- Foley, Hoggart allegedly sacked
- Managers wanted younger performers
- TV guide: What's on this week
Confidential has been informed the show's producers, Southern Star, dropped the two remaining original group members without consultation - opting to recruit younger, cheaper performers to the nationally renowned children's entertainment troupe.
Foley, 29, was reportedly the last to hear that his Hi-5 days were numbered. They both announced their "retirement" last month.
"He stopped for petrol on the North Coast and a guy at the petrol station says to him, 'Hey, my brother got your job yesterday'. It was the first he'd heard about being replaced," a source who wished to remain nameless said.
When asked if that was how he had learned he was being ditched, Foley refused to comment.
"Look, I don't really want to talk about it," he said.
"I've got a contract until Christmas and I intend to honour it."
The reason Foley and Hoggart, who were once engaged, still have contracts is because the producers want to include them in the line-up for a Carols By Candlelight program, which broadcasts on Christmas Eve. But come Christmas Day, the pair will be unemployed.
The new yet-to-be-announced cast members are believed to be almost a decade younger than Foley and Hoggart and infinitely cheaper to employ for concert tours.
"The performers in Hi-5 aren't wealthy like The Wiggles. They don't get a percentage of profits, they just get a salary," one source said.
"The original cast members were on high salaries - a problem for producers when they want to take the group on the road for extensive touring. Southern Star will save a lot of money replacing them with younger talent."
Of the other three original members - Tim Harding, Kathleen de Leon and Charli Robinson - only Robinson has successfully pursued a follow-up TV career.
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