Season 2014 2014

Simon Gittany's Secret Life: Part 1

Rachelle Louise, the girlfriend of convicted murderer Simon Gittany, has opened up in an explosive new interview with Sunday Night saying she 'knows' her boyfriend is innocent.

Gittany is expected to be sentenced on Tuesday for throwing his former fiancee Lisa Harnum off the balcony of their Sydney CBD apartment.

Reporters: Ross Coulthart and Steve Pennells
Producers: Nick Farrow, Naomi Shivaraman, Richard Andrews

Meet Mark Donaldson VC
Simon Gittany's Secret Life: Part 2

Meet Mark Donaldson VC

At 15, Mark Donaldson’s father - a Vietnam veteran who’d returned from war with PTSD - passed away.

Four years later his mother was murdered. The case has never been solved.

Simon Gittany's Secret Life: Part 2

On Tuesday 11 February at 11:06am, convicted killer Simon Gittany was sentenced for murdering his 30-year-old fiancee Lisa Harnum.

His new girlfriend, Rachelle Louise, was not at the sentencing hearing.

INXS: The Real Story

No actors. No scripts. Back to where it began… with everyone.

Following the overwhelming success of the Channel Seven telemovie INXS: Never Tear Us Apart, join Sunday Night for an exclusive look into the INXS story through the eyes of those who lived it.

All five surviving members of the band sit down with reporter Rahni Sadler – the Farriss Brothers Tim, Andrew and Jon, Kirk Pengilly, Garry Beers, as well as manager Chris Murphy – to tell one of the greatest rock’n’roll stories of all time.

And nothing is off limits.

Each gives their candid and very personal account of how it all began, how they coped at the height of their fame and at the depth of their pain when friend and frontman Michael Hutchence died.

They open up about Michael’s love affairs, the drugs, the time an American record executive threatened to drop the band, and how they really feel about Kylie Minogue, Paula Yates, Sir Bob Geldof and Tiger Lily.

Featuring archived photographs and memorabilia plus never-before-broadcast home videos shot by the band while on tour, this is one extraordinary reunion not to be missed.

Drought: The Last Straw
Schapelle's First Moments of Freedom

Drought: The Last Straw

Sunday Night brings you the deeply personal Australian story. In vast regions of the country, it’s the driest it’s ever been. Our food supply is in real jeopardy. Reporter Alex Cullen takes us back home to his farm to meet his mum and dad who are doing it tough. It has never been this bad. A story of mateship and fighting spirit, we meet the Australian heroes trying to keep it all together.
Reporter: Alex Cullen
Producer: Alex Hodgkinson

Schapelle's First Moments of Freedom

After almost a decade, the girl who loved the ocean had forgotten what it was like. Schapelle Corby stumbled across a Balinese beach and threw herself into the water, falling clumsily under the waves as they crashed around her. It was a symbolic moment in the convicted drug smuggler's first days of freedom and a rare victory against the media circus that has camped outside the luxury villa where she has been bunkered for the past three weeks.
Reporter: Mike Willesee

Ghost Island
INXS
No Brainer
Robert Redford

Ghost Island

Once the most crowded place on the planet, suddenly in 1974 every inhabitant disappeared – forced to leave quickly. For the past 30 years Hashima Island off Japan’s south coast has been off limits, a curious public denied access to any part except the landing stage. Little bigger than the MCG, this mysterious place was home to more than 5000 coal miners and their families for over 80 years. They were well paid, every square metre of the island filled with towering apartment blocks. This speck in the South China Sea was the home to doctors, teachers and shopkeepers – then it was abandoned. Closed to the outside world for decades, the island is a snapshot in time; everything is as it was when the last boat left. Two years ago part of the island was used for the James Bond movie Skyfall, and now Sunday Night reporter PJ Madam has been given exclusive access to all parts of this island of ghosts. The vision captured is eerie, captivating and extraordinary.

INXS

Almost three million Australian’s cranked up the volume and sang along in their living rooms to our Sunday Night INXS special a fortnight ago. The special event show sent the band’s timeless hits back to the top of the charts, and we have been swamped ever since with requests for an encore performance. So, by popular demand, Sunday Night brings you fresh unseen vision of the band and their families today, including more amazing music from the band’s back catalogue.

No Brainer

Join Sunday Night for an intensely personal journey with one of Australia’s toughest and most talented football players as he participates in a groundbreaking study to learn if a career of hard knocks has left him with permanent brain damage. What he finds out about himself, and the results of new Australian and international research on concussions and dementia, is a sobering lesson that every parent needs to know before they send their child out to

To Catch a Killer
A Trick to Die For

To Catch a Killer

To catch the cold-blooded, calculating killer of schoolboy Daniel Morcombe police knew it would take something special. They had their target, but they needed hard proof. This week on Sunday Night the country’s top investigative journalist Ross Coulthart takes you right inside the incredible Mr Big sting that caught the murderer red handed. To trap a monster like Brett Cowan, an evil and sadistic child rapist, undercover detectives created the most elaborate and expensive Disneyland of crime ever attempted in Australia. Their plan was to lure Cowan into joining what he thought was a ruthless and well-connected gang that could net him big money. Sunday Night takes you to the moment, to the very hotel suite, where it all came together – the moment Cowan confessed to murdering little Daniel. We show exclusive interviews with the two women who shared their lives with Cowan until they discovered his dark secrets, and what they have to say will have you on the edge of your seat.

A Trick to Die For

Paul Cosentino is perhaps Australia’s greatest ever magician, with a dream to top the bill in Vegas. Not bad for a boy who still couldn’t read or write at the age of 12. Then his mum showed him a magic book, and the struggling student was captivated. Now at the top of his game, with the world at his feet, Cosentino is literally putting it all on the line. Only one trick has ever defeated him, and stopped him from performing it live. In his last attempt to escape from a plastic sphere six metres under water while manacled and chained, he suffered a burst ear drum and narrowly cheated death as his lungs began to collapse. On Sunday Night, in front of a live audience, Cosentino will attempt the trick again. He has two minutes to pick the locks on five separate handcuffs and chains, then the door of the sphere, before swimming to the surface. He credits magic with saving his life when he was a boy, now he’

Modern Day Miracle
Ricky Gervais

Modern Day Miracle

A perfect love story with the happiest ending you will ever witness. Sunday Night has an Australian first this weekend, an extraordinary live event that will allow viewers to witness a modern day scientific miracle that will transform a family’s life. Tim and Natalie Nobes were both born profoundly deaf, and met as toddlers at a special school for deaf children. Diagnosed as babies, the couple has never heard each other, or the voices of their three beautiful children, who all have normal hearing. But before our teary eyes, this is all about to change. First, we reveal the moment Natalie has her implant activated and then, in a dramatic live event, we see Tim’s magic moment as well with his family around him. When Tim and Natalie decided to have cochlear implant surgery their children had a lifetime of things to say to mum and dad, but none more important than a simple “I love you”. What you will witness is unimaginable for most people; how it feels to hear your loved ones speak for the first time in 30 years. We also meet little Noah and share his life-changing moment. Helen Kapalos reports on the most emotional story of the year.

Ricky Gervais

Ricky Gervais tells the funniest joke ever on Sunday Night…..and the punch line brings the house down. One of comedy’s biggest superstars gave Sunday Night’s Rahni Sadler amazing access during filming of the new Muppet movie. In his most playful and candid interview ever, Ricky Gervais will leave you rolling on the floor. This working class kid from a housing estate outside London isn’t just up for a laugh; he’s also brutally honest about life, truth and his experiences with Johnny Depp, Liam Neeson and David Bowie. Ricky’s funniest moment comes when he discusses his love for Australia, a country he’s never visited! There are also exclusive interviews with Kermit and Miss Piggy, who both have their own revelations about working with the Ki

Fireworks
Superhero Brother
Naked Truth About Jamie Oliver

Fireworks

Sunday Night takes you to the most dangerous and amazing firework spectacular in the world. Once a year in a small Mexican town, for nine crazy pyromanic days, the greatest fireworks celebration on the planet can be seen from space. This year, the injury toll from this must-be-seen-to-be-believed event was 499 plus one Australian – new Sunday Night reporter Denham Hitchcock, who needed hospital treatment on his first assignment.

