that she is set to quit The Project for a radio gig after the TV veteran was spotted leaving Nova FM’s Melbourne HQ.
WATCH: Lisa Wilkinson laughs as The Project pokes fun at Today show
The Project TV star is reportedly in the middle of contract negotiations with Ten bosses as she comes up to the end of her second year at the current affairs show, with a source telling New Idea she’s pushing for a big pay rise.
However, it looks as though the 59-year-old no longer wants to put all her eggs in one basket and is looking to add a stint in radio to her CV.
“She’s playing hard-ball. She took a pay cut from Nine to jump ship but now she wants a big hike,” the TV insider reveals.
The source adds that Wilkinson wants to be paid the same as her Project colleagues Carrie Bickmore and Waleed Aly, as well as an extra pay bonus to reflect the increased advertising revenue she’s bringing in.
It’s also believed Lisa wants a bigger on-air presence and to focus on more crowd-pulling pieces like her recent Kim Kardashian interview.
“She wants to host a number of prime-time specials in 2020, like Oprah,” the source reveals. “This was always part of the initial discussions to get her from Nine but they haven’t happened.”
And after being spotted in talks with Nova, it looks as though Lisa is looking to follow in her co-star Carrie’s footsteps and tip her toe into radio, too.
Last week, Lisa admitted she was surprised to learn that former colleague, Karl Stefanovic will be returning to the Today show next year.
Speaking to Hit105’s Stav, Abby and Matt, Lisa said: “Look I was surprised because he now knows what it’s like to sleep past that 3am alarm, but he clearly feels like there is some unfinished business so I can’t wish those guys anything but luck,” she said.
“They’ve have obviously had a tough couple of years [and] I wish them well, when you know the pain of that 3am alarm and you are still prepared to do the hard yards I wish them luck.”
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