Sacked weatherman uses final broadcast to go on an epic rant

A weatherman has slammed his employer during his final on-air appearance after being axed.

Channel 7 presenter Paul Burt was recently let go from the Australian channel, which is currently undergoing cost-cutting measures.

The 51-year-old veteran previously said he was left feeling ‘instantly ill’ after recently being told he would not be offered a new contract.

However, when it came time for his final time presenting the weather for the state of Queensland, Paul made sure it was a memorable one for both himself and viewers.

On Saturday’s 6pm news bulletin, he started by saying: ‘Hello everybody yes, it is my last weather for the network tonight.

‘Let’s get straight into it everyone because it’s the most important thing is your Sunday and not me.’

After he’d shared the forecast, anchor Samantha Heathwood paid tribute to his time at the network.

‘Bertie we can’t let you go tonight without thanking you for your passionate weather reporting over the past decade and a bit. I’ve loved your energy and our laughs and on behalf of our entire news team and I’m sure all of the viewers I’d like to wish you all the best for your next chapter,’ she said.

Burt, who has spent nearly three decades in the industry, then thanked viewers for placing their ‘trust, loyalty and support’ in him and thanked his family before taking aim.

‘If I’d had the opportunity I wouldn’t have wanted to go this way,’ he said.

‘It’s what happens when you get sacked.’

The programme then cut to footage of Burt, who has been at Seven since 2013, presenting various segments over the years.

Two years ago, Burt famously stopped his TV live cross and charged into the ocean to rescue a 10-year-old boy struggling at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast.

Last year he also became an ‘international belly flopping champion’.

However, he recently revealed he’d only been given ’55 seconds to say my goodbyes’ after getting sacked.

‘By the time I went into the studio when I got back to the coast, some of my colleagues there had already been let go earlier that morning, so I knew what was coming,’ he told the Sunday Mail.

‘There was no leniency, there was no discussion, there was no “Is there a way we can keep going?” he said.

He added: ‘There was certainly some shock there initially, and embarrassment to have it in the news, but over the last few weeks I’ve taken a lot of heart from all the people who have come up to wish me well and say how much they enjoyed what I did, whether it was people down at the local boat ramp or Costco or wherever.’

The presenter also revealed being sacked was ‘rather embarassing’ for his wife and children after they found out he’d been let go in a media report before he’d been able to tell them.

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