Superhero Brother

A frazzled mum struggles to juggle her three excited kids outside dance class while picking up her daughter. Distracted for a moment, her four year old son Kya runs off towards the road. His brother Calyn, seven, takes off after him. Kya bursts between two parked cars and straight into the path of a 4WD with bull bars mounted on the front. The car is travelling within the speed limit, around 60km/h, and there is nothing the driver can do to avoid hitting the little boy. He slams his foot on the brakes and the screeching tyres alert everyone. What happens next has changed the lives of so many people present that day – and is one of the most courageous and inspiring stories Mike Willesee has ever reported.

Naked Truth About Jamie Oliver

The world’s most popular and controversial chef is in Australia to cook up a storm – and he’s asked Sunday Night to help him stir things up. Join Rahni Sadler on the road with Jamie Oliver. The man with the boyish charms, who took on the British government and succeeded in overhauling stodgy school dinners, is returning here to persuade Aussies to change their supermarket shopping habits. What he has to say, and what he wants us all to do, will get everyone talking.

Aussie Legend
Derryn’s Mission to Save Marianne
ABBA
The Naked Truth About Megan Gale

Aussie Legend

The amazing real story behind a remarkable Aussie legend. Mick Doohan is a five times world champion, a giant of motor cycle racing. But what he’s never divulged before is what really ended his career, and how close he came to death after his famous practice lap crash 22 years ago. Dutch surgeons were itching to amputate his leg, but Mick chose to go with an Italian doctor who saved his leg, and his life, with a jaw-dropping old fashioned medical procedure. On Sunday Night, reporter Mike Willesee introduces us to Mick’s beautiful wife Selina, who’s been by his side the entire way, and takes us inside the couple’s luxurious lifestyle – a world of private jets and helicopters, and a lavish Gold Coast home they rent out to friends like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Years after he was king of the track, the legend dubbed the ‘Thunder from Down Under’ is anything but retired.

Derryn’s Mission to Save Marianne

She’s beautiful and loves life to the full – but every day for two years Marianne has been waiting in vain for a phone call that will give her a future. This is the most personal story Derryn Hinch has ever reported. He has stayed by Marianne’s side through a journey all too familiar for him. Four years ago when he was told he had 12 months to live, a donor and a liver transplant saved his life. Now he hopes another donor will save Marianne’s life – but this time it is much more difficult. The multi organ transplant, replacing her stomach, pancreas, small intestine and duodenum, would cost $7 million in the United Sates. Here in Australia authorities are in an impossible predicament. Even if a donor with four healthy organs of the right quality and size can be found, should they save four lives by giving each organ to a different recipient, or give them all to save Marianne, who now weighs less than 40kg. Marianne was born wi

Love in a Cold Climate on the Little Green Boat That Could
Treat Your Liver Like Your Lover
House Rules

Love in a Cold Climate on the Little Green Boat That Could

All of us dream – some of us get to live those dreams. This weekend on Sunday Night, Chris Bath takes you on a beautiful, amazing and at times frighteningly dangerous adventure with a remarkable young Aussie couple who decided to do just that. Jess and Chris hadn’t known each other very long when they took the plunge – splashing their entire $20,000 savings on a rickety little 29-foot boat they saw on the internet. It took them months to fix it up before they set out to conquer one of the world’s most dangerous and awesome sailing routes, from Canada through the Northwest Passage to Alaska. What they experience, and the incredible wildlife they film along the way, is only a backdrop to the love story that unfolds on screen. It ends with perhaps the most romantic marriage proposal ever attempted, and how Jess reacts will melt your heart. If you’ve ever toyed with opting out of the rat race to chase your dream this is the story you need to see.

Treat Your Liver Like Your Lover
In a small laboratory in a country far away there lives a rodent that holds the key to transforming the lives of millions of Australians. On Sunday Night we’ll introduce you to this remarkable rat. Six million of us have problems with our liver – it’s the fastest growing disease in the country today. High fat diets, hepatitis and alcohol are the main culprits, but now as Derryn Hinch reports, there is a breakthrough that is bringing hope. A brilliant young Japanese scientist has grown tiny human livers from stem cells and implanted them in the brains of mice to grow. It sounds sci-fi scary but it will mean the end to donor waiting lists and transplants. In the meantime, we reveal the simple steps to cleansing your liver that could just lengthen your life.

House Rules

He was the highest paid actor in te

Sinkholes
The Greatest Music Festival on Earth
Australia’s Most Expensive Family Dinner
The Water Diviner

Sinkholes

In some of our major cities, under big population centers… at any time, without warning, the ground just opens up and swallows everything in its way. They’re called sinkholes – and all across the world more and more are claiming houses, whole streets, vehicles… and as Alex Cullen reports – even people. This amazing Sunday Night investigation into this most mysterious phenomenon takes you inside an active sinkhole, captures sinkholes devouring whole buildings, and talks to relatives who have lost loved ones in sinkhole incidents. We travel to the town in America known as the ‘sinkhole capital of the world’ before returning to Australia and witnessing the birth of a new sinkhole. Frightening yet enthralling, you will never trust the ground beneath your feet again.

The Greatest Music Festival on Earth

Five unforgettable days and nights of peace, love and music – Aussie style! The Blues Festival in Byron Bay is universally recognised as one of the greatest music festivals on the planet. And last weekend you could see why. For 25 years, fans of all ages – from seven to 70 years old – have flocked from all around the country to witness something super special. Not since the days of Woodstock have you seen scenes like this. This year reporter Alex Cullen was granted exclusive ‘go anywhere’ access – backstage and front of house, and you will feel like you were there as John Butler, Boz Scaggs, Jack Johnson, John Mayer, Joss Stone, Suzanne Vega and other legendary acts brought the house down. We dare you not to sing along.

Australia’s Most Expensive Family Dinner

The man holding the pan is one of Australia’s top chefs and MKR judge Colin Fassnidge. The woman holding the knife and fork is Catherine Kennedy, a self-made multi-millionaire from the bush. Last month when Colin agreed to auction himself off on Sund

The Hitchiker Murders
Building a Refugee City
Miranda, the Songstress

The Hitchiker Murders

It was 1972 when university students Anita Cunningham and Robin Hoinville-Bartram left Melbourne with a romantic plan to hitchhike to Far North Queensland. But they would never make it. Four months later, Robin’s body was found under a bridge in remote outback Queensland. She had been shot twice in the head and her body left in a creek bed. Anita was never heard from again. One of Queensland’s most baffling cold cases, this murder mystery has remained unsolved for more than four decades despite police investigations, an inquest and a $250,000 reward. Is Anita still alive? Did she kill her friend and flee? Or was their fate linked to other hitchhiker murderers, namely the notorious Ivan Milat? Over the years, detectives, friends and even psychics have weighed in on what happened to both young women. Now in this chilling Sunday Night investigation, reporter Alex Cullen meets one detective who is determined to finally put the case to rest.

Building a Refugee City

Meet the man from Wagga Wagga who is responsible for housing a nation displaced by war. Aussie Andrew Harper has built the largest planned refugee camp in history to house the daily flood of Syrians crossing the border into Jordan. This desolate desert city will be home to more than 130,000 victims of war who will walk for days to get there, risking their lives, and may never return home. It is unrelenting work and, as Andrew reveals to Sunday Night reporter Steve Pennells, it takes everything you’ve got.

