Rove to replace Project host Charlie Pickering

Rove McManus is set to return to Australian shores and TV screens as the new host of Channel 10's The Project.

The Australian television funnyman is expected to sign on today for a mid-August start as replacement for comedian Charlie Pickering, who announced his resignation from the primetime show earlier this year.

The move will reunite the 40-year-old with the show's stars Peter Helliar and Carrie Bickmore who both found fame on 2000s chat show Rove Live.

Senior sources at Channel 10 told The Daily Telegraph that McManus' would sign a contract to appear on the show in the coming days. It would be reviewed at the end of the year.

It is hoped the move will boost ratings on the flagship show, which currently attracts a national audience of about 650,000 per night.

McManus' return to Ten closes a chapter for the three-time Gold Logie winner, whose attempts to forge a career in the US have fallen flat.

His game show Riot was recently canned after only a handful of episodes and other attempts to sell Rove Live to American audiences also failed to rate.

It is understood the news came as a shock to Matt Doran, who has been filling in on The Project since Pickering's departure and was picked as a frontrunner for the permanent role.

Source: News Corp
Author: Chloe Ross, Approving editor: Lachlan Williams