Veteran TV host Alan Jones has disappeared from the airwaves since last Christmas because he’s recovering from surgery.
Jones, 80, launched his online TV show, Alan Jones Direct To The People, in a blaze of glory late last year but it suddenly vanished in December and has yet to return.
It sparked concerns for the seasoned broadcaster, with Lisa Wilkinson’s husband Peter FitzSimons tweeting: ‘I am starting to get worried. WHERE IS JONESY?
‘There were four shows streamed on Facebook before Christmas, and we were promised it would revolutionise the whole media landscape.
‘But tomorrow is 1 March, and there has been NOTHING. I think we should be told?’
Veteran radio show host Alan Jones (pictured) has dismissed claims he is set to join 2SM and revealed he’s recovering from back surgery which has knocked him off air
It sparked fears for the seasoned pro, with Lisa Wilkinson’s husband Peter FitzSimons tweeting his concerns (pictured)
Jones has been updating his Facebook page with opinion piece columns and appearing as a regular guest on a Canberra-based radio show.
However his daily Facebook video shows have been missing, despite Jones’s promise in December: ‘I will be everywhere – you won’t be able to escape me.’
Head of content Jake Thrupp told Daily Mail Australia that Jones had been flattened by back surgery which has left him unable to work while he recuperates.
But he said the team were using the time to regroup and enhance the show, and create a Smart TV app to spread their reach.
Jones told Daily Mail Australia: ‘It’s been a rough time, but all is well.
‘The rehab is good and it’s giving us a chance to make the Alan Jones show an even bette project.
‘I’ll be back soon and ready for offering a genuine voice on issues that matter to the Australian voter.’
The apparently insincere tweet voicing concern for Jones from Peter FitzSimons (pictured here with wife Lisa Wilkinson) sparked a furious backlash
Alan Jones (pictured at the launch) returned to Australia’s news landscape with new online TV show Alan Jones Direct To The People on social media but then vanished over Christmas
‘Alan was in hospital all January,’ Mr Thrupp revealed. ‘He had some back surgery which slowed things down.
‘He had a knee replacement at the end of last year, and it sort of clashed with his with previous back surgery so they just had to to fix a few things.
‘It’s nothing serious but it did take him out for a while and he’s still obviously recovering. He is in rehab at the moment.
‘Our priority obviously is to get him well, which he is, and he’s recovering very well. And then we’re due to be back in April.’
Mr Thrupp revealed the team had been using the time to develop an Australian Digital Holdings (ADH) Smart TV app and sign up new broadcasters and columnists.
‘A lot of it was rushed last year,’ he admitted. ‘We had four weeks to put some stuff together, which we did.
‘But we needed to do housekeeping – revamp the show, redo graphics, develop a smart TV app, bring other people on board.
‘We have new columnists set to join us and we think we also have a new 9pm broadcaster who we hope to reveal soon once we finalise the deal.
‘You could say it’s been two or three months of housekeeping.’
Jones is pictured with Sky host Peta Credlin. The 80-year-old accused Sky of ‘cancelling’ his conservative views
The outspoken broadcaster left Sky News Australia in November after the network cancelled his weekday show from its TV line-up.
His first half dozen Facebook shows had a total reach of 1.6million, said Mr Thrupp, and will return in April, with a regular show broadcast at 8pm Monday to Thursday.
He added: ‘We are pretty confident it will be ready by the end of the month.’
The update comes amid speculation the radio legend was on the verge of a deal to present the morning show on 2SM, following the exit of Marcus Paul.
The rumour was fuelled by comments from KIIS FM’s Kyle Sandilands who insisted: ‘Word in radio land is that he’s joining 2SM.’
Mr Thrupp added: ‘There is no truth to that whatsoever. It’s nonsense.’
Alan Jones (left) is pictured playing tennis with his head of content Jake Thrupp (right) in June last year
It’s understood Jones’s exit deal with former employer 2GB – where he presented his Breakfast Show for almost 20 years – blocks him from hosting a morning radio show.
FitzSimons’ apparently insincere tweet voicing concern for Jones sparked a furious backlash from entertainment journalist, Peter Ford.
‘Peter, as you well know, Alan has been terribly ill all year with multiple surgeries and in enormous pain largely due to blockages in spinal cord,’ he fired back at the Sydney Morning Herald columnist.
‘He was in hospital for seven weeks and now doing rehab. If all this gives you a thrill I’d suggest it says more about you than him.’
Ford later added: ‘Peter has been obsessed with him for years. He’s a bully in exactly the same way he accuses Alan of being, just attacking from a different angle.’
FitzSimons’ apparently insincere tweet voicing concern for Jones sparked a furious backlash from entertainment journalist, Peter Ford (pictured)
His show will return to Facebook and YouTube in April, with veteran radio host Alan Jones (pictured) promising to ‘give the voiceless a voice’