Miranda, the Songstress

She’s the leggy brunette from Gunnedah who has conquered the globe as a top supermodel and astute businesswoman. There’s no denying Miranda Kerr is a woman of many talents, but it’s her latest project that’s got everybody talking. In a Sunday Night exclusive, we reveal her first ever music video alongside Jersey Boys star Bobby Fox.

Charlotte Dawson’s Last Interview
The Story of Tamar Stitt
Mother’s Day with Jamie

Charlotte Dawson’s Last Interview

She was beautiful, successful and surrounded by friends and admirers – but all Charlotte Dawson could see in her life was loneliness, despair and rejection. Just six weeks before her death Charlotte was in Bali to seek guidance from a High Priestess as her life unravelled in front of her. Approaching 50 years of age, out of work and facing mounting money problems, Charlotte’s world was becoming darker and darker. The tragic details of her death are well known, but the extraordinary events that led up to it can now be revealed for the first time in this special Sunday Night investigation. In her final interview, Charlotte spoke about beginning a new chapter in her life after being pushed to the brink. It’s raw and honest – Charlotte opens up about ex-husband Scott Miller, describes her pain over aborting their baby, and divulges details of an ongoing blackmail attempt. Alex Perry describes his final conversation with his “best mate”, and Charlotte’s two sisters reveal to reporter PJ Madam why talking about what happened to Charlotte is so important today.

The Story of Tamar Stitt

Sunday Night’s powerful investigation concerning 10-year-old Tamar Stitt and the controversial ‘natural’ therapy treatments for cancer that her parents battled to give her was a story that shocked Australia. Doctors claimed intensive chemotherapy was Tamar’s only chance of survival and even took the extraordinary step of asking the Supreme Court to force her parents to allow her to go back to hospital. Instead they fled to El Salvador to administer Tamar with the mud treatment they believed would cure her and reporter Rahni Sadler met with them there. But just months later the sick little girl lost her fight for life. This week in Perth, the Coroner has been conducting an investigation into the circumstances of Tamar’s death, and con

The House of Horrors
Coldplay
The Boy from Wagga Performing Miracles in the Desert

The House of Horrors

Michelle Knight’s ordeal is impossible to comprehend – more than a decade of torture, rape and captivity. But just one year since her miraculous rescue with Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus, in a Sunday Night exclusive, Knight takes us inside her former prison and the mind of a monster. That monster was Ariel Castro — the school bus driver who kidnapped her, held her hostage in his house in Ohio for 11 years, made her pregnant five times and beat her into miscarrying five times. He tortured her mind and body daily and chained her up without washing for months at a time. He told her no one was looking for her and, heartbreakingly, he was right. How she survived it is unfathomable — even more so since she has revealed the horrific details in a tell-all book — but somehow this incredible woman has pieced her life back together and this Sunday she invites Channel Seven’s Sunday Night to share that terrible but inspiring journey.

Coldplay

They are one of the world’s most popular yet mysterious bands – revolutionaries of music but little seen. This week Sunday Night has a world exclusive interview with the boys from Coldplay and will reveal spine-tingling footage of the first performance of their new album. The world of music is clamouring to hear Coldplay’s sixth studio album “Ghost Stories” – and Sunday Night has the honour of revealing it first. Released under the cloud of Chris Martin’s marriage breakup from Gwyneth Paltrow, the man himself sets the record straight with the brutally raw and frank lyrics that reveal everything. Don’t miss this.

The Boy from Wagga Performing Miracles in the Desert

Aussie dad Andrew Harper used to muck around in the dust growing up in Wagga Wagga. Today, this extraordinary father of two performs miracles in the Jordanian desert. What Andrew has achieved averting the greatest humanitarian dis

Dami and Dannii in North Korea
UFC

Dami and Dannii in North Korea

When Dami Im won The X Factor last year it was the ultimate success story against all the odds. When the awkward and shy piano teacher from Brisbane came to Australia from Korea aged nine, she was unable to speak a word of English. She was bullied at school and struggled to fit in. But the day she sang her audition for The X Factor in front of Dannii Minogue was the day her life changed forever. But there is another side to the outgoing and quirky songstress — for the first time since her victory, Dami returns to Seoul to discover the family she has never met. In her first guest reporting role, former mentor Dannii Minogue escorts Dami, along with her mother and grandmother, to the most militarized border in the world. Under heavy guard they cross into North Korea in search of answers. It’s highly charged and highly emotional must see TV. There is so much more to Dami Im than anyone could believe. We explore this remarkable singer’s musical roots and the story behind her marriage to the love of her life in Australia.

UFC

It’s the fastest growing sport on the planet. It’s brutal and violent, bloodshed is celebrated, and it’s marketed as family entertainment. UFC – or cage fighting – is taking off in Australia just like it has in the US, but in this special report Denham Hitchcock raises serious concerns about what it’s doing to our kids. In California, on an Indian reservation outside of the law, promoters stage bare knuckle fights between children as young as eight – including boys taking on girls. Parents scream for their son or daughter to punch, kick or strangle their opponent. It’s raw and confronting – and there are calls for the parents to be arrested. Further into the desert in Vegas, professional UFC fight nights draw huge crowds to gladiator style arenas. Denham meets the blonde and beautiful women’s champion who hits back at the critics – but admits s

Breaking Radio Silence
Mystery in the Devil's Triangle

Breaking Radio Silence

In December 2012, Mel Greig and 2DayFM co-host Michael Christian pretended to be the Queen and Prince Charles and called the King Edward VII Hospital in London where a pregnant Kate Middleton was being treated for acute morning sickness.
A nurse revealed details of Kate’s condition – an unexpected scoop that made headlines around the world.
In an exclusive interview with Sunday Night guest reporter Mel Doyle, Mel Greig told how she urged senior managers to alter the recording. She wanted 2DayFM staff members’ voices to be used instead of the nurses – so they’d be spared any embarrassment.
Her suggestion was ignored. The call went to air unaltered.

Mystery in the Devil's Triangle

It’s the greatest unsolved aviation mystery in Australian history, even more baffling than the disappearance of MH370.
How could a plane full of passengers just disappear near a major Australian city and not be found for 33 years?
Ghost flight VH-MDX was bound for Sydney when it vanished somewhere over Devil’s Triangle – an area of the Barrington Tops in New South Wales which is the most remote and impenetrable terrain in the country. Other aircraft have disappeared there but always been found.
VH-MDX disappeared from radar screens into chilling silence. For the first time this weekend, Sunday Night will broadcast the final conversation between air traffic control and the pilot in those final dramatic moments.

Clive Palmer
Flight VH-MDX

Clive Palmer

He’s the flamboyant billionaire with a XXXL personality who’s bankrolled his own political party straight into a position of power. Now sitting in parliament Clive Palmer wants to unveil his agenda – and he’s chosen veteran reporter Mike Willesee to do it. At least that was the plan when Mike was asked by Clive’s publicist to join the entrepreneurial mining magnate on a fact finding mission to the US. The trouble with Clive, as we find out, is that he’s often not on the same page as everyone else. Or even the same plane. This is not your average political story – this is an eye-popping sneak peek into the outrageously lavish lifestyle of a larger than life man who loves big things…..from big ships and big dinosaurs to big breakfasts and big announcements. The purpose of the US trip, Clive told us, was to prepare his Senators-elect – four ‘ordinary Australians’ who will soon hold the balance of power – for their new political careers. Clive picked up the tab for business class flights and luxury hotels, but it didn’t go much to plan – he grounded his luxury jet and never made it to the US, and without their supreme leader clucking over them, Clive’s rookies spill everything about his radical plans. When Willesee finally tracks down the man of the moment – who has already fallen asleep in parliament, sung on the radio and dedicated himself to rebuilding the Titanic cruise liner – it’s not good news for Tony Abbott.

