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Moving on: What’s next for ABC star Tony Armstrong in 2025

Clare RigdenThe West Australian
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Tony Armstrong is front and centre in Eat the Invaders.
Camera IconTony Armstrong is front and centre in Eat the Invaders. Credit: Supplied

Tony Armstrong’s contract with ABC was up on December 31. It’s the end of an era for the 35 year-old ex-AFL player-turned-presenter who, over the past four years, has carved a niche for himself as one of the national broadcaster’s most bankable stars.

This year he’ll front one last project for the network — a series he filmed in 2024 called Eat The Invaders — and then it’s on to new horizons.

“It’s exciting. But it’s also kind of weird,” says Armstrong, who chatted to The Sunday Times in the lead-up to Christmas.

“When I came out of footy years ago (Armstrong retired from professional AFL in 2015), I was staring at a life of uncertainty.

“In my other life I had certainty, with a contract and all that kind of thing, so when I was umming and ahhing, making a decision to leave, I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’ve worked so hard just to be secure, and now I am about to walk away?’

“But I felt good about the decision.”

That’s how he’s feeling about the uncertainty that awaits him in 2025.

Armstrong said farewell to his presenting gig on ABC News Breakfast last September, and though he admitted at the time he would miss his co-stars, what about those early morning starts?

Not so much.

“I just realised I was walking around sort of in a bit of a brain fog, for, like, three years,” he says.

“I absolutely loved my time doing (Breakfast), but I didn’t realise the toll it was taking on me.

“(Getting up that early) — it’s really not good for you, and yeah, I’m lucky to have been able to put an end to it, which is nice.”

Those extra hours he regained meant he finally had the brain space to immerse himself in other creative projects, with Eat The Invaders taking up a chunk of his time.

The six-part series sees him teaming up with Hobart gallery MONA curator Kirsha Kaechele, whose art project Eat the Problem is the inspiration for the series.

In the program, Armstrong is seeking to help change people’s perceptions about how we think about invasive species. Could they be repurposed as a viable food source?

The series is spruiked thus: “Host Tony Armstrong — with the help of scientists, land carers, an artist and a chef — will attempt to turn our unwanted ecological trash into desirable culinary gold, in a provocative attempt to Eat The Invaders.”

Jodie Ward and Tony Armstrong in episode five of Eat The Invaders, which sees Armstrong travel to a remote community in WA.
Camera IconJodie Ward and Tony Armstrong in episode five of Eat The Invaders, which sees Armstrong travel to a remote community in WA. Credit: Supplied/ABC

“The show itself is quite hooky,” Armstrong says.

“It’s like, ‘Oh my God, I wanna watch that, because I want to see Tony eat a cat!’ or whatever it is, but then you realise that it’s not that at all.”

For the record, in episode five, Armstrong does indeed eat a cat — right here in WA.

He travels to the Gibson Desert, in the State’s east, to team up with a group in the community of Kiwirrkurra, where the pesky introduced felines are hunted and consumed in an attempt to protect the local Bilby population.

“It’s more like ‘OK, why is it OK to eat sheep and cows, and no one bats an eyelid, but when we start talking about this other thing, people start getting a bit squeamish?” Armstrong says of the show’s premise.

“When you think about it: oysters — so many people eat oysters. But I would say, objectively, oysters are a much weirder, closer to alien-esque food than, say, a rabbit is. But the way we think about them is that they are a delicacy — yum!

“I guess that is part of where we tried to get to with the show.”

Alongside this unusual project, Armstrong has also spent several months promoting his children’s book, George The Wizard, touring schools and talking with kids about his love of reading.

“Going out and reading at schools and all that kind of thing has been strange — it wasn’t on ‘the bucket list’,” he admits.

“Like, I never thought I’d do any of that kind of thing, but here we are — I love doing it. I am just so lucky to have been given an opportunity to do it.”

Eat The Invaders premieres on Tuesday at 8.30pm on ABC.
Camera IconEat The Invaders premieres on Tuesday at 8.30pm on ABC. Credit: Supplied

Armstrong says he’s been relishing leaning into his creativity more since leaving Breakfast, and is looking forward to bringing more of his own projects to life in 2025, including one that’s close to his heart.

“I’ve been working on a couple of script ideas,” he says.

“I can’t really say more than that, but there is one in particular that I am, like, SO pumped about — a friend and I came up with this idea, and we are chipping away at it.

“I am realising in this gig — in this career — when you are in this space, it’s a game of a billion nos and a yes every now and then, so hopefully we get a yes, and we get to make a thing that we think will be really great.”

In the meantime, he’s rolling with the uncertainty, embracing what life chucks his way.

“I like doing new things and challenging myself,” Armstrong says.

“It’s all good fun.”

Eat The Invaders premieres on Tuesday at 8.30pm on ABC

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