Sylvia Jeffreys, Ben Fordham and Lauren Phillips celebrate Richard Wilkins’ 35th anniversary on Channel Nine

Richard Wilkins’ best friends celebrated his 35th anniversary with Channel Nine on Friday.

That evening, the 67-year-old veteran entertainment journalist hosted a poolside party starring Sylvia Jeffreys, Lauren Phillips, Ben Fordham, Jayne Azzopardi and Tim Gilbert at her contemporary home in Sydney’s Cremorne.

Sylvia and Lauren took to Instagram to congratulate Richard on his incredible career success.

Sylvia, 36, wrote next to a group photo of the party: “Dickie is the kind of friend who makes you feel like family. I am proud to call him my friend and celebrate 35 years with Kanal Nine. We I love you Dickie Bird.

Lauren also shared two photos of her hugging Richard and holding a glass of champagne.

‘Mine all time favourite. We are celebrating the 35th anniversary of this absolute legend on Channel 9. We love you Dickie xx,” she exclaimed.

Heartfelt: In addition to the party’s group photo, Sylvia wrote on Instagram: “Dickie is the kind of friend that makes you feel like family. I’m proud to call him my friend and celebrate 35 years with Channel Nine. We love you Dickie Bird’

Hello! Lauren (pictured) also shared two Instagram photos of her hugging Richard and holding a glass of champagne.

Dessert: ‘My all-time favourite. We are celebrating the 35th anniversary of this absolute legend on Channel 9. We love you Dickie xx,” she exclaimed.

Jayne shared a close-up of the epic cake with a photo taken in one of Richard’s signature icing dresses, while Ben, 45, shared two candid shots of Richard catching his girlfriend Nicola Dale coming out of the icing. pool.

“Trust me,” he jokingly wrote next to the photos.

The celebration came shortly after Richard announced he’d been asked to star in Married At First Sight, once one of Nine’s biggest and most successful shows.

Event Details: Channel Nine’s Jayne Azzopardi shared a close-up of the epic cake on her Instagram stories with a photo of Richard in one of his designer dresses over frosting.

Party Pranks: Meanwhile, Ben (right), 45, shared two spontaneous Instagram photos of Richard catching his girlfriend Nicola Dale (left) as she leans out of the pool.

Richard said he was offered “many zeros” to play in a celebrity version of the reality show.

†[Former Nine CEO] David Gyngell once told me, “If you get Married at Celebrity First Sight I’ll give you – not the amount, but many zeros,” he explained on Tuesday’s Fitzy & Wippa morning show.

Celebrities Richard Reid, Yvie Jones, Ash Williams, Tully Smyth, Harry T, and Paulini Curuenavuli were previously touted as potential stars as a famous spin-off of the experiment.

The offer: The celebration came shortly after Richard announced on Tuesday’s Fitzy & Wippa radio show that he had been asked to star in Married At First Sight, one of Nine’s biggest and most successful shows.

Although Richard did not refuse to appear on the show, he told radio hosts Ryan “Fitzy” Fitzgerald and Michael “Wippa” Wipfli that he did not want to appear on SAS, Survivor or Love Island.

Richard is currently in a relationship with former flight attendant Nicola Dale.

She publicly confirmed their romance when she shared a candid photo of the couple on Instagram in July 2020.

I do? Richard told radio hosts that he was offered “many zeros” to star in a famous version of the reality show. Pictured: The cast of the 2022 series

They had just returned from a romantic getaway in Byron Bay, New South Wales.

‘How much fresh air, clean food and my first yoga class in my life!!’ Richard captioned a series of photos and added a pink emoji with a love heart.

Richard and Nicola were caught kissing by the paparazzi in June 2020.

They were reportedly introduced by their mutual friend Ben Fordham at a party earlier that year.

Being strong: Richard is currently in a relationship with former flight attendant Nicola Dale. She publicly confirmed their romance when she shared a candid photo of the couple on Instagram in July 2020. Photographed together in March