Chris Bath says goodbye after 20 years at Seven

From the front line to behind the desk: It’s been 20 years since Chris Bath joined Channel Seven.

Tonight we say goodbye to the familiar face that viewers have laughed at, cried at and followed in the news all these years.

From delivering breaking news stories to Dancing With the Stars, Chris was a beloved member of the Channel Seven family.

Last month, the 48-year-old announced her retirement after two decades covering everything from natural disasters to royal weddings.

Chris’ career at Seven began in 1996, when she was 28.

Before joining Seven, she worked at NBN and 2UE Radio in Newcastle.

The Charles Sturt University graduate joined Seven to wake up the early risers and hosted the 6am newscast.

From there, she hosted the Sunday morning political show “Face to Face” on Seven, where she cross-examined senior names in Australian politics at the time.

Over the years, her resume became increasingly impressive as she worked as a reporter for the news program Witness and traveled the world as a correspondent.

She then returned to Sydney to anchor the 6pm news and later present the Late News.

When Sydney hosted the Olympic Games in 2000, Chris was right there at the finish line to provide coverage for viewers at home.

She also co-hosted the opening ceremony audition while seven months pregnant with her son, Darcy.

Impressively, she returned to work just three and a half weeks after giving birth to her child.

In 2001, she led the breaking news coverage of the federal election when John Howard defeated Kim Beazley.

From there, she hosted Sunday Sunrise and Sydney’s 6pm weekend bulletin until she returned to the morning shows in 2004.

2005 was a big year for Chris, who reported from Bali on the verdict in the Schapelle Corby case.

It was also the year she showed off her moves on Dancing With The Stars.

In 2009, she accepted the challenge of hosting “Sunday Night,” one of her biggest roles.

She also followed in Ian Ross’ footsteps as presenter of Seven News until 2014.

Although he had retired, Chris continued to lead ongoing coverage of current events such as the case of the missing aircraft MH17.

In 2015, she reached another career high with Seven when she covered Anzac Day in Gallipoli.

And now it’s time to say goodbye.

After two impressive decades working with Seven, Chris has gained numerous fans across Australia who have witnessed her evolution as a journalist – and witnessed every goal scored, every blunder, every fabulous hairstyle and every fashion choice she has made along the way.

Farewell, Chris Bath. We will miss you very much.

READ CHRIS’ FAREWELL STATEMENT HERE