Lee Lin Chin resigns from SBS

LEE Lin Chin has abruptly quit her newsreading role at SBS after almost four decades at the network.

The legendary newsreader — who gained a cult Twitter following and has Facebook pages dedicated to her avant-garde fashion sense — made the announcement on Thursday in an interview with Network 10’s Sandra Sully.

“There’s not one big reason, there’s many small to medium-sized reasons, which for the time being I wish to keep to myself but may talk about one day,” Chin told Ten Daily.

“One reason I shall reveal however is that working two days a week didn’t give me enough time to devote to the pub and re-reading the complete works of Shakespeare. So now that I work zero days that issue has been addressed.”

Chin stressed that she wasn’t retiring and is developing several projects with Chris Leben and Daniel Hartley-Allen, who she previously worked with on The Feed.

The SBS broadcaster also hinted at a possible move to Ten, with Chin saying she’d be “very happy to read the news on a casual basis” and was “sure I could give Ten a ratings boost”.

Chin’s departure from the public broadcaster comes after SBS managing director Michael Obeid resigned unexpectedly last week.

Chin first began working at SBS as a translator in 1980 before going on to host SBS World News in 1988 and will read her final bulletin for the program this Sunday.

The journalist gained notoriety for her distinctive newsreading voice and fashion sense, which spawned numerous Facebook pages such as Lee Lin Chin’s Asymmetrical Outfits.

But it was her recurring role on SBS satire show The Feed which cemented her cult status and earned her a Gold Logie nomination in 2016.

During her time on The Feed, Chin hilariously skewered her newsreader persona through skits such as The Real Newsreaders of Sydney and Broadcast Battleground.

She also boasts a 223,000 Twitter following thanks to her tweets — ghostwritten by Leben — which satirise her life in the spotlight.

In a statement, SBS confirmed Chin would be replaced by Anton Enus, who was returning to SBS World News after successfully battling bowel cancer.

“I was thrilled to receive the all-clear in March. I’ve been away from SBS for nearly two years and missed it immensely. I can’t wait to get back to into the studio alongside the best news team in the business,” Enus said.

“I’d also like to pay tribute to Lee Lin, whom I’ve worked with for nearly 20 years at SBS. She has set such a great example for her colleagues here and across the television industry. She’s a class act.”