Flight VH-MDX

Last week’s Sunday Night exclusive on Australia’s greatest unsolved aviation mystery has made headlines all week. Flight VH-MDX crashed into the Barrington Tops mountain range in atrocious weather shortly after the pilot was ordered to wait for clearance to enter military controlled airspace. The spine chilling final moments of MDX were captured on cockpit voice recorder – then the aircraft simply vanished without a trace. Thirty three years later th

Medical Cannibis
Queen

Medical Cannibis

This story will make you question everything you thought you knew about the debate over illegal drugs. Across Australia thousands of ordinary law-abiding Australian families are operating in the shadows, committing illegal acts, smuggling and cultivating cannabis, all in the name of medicine. This special Sunday Night investigation meets three of those families and when you hear their side of the story, the debate over medicinal marijuana will be ignited like never before. You will meet the former undercover drug squad boss who fought illicit drugs and locked up drug dealers for more than 25 years. Now, with his son in excruciating pain from high dose chemotherapy, he has become a drug supplier – working with some of those he once targeted to secure pain-relief cannabis for his dying son. It is an extraordinary situation, and the family’s impossible predicament has galvanised the whole town behind them. Even the current police chief refuses to arrest him and says he has real criminals to worry about. In another suburb, in another part of Australia, a former army officer and his wife believe passionately that cannabis oil would ease the suffering for their child who experiences horrifically painful seizures. Yet while they campaign for medicinal cannabis to be legalised, the couple have been forced into the heartbreaking decision not to give it to their son, because child services have warned them of the consequences. Every Sunday Night viewer will get the chance to vote on the issue in real time during the story, and send a message to politicians throughout the country.

Queen

We promise one thing this Sunday Night – We Will Rock You. Join the greatest rock and roll band in history, the men who created anthems that spanned generations – Queen. They were famous for their unique sound, their extraordinary harmonising and their very flamboyant lead singer. In this World Exclusive, those closest to Freddie Merc

Sharnie and her Army
Trishna and Krishna’s New Miracle
Medical Cannibis: The Vote

Sharnie and her Army

Sharn is a beautiful and vivacious children’s nurse who has dedicated her life to helping others. Her biggest dream was to become a mum, until last year when she was diagnosed with a debilitating and incurable disease that will see her life cut short. Her husband Russell is a paramedic, he saves lives every day. But what he can’t do is save the one life that means the most to him. But this isn’t a sad story, what you will see on Sunday Night is the most uplifting display of human spirit imaginable. Determined to make the most of their time together, the couple embark on a journey to tick off Sharn’s bucket list. Fighting on as the disease gradually grips her body, our cameras have been following Sharn for more than a year. With her army of friends rallying behind her – Sharn enters the Ironman race, a dream she thought she might never accomplish. The emotional and dramatic scenes as her friends tow, push and carry her over each leg of this incredible race will break your heart. Join us at the finish line this Sunday Night.

Trishna and Krishna’s New Miracle

Conjoined twins Trishna and Krishna’s brave fight for survival captured the hearts of every Australian five years ago. We held our breath along with their adoptive mother, Moira Kelly, as they underwent the ground breaking surgery to separate the skull and brain tissue that joined them. The girls’ survival was a medical miracle, and their incredible story of courage against all odds made headlines around the world. But, just wait until you see them now! Trishna, who has made a remarkable recovery and is about to start school, dotes over her sister Krishna and helps her every day to get stronger. In an emotional Sunday Night exclusive, the miracle twins reunite with their birth mother again and see their father for the first time since their incredible surgery. Then we reveal the he

Clear and Present Danger
Jill’s Journey
Lego

Clear and Present Danger

Derryn Hinch has spent time behind bars because of his commitment to his campaign to set up a national register of paedophiles. He’s a man who doesn’t take a backward step – isn’t afraid to put himself on the line if it’s for something he believes in. This weekend on Sunday Night, Derryn champions another cause when he comes face-to-face with a man who is a danger to every Australian woman. Nicholas Pribil is handsome, charming, and easily attracts interest from the opposite sex. He’s been preying on women for 15 years, either online or trawling in trendy bars. At first charming and attentive, it’s not long before Pribil – a gym-junkie and bodybuilder – flies into violent rages. Two brave women who almost died at his hands share their stories with Derryn, but it’s what happened after doctors mended their broken bodies that will shock Australia. Pribil’s victims never got to attend court to give the magistrate their victim impact statements. And Pribil walked away with a suspended sentence and a slap on the wrist – that is until Derryn catches up with him. In this special investigation, why Australia needs to get serious about domestic violence and men like Nicholas Pribil should be behind bars.

Jill’s Journey

Candice Nolan was a frightened 16 year old when she gave birth in hospital. Her daughter was immediately taken away and Candice never got to hold her, never got to touch her or name her. For next 43 years, a distraught mother was left heart broken, a desperate daughter left searching for answers. Jill Rayner grew up in Sydney in a loving family never guessing she was adopted – that is until her older sister blurted it out one day during an argument. This special Sunday Night investigation by Rahni Sadler follows Jill’s journey to find her birth mother, and the moment they are reunited is one of the happiest TV moments of the year. The most powerfu

Running Scared

Secret footage has emerged of Oscar Pistorius, currently on trial for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day last year, re-enacting exactly how he shot and killed her.

The footage, aired on the Seven Network's Sunday Night, shows the Olympian describing in graphic detail the events leading up to the moment he shot his girlfriend.

It shows Pistorius moving through a house on his stumps, without his prosthetic legs, demonstrating his claim that he mistook Reeva for an intruder, and killed her accidentally.

Calyn’s House Rules
Running Scared

Calyn’s House Rules

This week on Sunday Night, the big house reveal and heart-warming homecoming for the child hero who stole the nation’s hearts. Calyn Hoad was only seven when he threw himself in front of a four-wheel-drive to save his little brother’s life, suffering massive brain damage. Doctors feared the worst – that Calyn would never regain consciousness. Now, 10-months on, Calyn is defying doctors expectations – he is even walking. Still facing months of rehab, Calyn’s constant companion is by his side every day – his little brother Kya, 4. Calyn’s family home wasn’t equipped to handle his wheelchair and medical equipment, so Sunday Night joined forces with hundreds of Australians to give the home a transformation. The climax to this story will have you bursting with pride; an incredible renovation reveal you won’t want to miss, complete with a Black Hawk helicopter!

Running Scared

More than two million Australians tuned in last week to watch our world exclusive Oscar Pistorius investigation. The major investigation, by Walkley Award-winning journalists Ross Coulthart and Steve Pennells, examined the critical 85 minutes on Valentine’s Night 2013 when Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead by Oscar Pistorius, and featured never-before-seen footage showing the Blade Runner re-enacting the events of that night. The story made headlines around the world. This week on Sunday Night, we continue our investigation with Reeva’s side of the story. We speak to Reeva’s family and friends who analyse her last few months alive and reveal the truth about her relationship with the Pistorius. Plus we hear from a top criminologist who says Reeva was ready to leave her celebrity boyfriend.

Cannibis Criminals
Bionic Dad
Australia’s Most Evil Husband

Cannibis Criminals

Little Cooper Wallace has severe epilepsy and cerebral palsy. Five weeks ago his brave mum and dad, Rhett and Cassie, tearfully told the country on Sunday Night how they’d been forced to become criminals to source cannabis oil to treat their son’s violent seizures. They pleaded the case for medicinal cannabis to be legalized – showing how it had totally transformed Cooper’s life. Hospital doctors agreed, placing cannabis oil on Cooper’s medical notes and even supervising its use. Our nationwide poll, with almost 3 million votes, showed 96 per cent of Australians support the need for legal medicinal cannabis. But what happened next will shock you — Victorian Police raided the family’s home seizing all of Cooper’s life-giving medication. Rhett and his heavily pregnant wife were fingerprinted, interviewed and photographed and their son left to go ‘cold turkey’. A little boy’s life hangs in the balance and we track down the police commissioner to see just what he has to say. Sunday Night has the exclusive interview.

