Channel 7's shiny disco ball has reportedly lured Kerri-Anne Kennerley away from her long-term home at Nine - with the former Mornings host

Kerri-Anne Kennerley

CHANNEL 7's shiny disco ball has reportedly lured Kerri-Anne Kennerley away from her long-term home at Nine - with the former Mornings host said to have signed on as a contestant on Dancing With The Stars.

The classy veteran has left the network which mishandled the axing of her daytime chat show and the hiring of former Dancing co-host Sonia Kruger to take her place, The Daily Telegraph reported.

But in a match made in bedazzled TV heaven, the sequin-loving 58-year-old is expected to take her next step on to the dancefloor in the popular, sometimes career-reviving, reality series.

Kennerley maintained a dignified front when it was revealed Nine boss Jeff Browne had ordered an overhaul for her show in October - then secretly hired younger rival Kruger to host it.

The former Seven star will team with singer David Campbell to host a new mornings format next month.

While Kennerley was gracious in public about the changes, privately she was less impressed with her treatment after 44 years with Nine.

Channel 7 declined to comment directly on the signing, with a spokesman adding: "(We're) still a way away from cast announcements for next series."

Kennerley did not return calls, but Nine's senior spokesman David Hurley confirmed she had left the network in high regard.

"There is not one person at Nine that doesn't like KAK. We genuinely wish her well," he said yesterday.

Of course, Kennerley famously has form in the dancing department, teaching former Treasurer Peter Costello the macarena, then opposition leader Kevin Rudd to rumba and one-time Democrats leader Cheryl Kernot to cha cha.