Alex Cullen announces TV return after being stood down by Nine over Adrian Portelli scandal
The former Today Show presenter was dumped by Nine earlier this year after he accepted a $50,000 payment from The Block billionaire Adrian Portelli for calling him 'McLaren Man' live on air.
Now, it has been revealed that the journalist is set to return to television following the scandal.
Speaking to Stellar magazine on Sunday, the 44-year-old revealed he will be joining 7News.
'After everything went down [at Nine this year], Seven were one of the first on the phone to say: 'You have our support, and if you want to come back, we're a phone call away",' he said.
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'I can't tell you how much that meant to me and my family,' he told the publication.
He went on to say that he is excited to see some of his old colleagues at the network after previously working at Seven on shows including Sunrise and Sunday Night.
'It's not very nice being the story,' he said, adding: 'It's better telling the story.'
In January, Today host Karl Stefanovic made the announcement that Alex had parted ways with the network live on air.
'As most of you are well aware, our colleague Alex Cullen has not been on air with us this past week,' a solemn Stefanovic told viewers.
'There has been widespread reporting on the circumstances surrounding this. What I can say is that last night, Alex and Nine agreed that he would finish with the network.
'Alex has, of course, been part of the Today family for five years now – he's always ready with a smile and a laugh and without hesitation speaking for all of us here, we can say that we are going to miss him terribly - that's for sure.'
The scandal kicked off when Portelli, growing tired of his long-used nickname 'Mr Lambo', offered a cash reward to the first person to use his new moniker, 'McLaren Man', on air.
The Block entrepreneur then posted what appeared to be a bank transfer of $50,000 to the presenter on Instagram.
Accepting cash, gifts or benefits to undermine journalistic independence, as well as improperly using a journalistic position for personal gain, are both breaches of the journalism code of ethics as defined by the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance..
The ill-advised stunt led to Cullen being suspended by Nine, and he did not appear on the show while the network investigated the payment. The sum was donated to charity by Portelli.
Nine's parting of ways with Cullen went ahead despite Portelli's claim that Cullen intended the money to be paid to charity all along.
Portelli posted details of two $25,000 payments made on his behalf to both the Salvation Army and the RSPCA.
'Alex Cullen… on behalf of you, mate, $25,000 to the Salvation Army and $25,000 to the RSPCA,' Portelli wrote on Instagram.
'I've kept pretty quiet about what unfolded with Alex, but even before he'd heard from Ch9, we had a conversation where he expressed his desire to donate the money.
'That speaks volumes about his character. Alex, you're an absolute gentleman.
'If Ch9 let you go (though I really hope they don't!), I'd be more than happy to collaborate with you on something. True class, mate!'
Following his departure from Nine, Alex picked up a new role in June, as a sports presenter on Melbourne's Gold 1043.3's top-rating breakfast program The Christian O'Connell Show.
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