Bionic Dad

Matthew Ames is one of the most extraordinary Australians you will ever meet – he’s also about to become our very first bionic man. Last year, Sunday Night told the story of how the Brisbane father-of-four suffered toxic shock when his body was attacked by the common streptococcal bacteria. On the verge of death and in an induced coma in intensive care, Matthew’s devoted wife Di had to make the impossible decision to amputate all four limbs to stop the bacteria spreading through his body. Doctors weren’t sure Matthew would cope when he woke up to discover he had no arms or legs – but what they didn’t know at the time was that Matthew is the one man in a million who could not only cope, but thrive. His tragedy didn’t stop him from caring for his four children and wife. But now, for the first time, he has the chance to r

Breakout
Morgan Freeman
Bionic Dad

Breakout

For the first time on Sunday Night, the full, extraordinary story behind Australia’s most daring prison escape. In 1999, only a stone’s throw from the Sydney Olympic site, bank robber John Killick’s beautiful Russian-born mistress hijacked a chopper at gunpoint and forced the pilot to land in the exercise yard of Silverwater jail to fly her lover to freedom. A week before the audacious jailbreak, ‘Red Lucy’ had hired the movie Breakout featuring Charles Bronson to study how Hollywood pulled off the same plan and realised it could work. As the chopper hit the ground and Australia’s most infamous bank robber John Killick clambered aboard, prison guards opened fire and inmates cheered. But some details of the daring escape have never been revealed – until now. Reporter Mike Willesee pieces together the incredible escape with Killick himself, as well as the cop who caught him, the chopper pilot who pulled it off with a gun to his head, and the woman Killick has always loved.

Morgan Freeman

He’s the Hollywood superstar with that unmistakable voice – the rich baritone that caught Hollywood’s ear and has voiced everyone from a street thug to God himself. Morgan Freeman is 77 going on 17 as he relaxes with Sunday Night for a playful and candid interview about his glittering career, his favourite co-stars and the secrets he shares with them. The man who has won so many awards for his roles in movies like Shawshank Redemption and Driving Miss Daisy reveals to reporter Rahni Sadler the one role he wished he could play, and he gets philosophical about life, death and everything in between. He’s brutally honest, devilishly witty, and surprisingly humble.

Bionic Dad

This week on Sunday Night, Brisbane father-of-four Matthew Ames becomes Australia’s first bionic dad. This remarkable man, who has fought back with the love of his family following the loss of all his limbs after suffering toxic sh

Murder My Husband
The Great Escape

Murder My Husband

Chris Soteriou thought he had the perfect life. A beautiful wife, three kids and a booming career. That is until he was a victim of a truly senseless crime. On the night of his 44th birthday, Chris and his wife Vicky were walking back to their car when Chris was stabbed multiple times, his throat slit and left for dead in an alley. All he could think about was his loving wife of 18 years and their beautiful daughters. Chris woke from a coma weeks later to learn it was his wife who had led him to his death. The woman he thought he knew had been living a double life, using his money to entertain other men with hotels and expensive wine, and even fund his own demise. He was a victim of a terrible betrayal, but that night Chris was also incredibly lucky. Two doctors were walking by and saved his life, but the discovery of his wife’s betrayal would turn his life upside down. With the police closing in on their suspect it was only a matter of time before the truth came out — that Vicky had convinced her lover to take her husband’s life. But in this special Sunday Night investigation, we reveal just how long her plan had been in place. Reporter Rahni Sadler speaks to Chris and his family about how this despicable act has changed their lives forever, and driven a wedge between a father and his daughter.

The Great Escape

A career criminal. A beautiful librarian. The ultimate prison escape. Last week in our Sunday Night exclusive interview with bank robber John Killick, he revealed for the first time how he orchestrated his infamous helicopter prison escape with girlfriend Lucy Dudko. The pair spent 45 loved-up days on the road, running from police and relishing in John’s freedom. But in reality, they were headed for separate prison cells and parole restrictions that would see them separated for over 30 years. But their love affair didn’t end there. In part two of our story, Killick reveals the 4000 l

The Three Musketeers
Andrea Bocelli
Marny and Her Hero

The Three Musketeers

They were four beautiful children, enjoying the family holiday of their young lives. There was singing and laughter as Mum drove them to a play date with friends when suddenly everything changed. In a split second, three of the O’Shea children were killed when their car was hit by another driver doing 45km over the speed limit – who had been texting in the minutes leading up to the crash. Three-year-old Connor, nine-year-old Saoirse and Soren, 11, died at the scene. Only mum, Maria, and six-month-old Torben escaped alive. But that is only the beginning of this extraordinary story. Less than 24-hours later, while Maria and her husband helped nurse Torben in the children’s hospital, Danish police arrived and charged Maria with the manslaughter of her own children. Determined to right the wrong in honour of their beautiful children, this courageous Aussie couple’s legal battle for justice is one of the most emotional Sunday Night stories of the year. Reporter PJ Madam also interviews the car-crazy serial speedster whose impatience that fateful day resulted in the deaths of three innocents – and you won’t believe what he has to say. But the biggest twist of all, when the full facts finally emerge, will leave you speechless.

Andrea Bocelli

He was the highest paid singer in the world last year – earning more than the biggest names in pop and rock. Andrea Bocelli is a tenor with the purest voice that stirs passion and emotion like no other, but who is this man who captivates millions? Sunday Night was given unprecedented access into Andrea’s private world. Reporter Alex Cullen sits down to interview the musical maestro in his beautiful Tuscan villa, we meet his stunning new wife, their gorgeous little daughter, and are backstage at the intimate open-air concert Andrea gives each year in the vineyards in the middle of his home village. This is pure indulgence. Watching

Attacked at 40,000 Feet
Champion Cyril
Ladies of the Track

Attacked at 40,000 Feet

Malaysia Airlines flight MH20 to Paris. It’s three hours into the overnight flight – the lights are switched off and the cabin is in darkness. A 26-year-old Australian woman is all alone on the back row of the plane. Laura is very nervous about flying with the airline that has recently made headlines around the world, but is reassured by the chief steward who says he will check in on her later. What happens when he returns shortly afterwards is difficult at first to comprehend, but when you hear Laura describe it, you get a sense of the absolute terror she felt as the man sat down beside her, blocking her in. The incredible twist to this story is that while Laura was frozen in panic as the steward placed his hands under the blanket and onto on her stomach, she had the presence of mind to hit record on the mobile phone under her pillow. As the man sexually assaults her he doesn’t know his dreadful crime is being captured by his victim. Afterwards, once the steward has walked away, Laura raises the alarm to another passenger and the Captain is called. When the steward is summoned, Laura films again as she confronts him in front of passengers and crew over what he did to her. It is remarkable vision. Upon landing in Paris, the steward – who is married with three daughters – was detained by police and two weeks later is still behind bars after making admissions. Brave Laura is speaking out for the first time about what happened to her on flight MH20 because she feels let down by the actions of the airline. In this international investigation, Sunday Night’s chief investigations reporter Ross Coulthart goes in search of answers.

Champion Cyril

Bondi lifesaver Cyril Baldock is a dead-set legend and living proof that age is no barrier to achieving anything. Overnight the 70-year-old grandfather has become the oldest person ever to swim the English Channel – and Su

Lawless Roads
No Filter: Miley Cyrus Exclusive
Samantha “X”

Lawless Roads

Imagine the most lawless roads on earth – filled with the worst drivers imaginable. It’s a recipe for disaster and carnage, and a reality in Russia where 30,000 people die in road accidents each year. Throw in a culture of bribery and corruption amongst traffic police and you get close to what it’s like driving a car there. It’s everyone for themselves as etiquette takes a back seat to aggression and rev mania. But there is a new Russian revolution taking place, started in Moscow and spreading across the country, and it’s changing behaviour and saving lives. Almost four million Muscovite motorists have joined the uprising and mounted video cameras in their cars. These dashcams constantly record and capture everything – from the most spectacular and heart-stopping smashes and near misses, to road rage, crimes in action and even random acts of unbelievable kindness. Sunday Night’s Denham Hitchcock splashes out on a soviet-era Lada and takes to the road to experience first-hand what it’s like being behind the wheel on Moscow roads. What he discovers, and what drivers are doing to protect themselves and their much-loved vehicles, could teach us a thing or two in Australia.

