Liz Ellis hits out at critics of Footy Show host Erin Molan

AUSSIE netball legend Liz Ellis has come out swinging at critics of Footy Show host and Nine stablemate Erin Molan.Ellis made an impassioned defence of her Channel 9 colleague on Wednesday night, the day after Nine announced its decision to axe the iconic NRL panel program after 25 years. Molan’s prominence as host during its death spiral final season in 2018 saw the 35-year-old come under fire from critics and viewers. Many of the show’s long-running fans still blame Molan for the axing of former host Paul Vautin, something Vautin himself has never voiced. However, critics of the show saved their greatest criticism for the Channel 9 sports presenter — with some going as far as to declare Molan “killed” the Footy Show.

Ellis took aim at those critics in a column for Nine.com.au, where she concluded the extraordinary vitriol directed at Molan can only be the result of her being a woman. “Anyone taking over from Fatty Vautin was always going to be on a hiding to nothing; he was synonymous with the show and is well loved because of it,” Ellis wrote. “So whoever the new host was, male or female, they would have come under fire when the show got axed. “But the commentary about Erin has been incredibly personal, including attacking her for going on maternity leave, so it leaves you no choice but to think this is about her being a woman and daring to take on The Footy Show. “I thought things had changed, but maybe they haven’t.”

Controversy erupts over 'sexist' treatment of Erin Molan

Liz Ellis has come out swinging after Erin Molan was blamed for the demise of the NRL Footy Show. The show’s 25-year run on Australian television came to an end on Tuesday when it was axed. The long-running Thursday night program attempted to reinvent itself this season under new presenter Molan. But it did little to stem the tide, and as news broke that the show had been canned on Tuesday, fans took aim at Molan.

Aussie netball legend Ellis has since hit back at the hate, suggesting the criticism is simply because Molan is a woman. “Anyone taking over from Fatty Vautin was always going to be on a hiding to nothing; he was synonymous with the show and is well loved because of it,” Ellis wrote for Nine. “So whoever the new host was, male or female, they would have come under fire when the show got axed. “But the commentary about Erin has been incredibly personal, including attacking her for going on maternity leave, so it leaves you no choice but to think this is about her being a woman and daring to take on The Footy Show. “I thought things had changed, but maybe they haven’t.” Ellis was particularly furious with backlash around Molan’s decision to take time away from the show when she gave birth.

Erin Molan farewells Footy Show after shock axing

Erin Molan has farewelled the Footy Show following the shock news it has been axed. Describing her time co-hosting as an “incredible privilege”, the journalist expressed her sadness over Nine’s decision to end the sports show after 25 years, after struggling ratings. “What an incredible privilege to be a part of for so many years… Have loved every second,” she wrote, alongside a photo of her with original host Paul ‘Fatty’ Vautin and co-hosts Beau Ryan and Darryl
 

Erin Molan has farewelled the Footy Show following the shock news it has been axed. “Thank you so much to all the wonderful staff who worked behind the scenes – you are amazing.”  While Erin, 36, will still host the Sunday Footy Show until the end of the year, Nine confirmed it will not return in any format in 2019 to The Daily Telegraph. The presenter, who announced her engagement to her now hubby, Sean Ogilvy on air in 2017, had been involved in the show since 2012, becoming a permanent fixture two years later. Her co-host Beau Ryan has also aired his views on the show’s demise, taking a rather tongue-in-cheek tone in his post on social media.