Bianca Stone has announced her resignation from Channel 7 after 18 years with the network.
The long-time Sunrise reporter’s decision has taken her colleagues by surprise, as she informed them on Tuesday that she was leaving the show this week to consider the next step in her career.
Stone has been a Queensland correspondent for the national breakfast show for the last six years. In her statement, she revealed that she officially resigned from the network four weeks ago after reassessing her career over the Christmas break.
Stone said that it came as a shock to Channel 7, but she had been considering leaving for some time.
Stone, a mother of three children aged 22, 9, and 8, shared that she found Sunrise a dream job, but the daily alarm and the pressures of presenting breakfast TV were becoming cumbersome.
Stone revealed that she was still breastfeeding her youngest daughter when she started with Sunrise and has been presenting a live local bulletin in Queensland since 2021 to help overcome the delays caused by daylight saving, meaning she has a daily 2am wake up call.
The Sunrise reporter said that in the beginning, the thrill of Sunrise outweighed the morning alarm, but as she grew older and her daughter grew up, things changed for her.
Over the Christmas break, Stone had a chance to sleep, and her youngest daughter told her, “mum, we really like you when you’re not sleepy and cranky,” which was the catalyst that led her to reassess her career.
Stone made headlines in 2021 when she had a confrontation with Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk over Covid vaccines, and some people have suggested that she should consider getting into politics.
However, Stone said that she hadn’t made any decisions about her future and was open to opportunities, including returning to Channel 7 in a freelance capacity.
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According to Stone, she is ready to wait and see where she lands.
Her departure has led to speculation about who will replace her as the new Queensland correspondent on Sunrise.
Seven’s director of morning television, Sarah Stinson, said that Bianca has been such a valued member of the Sunrise family and leaves with nothing but good wishes and our thanks.
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