No Filter: Miley Cyrus Exclusive

She’s currently the most controversial entertainer on the planet – and when she gives a rare exclusive interview she doesn’t hold back. And this week on Sunday Night, Miley Cyrus most definitely doesn’t hold anything back! She makes headlines wherever she goes, and controversy, shock and hysteria follow in her footsteps. At 21 she’s only just able to drink alcohol in most US states, but Miley has already clocked up a long celebrity career that began with her TV role as Hannah Montana. Her fans have grown up with her as this farm-loving teen from the burbs of Nashville has morphed into an international superstar and girl power role model for a generation

World Exclusive: The Most Exquisite Book of All Time
Redfoo
The Rescue

World Exclusive: The Most Exquisite Book of All Time

According to the world’s greatest scholars it is the most exquisite book of all time, perhaps the most beautiful of all. It is also one of the most mysterious books ever created. Handmade by the finest craftsmen and painters of the Renaissance period it has been surrounded by secrecy and intrigue for more than half a millennium. Hidden away for most of those 500 years, the legendary Rothschild Prayer Book has passed through the hands – and been coveted and desired – by the most powerful men and women in history. From Royal courts to the world’s wealthiest banking family it was looted by Adolf Hitler’s marauding troops, and stored deep below ground in Austrian salt mines, during the Second World War. Very few have ever laid eyes on it. Each and every page is inlaid with gold. But it is the paintings, and the scenes they portray, that are considered masterpieces in miniature. The manuscript is unique, not one other copy was made, and who it was made for is perhaps the biggest mystery of all. It was the very start of the 16th century and mankind was about to undergo the greatest period of discovery and change. It was a time when many scholars still thought the earth was flat, but Christopher Columbus was setting sail and Leonardo da Vinci was beginning to make incredible advances. The prayer book has borne witness to all this and more, including the discovery of Australia. Eight months ago another great secrecy emerged – who was the mystery buyer who paid a record $15 million to become the book’s new protector and guardian. Following that purchase the book vanished yet again. In the art world this is the most baffling secret of all. Sunday Night’s world-wide report will make headlines. It ends with reporter Steve Pennell’s holding this priceless treasure in one of the modern world’s most dynamic cities. But who is the m

A Fast Way to Live Longer and Be Smarter
Ladies of the Track
Tonight’s the Night: Rod Stewart Unplugged

A Fast Way to Live Longer and Be Smarter

No scam, no bull, no fad: to lose weight, live longer and be smarter takes just three minutes a week – and is free! It sounds too good to be true, but cutting edge science is now proving one very clever man’s theory does provide a solution to one of the modern world’s biggest problems – obesity. In this very special report, Sunday Night investigator Ross Coulthart travels to the heart of the English countryside to meet that remarkable man. When father of three Michael Mosley, who went to medical school and later became a science presenter for the BBC, was told by his doctor he was a diabetic it came as big wake up call. He used all his intellect and research skills to go in search of an answer, and what he found – and filmed – is both astonishing and exciting for us all. He called it the 5:2 diet, and his book sold millions of copies around the world. But that’s only the beginning of the story. Modern science has discovered that fasting like cavemen had to endure – regularly going without all but minimal food – has other extraordinary spin-off health benefits. Dangerously high blood sugar levels return to normal and fasting decreases the risk of dementia in mice, and scientists believe will do the same in humans as well. Ross takes on the Mosley challenge and his results will make you challenge everything you thought you knew about exercise – and how much you need to do.

Ladies of the Track

It’s officially the most dangerous job in Australia today – and in a few years more than 80 per cent of people doing it for a living will be women. Several times a day they climb into position and put everything on the line to do what they love – riding racehorses. They are dedicated and courageous, and many of them are young mums. They’re the rising stars in the Sport of Kings and the rewards

Howard Unmasked

For seven years he’s kept his silence. For seven years he’s kept his most personal views secret. Now John Winston Howard is unloading. He doesn’t have to hold back anymore. Australia’s second longest serving Prime Minister in history has a lot to say and a lot to reveal. So much so, that he’s given unprecedented access to Sunday Night in a series of explosive interviews.

The 14-year-old bowser boy at his dad’s service station who grew up to be one of the nation’s greatest statesmen, doesn’t duck one question or evade giving an answer. This is the leader who went to Bali in the aftermath of the terrorist bombing, was in Washington, D.C. when the Twin Towers fell, and who took us to war in Afghanistan and Iraq. He brought in gun control and the GST, steered the country to an economic boom….and was then voted out of office in a landslide election defeat that even cost him his seat in parliament.

While historians will pour over his every word, everyday Australians will be fascinated about his views on Costello, Gillard, Rudd, Bush, Thatcher and current Prime Minister Tony Abbott. He details the secret deals and political horse-trading not revealed previously. Howard also opens up like never before on his darkest days, when his father died and his wife Janette broke the news she had cervical cancer.

Love him or loathe him you have to watch this extraordinary TV event, if only to hear him say, “I made a mistake” and “I lost my nerve” at a crucial point in the country’s history.

John Howard now believes what he has to say, after those seven years of silence, will correct a number of falsehoods about him and the actions of the government’s he led. Even his firm views on cigarette smoking will surprise you. It’s a rare opportunity to watch history being made.

The Boy Without a Face
Daniel Ricciardo
Howard Unmasked

The Boy Without a Face

Prepare to meet one of the most extraordinary little boys in the whole world. By rights Yahya should not be alive, he should not have survived his mum’s pregnancy. You see Yahya was born without a face. He has no eyes or nose, and no mouth, and on the rare occasions he goes outside his head is always covered. His parents from a small village two hours outside of Casablanca love their beautiful boy, and have been struggling unsuccessfully since he was born to get help. Yahya can’t talk, or see, and eating is a real challenge – but the reality is he is just like any other toddler and full of life. He can only grunt and squeal but his brain is normal. Now come along for the most emotional and inspiring journey possible as a very special Australian woman dedicates herself to giving Yahya a chance of a brighter future. Fatima was battling breast cancer last year when she saw a photograph of Yahya online, and from that moment he was top of her bucket list. Single-handedly she has persuaded the surgeon – and the hospital – that separated conjoined twins Trishna and Krishna to take on Yahya’s case, but only if there is anything that can be done for him. The moment Fatima, having flown to Morocco, meets Yahya for the first time will melt your heart. Seven’s Health Editor Dr. Andrew Rochford is with Yahya, his mum and Fatima as they travel back to Australia for a remarkable recuse mission and a meeting with the surgeon, to discover if it will be possible to bring the boy without a face out of the darkness, and give him a life. Don’t miss it.

Daniel Ricciardo

He’s handsome, humble and the hottest new star in the world of sport. Daniel Ricciardo is the bashful boy from the back ‘burbs of Perth who started out racing go-karts, and is now in the running to be crowned Formula 1 World Champion. Oh, and behind the dazzling and disarming smile he pulls a million dollar sal

Exclusive: Taking off the Mask
Robyn Lawley

Exclusive: Taking off the Mask

Dana Vulin was a blonde and beautiful university graduate with the world before her. Then an innocent chat with a married man at a New Year’s Eve party changed her life for ever. The man’s jealous wife broke into her home, doused her with methylated spirits, setting her on fire. Dana suffered third-degree burns to two thirds of her body, including her face. That was two and a half years ago and the fact she survived at all is remarkable. Every day since coming out of a coma Dana has endured constant pain from her burns, only relieved by the pressure suit and mask she’s had to wear between countless operations. She became the girl behind the mask. A year ago on Sunday Night, after her attacker was jailed for 17 years, Dana vowed that one day she would be ready to remove her mask and return to her previous life. She said she’d only do it if she felt beautiful once more. On Sunday Night, witness the incredibly emotional transformation of Dana Vulin, and marvel at the skill and dedication of the Australian surgeons who give her back her face. The moment Dana steps out will literally take your breath away.

