Former Fox News host Jillian Mele joins 6ABC

Mele started last week as a reporter and anchor on ‘Action News’

Former Fox News host Jillian Mele, seen here in 2017 on the set of "Fox & Friends." Mele has joined 6ABC in Philadelphia as a reporter and anchor.Read moreRob Tornoe / Staff

Published Jan. 10, 2022, 7:09 a.m. ET

Former Fox News host Jillian Mele has landed a new job back home in Philadelphia.

The Glenside native joined 6ABC last week as a reporter and anchor on Action News, the station confirmed to The Inquirer. It’s unclear when viewers will see Mele on TV — 6ABC offered no further details, and Mele could not be reached for comment.

Mele joins 6ABC at a time of transition. Longtime Action News anchor Jim Gardner will deliver his final 11 p.m. newscast this month, but will continue on the 6 p.m. newscast until he retires at the end of the year. In September, his longtime colleague David Murphy said goodbye to 6ABC after 31 years as a meteorologist and reporter.

During the on-air announcement of her departure from Fox News in October, Mele told viewers it was the most “difficult decision” of her life. She also said she’s pursuing an MBA at La Salle University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree.

“Ultimately, I had to do what was right for me,” Mele said. “I’m going to take a little time, focus on my personal life, which I haven’t done my whole adult life, and sleep past 1 a.m. for the first time in 15 years.”

Mele spent four years at the network, serving as the co-host of Fox & Friends First and the news anchor on Fox & Friends. Not surprisingly, clips of her news reports ended up at times on former President Donald Trump’s now-banned Twitter account, and she met some members of his family.

“I have people coming up to me all the time asking me if I’m a conservative,” Mele told The Inquirer in 2017. “I consider myself a news anchor, and I always say to people you shouldn’t know what I am.”

Working on Philadelphia television won’t be anything new for Mele. She spent 10 years on air here before heading to New York City. A diehard Eagles fan, Mele spent two years co-hosting the now-defunct Breakfast on Broad on the network formerly known as Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, where she received an Emmy for her work alongside former co-hosts Rob Ellis, Sarah Baicker, and former Eagles offensive lineman Barrett Brooks.

Prior to that, Mele spent seven years at NBC10, working as a news reporter, sports anchor, and traffic reporter.

At least one of Mele’s new 6ABC colleagues is excited to work with her.