The blanket coverage of the internal ructions at the Seven Network in recent weeks and the reemergence of one Mark Llewellyn (and his bald head cited in court) put us in mind of the explosive 2006 affidavit by the TV exec (now Spotlight executive producer, then the recently departed current affairs boss at Nine) that landed in our inbox back in the day — cementing the immortal terms “boned” and “shit sandwich” into the wider lexicon.
The affidavit was part of a 2006 action taken by Nine after Llewellyn responded to a salary cut by defecting to Seven. The affidavit included many serious allegations, including that senior figures at Nine had tried to influence Llewellyn’s coverage towards commercial rivals. But it was the claim that Eddie McGuire had asked Llewellyn whether the Nine Network should “bone” — or fire — then Today presenter Jessica Rowe that lingered the longest. The affidavit found its way into Crikey’s inbox, leading to one of our biggest early scoops and a surge in subscribers.
The story made headlines across Australia, and the controversy lingered for years. Nine refuted the allegations contained within the affidavit, as did McGuire, who always denied he used the word “bone”, saying Llewellyn may have misheard him. Llewellyn has been equally adamant over the years that his hearing was just fine, telling us in 2016:
He did not say ‘burn’. Nor did Eddie use any other word that I may have misheard, like ‘let’s phone Jessica’ or ‘let’s get Jessica an ice cream cone’ or ‘I am thinking of getting a two-tone jacket for Jessica to wear on air’. Eddie said what he said.
Meanwhile, how did Rowe feel about all this? She told the Kyle and Jackie O Show as recently as 2021 that she wished McGuire “well in the sense that we have all moved on, but still … we still mute [McGuire] when he comes on [on Millionaire Hot Seat] before Pete’s news.” (Rowe is married to television journalist and news presenter Peter Overton.)
Here’s the original 2006 piece in full for a gratuitous trip down memory lane.
The affidavit Nine didn’t want you to see
June 26, 2006
It was October 2005. Mark Llewellyn was offered the job of running Nine’s news and current affairs by Sam Chisholm…
Then came the next stage — a meeting with Kerry Packer:
But before the meeting there was the little matter of salary…
…and then he meets KP…
… who tells him how much he loves Channel Nine:
On January 11 this year Llewellyn has his first meeting with John Alexander — the man who runs PBL for the Packer family:
Llewellyn is left feeling concerned about the potential for editorial interference in his new job:
His next challenge, a week later, concerns his decision to remove John Lyons, the executive producer of the Sunday program:
Llewellyn decides to tell Sam Chisholm about what happened:
The Lyons affair reinforced Llewellyn’s concerns about management interference at Nine:
On May 31 Llewellyn is summoned to Eddie McGuire’s office… and then comes an unpleasant conversation…
…and it just gets worse for Llewellyn…
…and there are a few words about loyalty:
Llewellyn gets the feeling he doesn’t have a big future left at Nine:
On Friday June 2 it’s back to Eddie’s office:
On Tuesday June 6 Llewellyn finds himself in Eddie’s office again:
By June 9 Llewellyn has lost his office…
…and a little over a week later Llewellyn starts talking to the Seven Network…
The next day word is out that Llewellyn is talking to Seven…
…and within three days the deal is done with Seven:
