Long-serving ABC broadcaster Robyn Williams to leave The Science Show after 51 years

Long-serving broadcaster Robyn Williams is leaving the ABC’s The Science Show after 51 years, as the public broadcaster looks to refresh its science programming.The news comes a fortnight after the ABC’s financial journalist Alan Kohler announced his retirement after three decades.Both Williams, and 74-year-old Kohler, will step down in December. Kohler delivered his final, and 4,035th finance bulletin, on Wednesday evening.It was on Kohler’s podcast in May that the ABC managing director, Hugh Marks, rattled a few cages when he said the ABC “has trouble stopping things” and needs to move away from preserving every legacy format to make way for modern content.Marks later clarified that he was speaking hypothetically and had no particular program in mind. “A better [way of saying it] would have been: ‘What got us to where we are today is not necessarily the things that are going to be successful in the future’,” he told the ABC. Sign up to get Guardian Australia’s weekly media diary as a free newsletter But more changes at the ABC are certainly on the horizon as Marks heads towards his second anniversary at the helm in March and now has his hand-picked news director, Simon Robinson, on board.The media announcement referred only to “the next generation” without providing any detail about a replacement for Williams as he leaves the longest-running program on the ABC with the same host.When the Science Show launched in 1975, Williams was 31 years old.Now 82, ABC insiders have claimed Williams would “prefer to keep going until he drops”.But ABC management is keen to make way for generational change, Guardian Australia understands.Aunty has offered Williams the chance to make a number of science documentaries in 2027 and remain on the payroll for another year.“These 51 years have been exciting and an enduring pleasure, as well as a lot of hard work of course,” Williams said in a statement.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotion“I did wonder whether 102 years might be a neater number, but no … I will be saying farewell in December and making other plans for 2027 – still about Australian science and still within the ABC.”Marks said Williams brought clarity, insight and wonder to some of the most important scientific questions of our age.“Through The Science Show, he has nurtured generations of curious minds and left an enduring mark on Australian public life,” Marks said.“His legacy at the ABC and across the scientific community is profound, and his influence will be felt for decades to come. I thank Robyn for his passion, his commitment, and his intellect in serving the audiences of the ABC.”Williams has been on the front foot of reporting on the climate crisis, which was featured on the first program, and has presented groundbreaking investigations into asbestos and medical malpractice.Williams was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1988 for service to science. In 2020 he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO). He has been awarded honorary doctorates from University of Sydney, University of NSW, University of South Australia, University of Queensland, the Australian National University, Macquarie University and Deakin University.