Today I can reveal exclusively the career changes of three big names in Australia’s political and entertainment arenas that will all be evident when 2023 arrives and new or revamped TV shows hit our small screens.

Hot on the heels of the announcement that she would be the new “face” of ABC TV’s award-winning biographical documentary series Australian Story, former 7.30 host Leigh Sales will also front one of the national broadcaster’s most popular programs, Hard Quiz.

My sources within the ABC tell me that Sales was very keen to take on the new role because she wants to broaden her audience appeal, and leave behind the image she created of herself during her 7.30 years as a sober, serious, hard-nosed, and perhaps humourless, lockdown-hating journalist and interviewer.

“Leigh is head over heels at the prospect of having pretty much free rein to say and do what she likes as host of Hard Quiz,” one source told me.

“She’s seen what current host and stand-up comedian Tom Gleeson has done in the job and as she has already shown in rehearsals (main picture) she can’t wait to have the same leeway.

“She has freely admitted that she felt frustrated at 7.30 for not being able to work ‘blue’, but now all bets are off.”

Gleeson himself will depart Hard Quiz to make way for Sales and will join Sarah Ferguson at 7.30 as co-host.

My sources said the planned change had caused some concern among some in senior management ranks at the ABC who have pointed to the fact that Henderson had been in the role for only six months.

“But others believe Gleeson’s aggressive interview style is superior to that of Ferguson who has struggled to build a rapport with the 7.30 audience since Leigh Sales departed,” one source told me. “Besides, like Leigh he’s a ranga so he’s got an edge already.”

The third familiar face to make a career change will be former prime minister Scott Morrison who will leave politics to host a new Australian version of British hit quiz panel show Would I Lie To You? (below)

ABC insiders, not connected to the ABC’s Insiders, told me that the hosting job was offered to Morrison after he had already been signed to appear as the captain of one of the show’s two weekly teams who try to guess whether the other team’s members are lying or telling the truth about various personal anecdotes.

“The ABC signed him up as a regular WILTY team captain but then had to shift him sideways into the hosting role after test audiences turned off because the opposite team members invariably guessed Morrison was lying,” one insider told me.

“The trouble was that they were always right. He always was lying no matter what story he told.

“Even when the opposing team made their guess that he was lying, Morrison often hit the button to declare he was telling the truth, only to be forced to quickly correct the record by admitting he was lying.

“He also caused grief for producers of WILTY during rehearsals by attempting to secretly take over the roles of all other five guest panellists.

“The only solution was to put him in the host’s seat,” the insider said.