Launched in 1997 as
The Back Page, the show was originally hosted by journalist
Mike Gibson and comedian
Billy Birmingham. In 2012, Gibson announced that he was leaving the show after 16 years and 720 episodes. Soon after, Birmingham announced he would not be returning to the show the following year after being informed he'd been demoted to a part-time panelist. In 2013, presenter
Tony Squires and athlete
Matt Shirvington took up the role of hosting the show. Shirvington left the show the same year, and was replaced by journalist
Kelli Underwood. From 7 October 2017, the show moved from its traditional Tuesday night time slot to air live at 7.00pm Saturday nights on the
free-to-air channel
One, classified as the shows "Summer Series". Subsequent repeats are shown on Fox Sports throughout the week following. The episodes were shortened from a 1-hour to 45 minutes run time, and the title was changed to
The Back Page as it was previously called when it originally launched. This run was short-lived however, ending on 25 November 2017 after just eight episodes. The show returned to its traditional Tuesday night slot on
Fox Sports on 27 February 2018.
The Back Page celebrated its 25th year on air in 2021. In June 2025, the show was cancelled and the final episode aired on 24 June 2025, with Underwood returning. ==See also==