The future of The Bachelorette Australia has been left in question as one of its key cast members, the one and only Osher Gusberg, is ruled out of in-person filming.
The iconic host of the reality franchise has been forced to remain in Melbourne in quarantine after his other show, The Masked Singer had an unexpected COVID-19 outbreak in August.
Which leaves his next usual big gig, The Bachelorette, in a state of flux.
Channel Ten confirmed the host would be unable to film scenes with this year’s two new Bachelorettes – Elly Miles and her sister Becky.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Ten confirmed: “[Osher] will not appear in some of the later episodes due to quarantine restrictions.”
So where does that leave the format of the show? Well, it seems that’s anyone’s guess.
The show is currently being filmed in New South Wales’ Oxford Falls, and has already kicked off filming for the new season, which will air later this year.
While Osher’s presence on the show is the constant we have always relied on in life, it looks like we’ll have to get used to something a little different this time – and not everyone is thrilled about it.
Bachelor fan account Bachie Funny shared the update with its following on Instagram, writing: “Channel 10 have now confirmed what I posted on my story weeks ago that Osher will miss most of Elly’s season of The Bachelorette.”
The post continued: “He’s been stuck in Melbourne for The Masked Singer since the start of August. She’s been filming Bach in Sydney since the end of July.”
The fan account pondered how Osher could have, in fact filmed any scenes of The Bachelorette with the border restrictions which have been in force for almost two months now, musing: “Unless he’s been sneaking back and forth over the border with no iso I can’t see how he will have filmed more than the first few eps.”
It does beg the question – how will the show work if Osher isn’t there to tell heartbroken singles that they do not, in fact, hold a rose in their clammy hands?
It’s likely Osher will remain in Melbourne’s lockdown for a while longer too.
In late August, he shared an update on Instagram about his time in quarantine, revealing that he was missing what is most important.
“Missing @audreygriffen so much, however I know that my isolation is keeping others safe,” he wrote.
“While it sucks being away from my family, I know that it’s to keep everyone in my family, my community, and my country safe.”
While Osher’s next hosting gig is very much in a state of the unknown, we’re sure that he and Ten Network will come up with a solution that’ll ensure we still get some quality content – safely produced.
Watch this space…