Sky News axes Freya Fires Up after Islamophobic guest

Sky News has axed its newest After Dark program, Freya Fires Up, following host Freya Leach’s interview with an Islamophobic guest who wore rashers of bacon while live on air.

Last week, Sky confirmed it would review the show and it said it would pre-record it in the interim, but the program, which had been on air for less than two months, was later removed from Sky’s promotional materials ahead of its Sunday night programming, and it was not aired.

Instead, Sky showed a rerun of its morning news program Sunday Agenda, hosted by chief anchor Kieran Gilbert.

On Monday morning, a Sky News spokesman confirmed to this masthead that a decision had been made to discontinue the show, with immediate effect after just six shows.

While Freya Fires Up will no longer be aired, Leach, 22, will continue as a co-host of The Late Debate, Sky said.

“We have undertaken a thorough internal review, implemented its recommendations and taken appropriate action with everyone involved in this incident,” the spokesman said.

“We took immediate action during the live broadcast to cut off the guest, our host promptly apologised, and we ensured the content was not published or republished to any of our digital platforms.”

The decision comes after the show went to air without any senior editors or managers green-lighting its list of guests for the program on Sunday, September 21.

All online material for the show has now been removed from Sky’s website.

Leach was approached for comment.

Leach’s guest, Ryan Williams, a 33-year-old ex-reality TV contestant from Scotland, was pulled from the live broadcast just one minute into his appearance by a senior producer.

Moments later, Leach said, “I’ve just been told we have to apologise for what was just aired, those comments earlier”, but did not apologise herself until more than 24 hours later while hosting The Late Debate.

A Sky spokesperson issued a full and unreserved apology for the appearance, comments and any damage caused by them the day following the program.

The comments were shared widely in far-right sections of social media, and praised and endorsed by sections of MAGA support groups and by far-right British activist Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.

Leach introduced Williams to her program as a “social media sensation”, despite his clear record of wearing bacon in his posts, frequent anti-Islamic rhetoric and pledge to inflict “maximum damage on Islam” and keep “Europe Christian at all costs”.

Leach has risen to prominence in some sections of Australia’s right-wing movement as an online conservative personality and director of youth policy at the right-leaning think tank the Menzies Research Centre. She also ran as the unsuccessful Liberal Party candidate in the 2023 NSW state election in the seat of Balmain.

She has been a part of the presenting team of Sky’s midweek program, The Late Debate, which airs at 10pm from Monday to Thursday, since earlier this year.

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