The chaotic story behind Channel 10’s botched breakfast show Wake Up

Channel 10’s last attempt at a breakfast program, Wake Up, was axed in 2014 after just six months on the air.

And on Thursday, the show’s former host James Mathison revealed why it was ‘the most disastrous thing I’ve ever been anywhere near’.

James, 42, told TV Tonight it was an uphill struggle to get talent to the studio at Queenscliff Surf Club at Manly Beach in the early hours.

‘Getting out to Manly at peak hour… what we would do in the middle of winter, there’s a book in that!’ he said.

James, who presented Wake Up alongside Natarsha Belling, added: ‘It was like the Frontline of breakfast TV, the sequence of events around that.’

Frontline was an ABC series that parodied current affairs shows like 60 Minutes and often poked fun at hapless hosts and executives. 

‘But what came out of it was a very close, beautiful relationship with a super, dear friend of mine, Natarsha Belling. So that was my big takeaway from what was not an overly-glorious moment for 10,’ James said. 

Wake Up was launched in November 2013 in a bid to compete with Channel Seven’s Sunrise and Channel Nine’s Today show.

There were three hosts: Natasha Exelby, James Mathison, and Natarsha Belling.

But just 16 days later, Exelby was cut from the panel after it was decided the show’s chemistry was not working.

The show struggled to attract viewers, averaging 30 to 40,000 per day – about a tenth of the viewers tuning in to Nine and Seven.

While Wake Up was cancelled, morning show Studio 10 survived and is still on air to this day, albeit with a dramatically different format.

This year, the show’s panel was dropped in favour of a two-anchor format hosted by Sarah Harris and Tristan MacManus.