Robyn Lawley

Robyn Lawley is a supermodel and a giant of the fashion world – literally. She’s 188cm – that’s six feet two inches – of Aussie perfection. So when Sunday Night goes on location to the party island of Mykonos for the sexiest photo shoot of the year with Robyn, the tourists and locals get rather steamed up. Robyn Lawley is not your average model. She’s super smart with firm views about the industry, the fashion world and the messages they send out to young girls. The cover shoot for Marie Claire only emphasises why she is headed for the very top.

Secrets and Lies: A Worldwide Investigation
Stephen Fry

Secrets and Lies: A Worldwide Investigation

This major worldwide investigation by Sunday Night lifts the lid on a scandal that defies belief. How could one of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies ignore for decades the potentially lethal side-effects to patients from one of its most profitable drugs? But that is exactly what happened here in Australia and around the world. Thousands of patients died after taking Trasylol – a drug used by surgeons to prevent excessive bleeding and save the need to give blood transfusions. Operations appeared to be successful, but people suffered heart attacks, strokes or severe kidney damage – and many of those who didn’t die were left facing a lifetime on dialysis. Trasylol cost $1,000 a dose and was used across Australia at major hospitals for two decades before it was approved by the TGA, and another 15 years before it was finally taken off the market. Mounting medical evidence about the human toll from Trasylol was ignored by the company, which even withheld its own bombshell research from drug regulators. Chief investigations reporter Ross Coulthart meets the courageous Australian nurse who vowed as a young child to find out what happened to her super fit father, who died suddenly following a routine operation in 1978. It took her more than 30 years but when Jenny finds out the truth about her dad being given Trasylol she travels to Germany for an extraordinary face-to-face showdown with the bosses of the drug company that made it, and then hid its deadly secret. Tens of thousands of Australian families who lost a loved one to stroke, heart attack or kidney failure will not realise the cause of their pain and loss could be Trasylol. There is only one thing they can do to find the truth. In the United States, thousands of law suits have been launched, and the drug company has paid out hundreds of millions of dollars. But here in Australia, not one cent

Exclusive: Trapped in Love
Molly Meldrum

Exclusive: Trapped in Love

An Aussie mum, a dedicated schoolteacher… hunted and trapped in a dangerous and foreign land. Facing years in jail – for the crime of falling in love. This week on Sunday Night the astonishing exclusive story of a woman who loses everything for following her heart. Trapped in a broken marriage, disowned by her own family and taunted by her cruel husband, Mahassen secretly leaves Australia to meet the one person who doesn’t judge her. Within days she’s wearing a white dress and pledging her love and commitment to him. It is the biggest mistake of her life. For the next two months Mahassen is a fugitive from Lebanese authorities. An arrest warrant is issued, she is accused of bigamy and adultery, and she faces punishment under strict Islamic law. In this special undercover Sunday Night investigation, Walkley Award-winning journalist Steve Pennells is with Mahassen during her time on the run, he’s with this desperate mother when she is refused contact with her children back in Australia, and he’s there when she finally finds freedom and returns home. But back in Australia comes the biggest, most unexpected, twist of all. It’s raw, dramatic and nail-biting television.

Molly Meldrum

The extraordinary never-before-told full story of Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum. He’s a legend of Australian television, an icon of our music industry, and a damn good friend to many of the world’s biggest names in showbiz. A remarkable career all the more remarkable because of the tough early life Molly had – his mother suffered with mental illness and his father, a soldier, never recovered from his experiences of war. Reporter Melissa Doyle, a close personal friend, takes Molly on a gripping and emotional journey through his amazing life. From The Beatles to Bruce Springsteen, John Paul Young to Madonna, Elton John and Michael Jackson – there are stories galore. Then there’s the moment that re

Exclusive: Naked and Afraid
Stand By Me

Exclusive: Naked and Afraid

It is one of the greatest survival stories of our time. Seventeen days, lost in a far North Queensland rainforest. Naked and afraid, Shannon Fraser survived on nothing but water and her wits in a hostile jungle teeming with spiders, snakes and crocodiles. The thirty-one-year mother of three went missing on Sunday, September 21. In her own words, Shannon tells her story exclusively to Sunday Night — how she became lost and how she stayed alive. Reporter Denham Hitchcock also meets Heath Cassady, Shannon’s fiancé, who became a suspect and ultimately was the only person who never gave up believing she was alive, and never gave up searching for her.

Stand By Me

This is one of the saddest but most inspiring stories we’ve ever had on Sunday Night. It’s the story of two young people brought together by their battles with cancer and an enduring bond that can never be broken, even by death. Cass and Jason knew of each other when they were both diagnosed as teenagers. Throughout treatment they were at each other’s side and pretty soon became inseparable. But they would only have a few incredible years together before the news they both feared — while Jason entered remission; Cassie had run out of time. Their story should have come to an end but they did something that will make it last forever. Cass and Jason weren’t just fighting for their own lives — they set about trying to help other teens facing the same battles. It is an emotional and uplifting story made incredibly personal by Sunday Night guest reporter Sally Obermeder, who first met Cass and Jason through her own struggle with cancer and followed them on their amazing journey.

Hero to his Mates
Milk of Goodness

Hero to his Mates

See history in the making on Sunday Night this weekend. For the first time ever witness the ‘conspicuous act of bravery’ that earned a humble boy from the bush a Victoria Cross. It is the highest award an Australian soldier can receive, and Dan Keighran earned his VC for repeatedly putting his life on the line to save his mates in battle. The vision captured on the helmet cameras of Aussie troops involved in the three-hour gunfight with Taliban fighters in Southern Afghanistan is extraordinary. Ambushed on open ground and heavily outnumbered by the enemy, one digger shot and seriously wounded, something needed to happen to avoid a disaster. Corporal Keighran from Delta company didn’t hesitate. What he did to draw enemy fire away from his wounded mate and those treating him defies belief. Time and time again Dan made himself a target for Islamic fighters armed with semi-automatic machine guns, keeping them occupied while a chopper was called in to evacuate his fatally injured mate, Lance Corporal Jared MacKinney. Dan’s incredible bravery and willingness to sacrifice his life for his men is all the more remarkable considering he’d soon marry the love of his life, and his days in the army were numbered. Reporter Rahni Sadler meets Dan, his wife Katherine and some of those men whose lives he saved that dusty day when death seemed inevitable.

Milk of Goodness

Science is starting to confirm evidence about a remarkable natural milk that shows amazing results treating a range of disorders including autism, diabetes, some cancers and food allergies. This milk is the nearest thing in Mother Nature to human breast milk; it has 10 times more iron, three times more vitamin C and is lower in lactose and cholesterol than cow’s milk. This week on Sunday Night reporter PJ Madam meets Australian families who have seen amazing health benefits for their children after giving them this super food milk, that ex

Raising Boys
Under Siege

Raising Boys

One of the most controversial stories in the history of Sunday Night this weekend. A plea from a famous dad and some surprising supporters to have a national discussion about how we are raising boys today. Mambo founder Dare Jennings, who entered fatherhood in his 50’s, firmly believes that in today’s world just being a man is a problem: “As men our noses are rubbed in our bad behaviour… and it’s sort of just created a culture where it’s just too easy now for women to blame men for everything.” He says the kind of adventurous activities he enjoyed as a kid are now considered too dangerous – the pendulum has swung too far. It’s a view shared by clinical psychologist Bettina Arndt, who says there has been a shift away from dads having a role in how their sons are raised because in many families mothers are now making all the parenting decisions. Reporter Rahni Sadler talks to Australian mums who worry that today’s society is eroding the manhood out of Aussie men, turning them more into females by constantly telling boys “no” – and stopping rough and tumble games and playing with toy guns. We travel to the remarkable school where the headmaster sets no rules – pupils ride bikes without helmets, build ramps for their scooters, and can climb trees as high as they like without supervision. It sounds like chaos, and at lunchtime it is. But school discipline and academic results have improved, and kids are learning about risk management. The extraordinary experiment has to be seen to be believed. Finally, in the UK, we meet Sasha whose parents are raising him gender neutral. He plays with dolls and teapots and doesn’t think there is a difference between boys and girls. A thought-provoking story and sure to cause debate.

