ABC Late News presenter Mike Tetlow quits after job takes its toll: 'I am swapping the studio for sunnies'

ABC Late News presenter Mike Tetlow has announced his departure from the national broadcaster, after eight years in the role.

The Perth-based journalist, 48, shared an update to social media on Tuesday morning, revealing he had accepted another position which was better suited to his personal life.

'In career news, I am swapping the studio for sunnies... in a few weeks, will be in a new job as Manager of Media at the Rottnest Island Authority,' he began. 

'It means leaving Late News and the ABC after more than eight incredible years. I have loved it, but working until midnight five nights a week has taken its toll.'

He added that his new role would significantly free up his schedule, allowing him to spend more time with his wife and their two sons.

'My boys Josh and Sam are getting older and evenings with them are precious. As is time with my amazing wife Rochelle who has been carrying the can every weeknight all these years, with unwavering support,' he wrote. 

He finished by saying he would immensely miss his former colleagues who he had developed a strong connection with over the years.

'So many ABC colleagues have become wonderful friends and I will miss them. I will also miss the special connection with TV viewers and listeners to ABC Radio,' he wrote.

'Teenage Mike, who in the 1990s dreamed of working in broadcasting, would have scarcely believed where his career would take him. But the time is right for a change. See you at the Rotto Bakery!'

Many of Tetlow's fans took to the comments section to express their sadness over his departure and offer him their well wishes.

'It will be sad to see you leave mate, but you do seem to have your priorities all correct. Wishing you the best in the new role and glad to see you will be enjoying more time with the fam... and a reasonable sleep pattern!' one person wrote.

'You'll be missed on the telly! Enjoy those weeknights back in the fold of family life,' a second added. 

He has spent more than 25 years keeping Australians informed, building a distinguished career across some of the world's biggest news organisations.  

The veteran broadcaster began his journalism career in 1998, aged just 20, as a reporter with GWN in Bunbury before moving to Channel Ten in Perth in the early 2000s.

He later joined Channel Nine before relocating to London in 2004, where he worked as a freelance producer and presenter for global media giants including the BBC, ITN and Reuters.

During his four years in the UK, Tetlow was at the forefront of one of the world's biggest news events, with some of the first images of the devastating 2005 London terror attacks passing through his Reuters edit suite and being distributed to television networks around the globe.

While based in London, he also became a regular contributor to Channel Seven's Sunrise and The Morning Show, where he honed his skills as an on-air presenter.

Tetlow returned to Australia in 2008, spending a brief stint with Western Australia's local edition of A Current Affair before rejoining Channel 10 as a producer and weekend newsreader.

He stepped away from television between 2014 and 2017 to work as a government media adviser before returning to the screen when he joined the ABC in Perth as a presenter for the launch of the national Late News service in early 2018.