Leigh Sales

Leigh Peta Sales (born 10 May 1973) is an Australian journalist and author, best known for her work with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). She has won three Walkley Awards, and in 2023 was nominated for the Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television.

Sales hosted ABC TV's current affairs program 7.30 from 2011 to 2022. In November 2022, it was announced that Sales had been appointed as the new host of ABC TV's weekly documentary series Australian Story. She has also written and co-written several books, and since 2014 has co-hosted a podcast with Annabel Crabb, called Chat 10 Looks 3.

Early life and education Leigh Peta Sales was born on 10 May 1973 in Brisbane and attended Aspley State High School in that city.

She received a bachelor of business, with a major in journalism, from the Queensland University of Technology, graduating in 1994,

Career Broadcasting Sales first worked for Nine Network. She has interviewed every living Australian prime minister and many world leaders and celebrities, including Hillary Clinton, the Dalai Lama, Aung San Suu Kyi, Paul McCartney, She said she planned to continue working for the ABC.

In May 2024, Sales was announced as a mentor of autistic journalism students at Macquarie University for ABC TV's new interview documentary series The Assembly, based on a French format, which premiered on 20 August 2024.

In January 2026, Sales joined ABC Classic to host a new Saturday Afternoon program during the network’s 50th‑anniversary months.

Publishing Her first book, Detainee 002: The Case of David Hicks, was published in 2007 by Melbourne University Publishing (MUP). The book covers Hicks' case as well as a detailed explanation of the Bush administration's detainee policy in the war on terror and the Australian Government's cooperation.

Sales' second book, On Doubt, was published in 2009 with an additional chapter noting the Trump presidency and the rise of fake news.

Her third book, Any Ordinary Day, was published in October 2018. It examines the way people adapt to life-changing blindsides, drawing on Sales' personal experience as well as her years covering high-profile news events that drastically changed people's lives.

Sales' writing has also regularly appeared in major Australian publications, including The Monthly, The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and, before its demise, The Bulletin.

In the wake of fellow ABC presenters Hamish Macdonald and Lisa Millar both deactivating their Twitter accounts due to the high level of personal abuse they received on the platform, Sales wrote an opinion piece for the ABC in September 2021 exploring the issue of bullying received by journalists on Twitter which she described as "insidious" and "unhinged". This in turn prompted a public conversation on the topic.

Podcast

In November 2014, Sales started a podcast with Annabel Crabb called Chat 10 Looks 3. It is independent of the work they do for other media outlets and is an opportunity for them to talk about books, movies, television, the media and culture. Described by Sales and Crabb as "shambolic" and "peripatetic", the podcast episodes are recorded every two to three weeks. The podcast has spawned livestream shows in Australian capital cities and a book titled Well Hello published in September 2021. Self-proclaimed "chatters or chatterati" have formed a Chat 10 Looks 3 community on social media platforms built around the same tenets as the podcast – friendship, kindness, and an agreement to not discuss politics. Sales has said "a community has sprung up around (the podcast) who shares these in-jokes and language and interests. When I consume podcasts... I tend to see myself as a member of the audience, not as a member of a community. That's why it caught me by surprise".

Other activities Sales has presented sessions at the Sydney Writers' Festival, Melbourne Writers Festival,

In 2020, Sales voiced Coco's mother, Bella, in season two of Bluey, including the episode "Baby Race". and in 2022 she voiced an ice-cream lady in the "Ice Cream" episode.

In September 2023, she appeared at a public event at ANU, as part of the university's Meet the Authors series. She talked to astrophysicist and ANU vice-chancellor Brian Schmidt about her new book Storytellers. Questions, Answers and the Craft of Journalism. Award Work Year Result Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television The 7.30 Report 2023 Walkley Book Award Any Ordinary Day Rowspan="2" | 2019 Member of the Order of Australia (AM) For service to the broadcast media Walkley Award for Broadcasting and Online Interviewing Interview Rowspan="1" | 2012 George Munster Award for Independent Journalism Detainee 002: The Case of David Hicks (2007) Rowspan="1" | 2007 After 20 years of marriage, Sales and Willis separated in December 2016.