Under Siege

They go to work prepared to put their lives on the line to protect us, but more and more of our front line police officers are paying a terrible price. In this speci

Exclusive: The Crowe Files
Exclusive: Outbreak
Honour for our Forgotten Heroes

Exclusive: The Crowe Files

Russell Crowe doesn’t give many interviews these days – and certainly not like this one. So when the Oscar-winning Hollywood superstar has something to say it’s well worth listening. The day the ‘Gladiator’ sat down with Sunday Night’s Mike Willesse there was a feeling of magic on set – and he didn’t disappoint. From his revelations about his assault conviction for throwing a telephone at a hotel employee to his less-than-stellar early singing career, Crowe doesn’t hold back. And Willesee doesn’t pull any questions. Crowe, who now calls Australia home, also lifts the lid on his controversial new movie The Water Diviner in which he makes his debut as a director.

Exclusive: Outbreak

A life-destroying disease is breaking out all over Australia. Thousands of fit and healthy people from all walks of life are falling victim to the mysterious illness – which the Federal Government insists can’t be caught here. Victims slowly lose control of their limbs, experience violent seizures and suffer chronic fatigue. Many struggle to find treatment because doctors and hospitals turn them away saying the condition is psychological. Hundreds of Australians are now travelling overseas to Europe to undergo a radical new treatment that is claimed to be a cure. Sunday Night reporter Rahni Sadler joins three of them on their journey – and the results are remarkable.

Honour for our Forgotten Heroes

Last week Sunday Night revealed the hidden human tragedy of Aussie police officers whose lives have been crippled battling post-traumatic stress disorder. The condition strikes one in five officers yet State governments are reluctant to deal with the crisis, abandoning once proud policemen and women and leaving them to struggle for benefits from insurance companies. On Sunday Night this week, the campaign to change the criteria so that those offi

B-E-E A-M-A-Z-E-D-!

Rerun stories:
Dash Cam Revolution
Redfoo

B-E-E A-M-A-Z-E-D-!

One contest. 11 million entrants. The Scripps National Spelling Bee is an academic sporting event like no other. The young contestants from all over the USA travel to Washington, D.C. to compete against each other and the dictionary on national television in a three-day battle of the brains. One wrong letter spells the end of a dream. The winner gets $30,000 in cash. No wonder then that these young competitors need cool heads and nerves of steel to be top of the class. We follow 13-year-old Ethan Perrins who grew up with a stutter but found his voice competing in Spelling Bees. Sunday Night’s PJ Madam is given a behind-the-scenes tour of the big event by the most famous speller of all – Nupur Lala, the 1999 winner and star of the Oscar-nominated documentary “Spellbound”.

Sunday Night will also encore two popular stories from earlier this year:

Dash Cam Revolution

Imagine the world’s worst drivers on the most lawless roads on earth. Throw in corrupt police, aggressive motorists and a few million video cameras and you have the ingredients driving Russia’s dash cam revolution. These dash cams capture a windscreen-wide, warts-and-all view of Russian roads today – from the most spectacular and heart-stopping crashes and near misses to meteors flying across the sky and random acts of kindness. Join Sunday Night’s intrepid reporter Denham Hitchcock as he gets behind the wheel of a Soviet-era Lada motor car to experience the roads of Moscow first-hand. What he finds is that the dash cam revolution is helping to make driving in Russia a whole lot safer.

Redfoo

He’s one of the biggest music stars on the planet. Aussies also know him as the big-haired judge from The X Factor. But there’s more to Stefan Gordy – aka Redfoo – than catchy dance tunes. Redfoo opens up to Sunday Night’s Rahni Sadler about domestic violence, racism, bullying and near-c

Endless Summer

Rerun stories:
Watch Your Step.
Love in a Cold Climate

Endless Summer

It’s 50 years since Dorian ‘Doc’ Paskowitz and his wife Juliette began a bold family experiment. They raised nine children in a small campervan with hardly any money, no school and the beach as their backyard. Doc Paskowitz was a successful GP with a busy practice, but he gave it up along with his home and all his possessions to bring up his children unaffected by money and unspoiled by the real world. They travelled from beach to beach in the campervan and lived an endless summer for 15 years. Then it all went wrong. The radical approach to parenting is controversial and has been labelled as either inspired or completely misguided. Everyone will have a view. Sunday Night guest reporter Kerri-Anne Kennerley tracks down Doc, Juliette and the children to find out if the grand experiment worked or failed. You’ll be surprised to learn what happened and what the children missed the most.

Sunday Night will also encore two popular stories from earlier this year:

Watch Your Step.

Be careful where you step. At any time, without warning, the ground can open up and swallow everything. It might be a whole street. It could be a house or a building. Sometimes it’s a pedestrian. More sinkholes than ever are opening up around the world and devouring prime real estate in unexpected places. Sunday Night’s Alex Cullen travels to the sinkhole capital of the world and ventures inside an active sinkhole to find out why this frightening phenomenon is on the move. Alex also witnesses the birth of a new sinkhole as he explores an Australian sinkhole hot spot.

Love in a Cold Climate

Join a remarkable young Aussie couple who plunged their entire savings into a leaky boat and big dream. Jess and Chris put their lives and their love on the line in a high-risk magical journey to sail the North West Passage to Alaska. Sunday Night host Chris Bath reports on all the drama of t

Ship of Hope

Rerun stories:
5:2 Revolution
Ghost Island
Music Mash Up

Ship of Hope

A story that will make you proud. Guest reporter James Thomas meets an amazing bunch of big-hearted Australians on the world’s largest civilian hospital ship. The Mercy Ship delivers free surgery and health-care to some of the poorest people in Africa. We meet a thoracic surgeon from NSW and a paediatric nurse from Queensland who are among the dozens of volunteer doctors and nurses treating thousands of patients at every place the Mercy Ship docks. James also catches up with an engineer from Sydney who is sharing the incredible experience with his wife and three children. The generosity of these Aussie heroes is only matched by the joy of those they’re helping.

Sunday Night will also encore popular stories from earlier this year:

5:2 Revolution

There is a revolution sweeping the world. It’s called the 5:2 Diet and it’s changing lives, even saving lives. Millions have tried it successfully to shed a few kilos, but modern science is now discovering the benefits don’t end with weight loss. Regular fasting can also help reducing your risk of diabetes and dementia. It can even make you smarter. Sunday Night chief investigations reporter Ross Coulthart travels to the U.K. to meet the man behind the 5:2 revolution, Michael Mosely. Ross takes Michael’s advice and puts his diet and a new way to exercise to the test.

Ghost Island

Forty years ago, it was the most crowded place on earth – then everyone disappeared. Japan’s Hashima Island was home to 5000 coal miners and their families. The small speck of land surrounded by sea was a thriving metropolis, packed with high rises, several schools, businesses and supermarkets. Then the boom went bust. Almost overnight it was abandoned and made off limits. But a starring role in a James Bond movie led to the rediscovery of Hashima. Join PJ Madam on a tour of one of the strangest places on earth.

Music Mash