Hilary Barry on her final weeks at Three: 'This is utter s***'

Footage sourced from: TV3 One of TV3's biggest and most popular stars, newsreader Hilary Barry, has quit the network. Her departure is the second high-profile casualty at TV3 in the past year after John Campbell left in May when his show Campbell Live was dumped.

Breakfast host Hilary Barry has given her most in-depth interview yet about her exit from Three, calling her final weeks at the network "utter shit".

The presenter spent 23 years reporting and fronting news shows at Mediaworks, including hosting the 6pm news, but left in 2015 amidst a brand relaunch and the loss of many long-term shows and staff.

In a new interview with The Spinoff, Barry says the hiring of Rachel Glucina to launch now defunct gossip site Scout was the beginning of the end for her.

Broadcaster Hilary Barry leaves TV3 for the last time after resigning. 27 May 2016 New Zealand Herald Photograph by Doug Sherring

She said the announcement that the former Herald gossip columnist would be joining Three came as a "shock" and affected the sense of family she felt at the network.

"We just felt it was an affront because she just did not fit our brand," Barry said.

"Her brand did not align with our brand. Simple. Just at odds, completely at odds."

Scout was launched with great fanfare by Mark Weldon, the network's controversial CEO between 2014 and 2016.

But Scout closed after less than a year later amidst rumours of unhappy staff and low ratings. Glucina is no longer at Mediaworks.

Barry said the loss of key staff, including presenter John Campbell and news boss Mark Jennings, alongside many reporters and behind-the-scenes staff, as well as the closing of shows like Campbell Live and 3D, each felt like a "stab in the heart".

"It was once a month - stab in the heart. So and so is gone. That's being disestablished. You get to this point where you're going, 'come on'. I'm grieving but also trying to put on a brave face," Barry said.

"Then you actually get to this point where you're worn down. You get to a point ... and you go, 'I'm not buying into this crap. That is shit, utter shit.' You shrug your shoulders and you go, 'enough'.

Barry has since joined TVNZ and co-hosts the Breakfast show alongside Jack Tame.

She told The Spinoff: "I love what I'm doing, and I'm not going anywhere."