Robyn Williams Leaves ABC's Science Show After 51 Years — SkimNews
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- Robyn Williams is leaving The Science Show after 51 years, departing in December from what the ABC calls the longest-running program on the network with the same host
- Williams, now 82, was 31 when the program launched in 1975; the ABC has offered him the chance to make science documentaries in 2027 and remain on the payroll for another year
- ABC managing director Hugh Marks said in May the broadcaster "has trouble stopping things" and must move away from preserving every legacy format — comments he later said were hypothetical
- Alan Kohler, 74, announced his own retirement a fortnight earlier, delivering his 4,035th and final finance bulletin on Wednesday after three decades as the ABC's financial journalist
- ABC insiders told Guardian Australia Williams "would prefer to keep going until he drops," but management is keen on generational change, with no replacement named in the announcement
- Williams was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1988 and an Officer of the Order in 2020, and has received honorary doctorates from Sydney, UNSW, ANU, Macquarie, Queensland, South Australia and Deakin
- Marks now has his hand-picked news director Simon Robinson on board, and more programming changes are expected as Marks approaches his second anniversary at the helm in March
Why it matters: Williams' exit closes the longest continuous presenter-program relationship in ABC history at a broadcaster publicly signalling it will not indefinitely preserve legacy formats. With Kohler also stepping down after 30 years, two of the ABC's most enduring on-air voices are being replaced within weeks of each other, and management has so far named no successor for the science slot.
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