And now to a World Exclusive from Channel 7's Today Tonight in Adelaide, who claim to have solved one of Australia's greatest murder mysteries: what happened to Joanne Lees's boyfriend Peter Falconio

NICK ETCHELLS: Tonight - a new lead which could be the final piece of this gruesome puzzle. Frank Pangallo has our world exclusive report. — Channel Seven, Today Tonight, 29th January, 2014

Two weeks ago TT claimed to have dramatic new evidence that-back in 2001-convicted killer Bradley John Murdoch dumped the body of the British backpacker he murdered down a well, around two kilometres from the site of the killing ...

PAUL JACKSON: I am 100% sure that Peter Falconio's body is down the bottom of the well and I'm sure we will find the silver revolver that shot him in the back of the head, and I'm sure we will find Joanne Lees' jacket, the Levi's jacket with the metal studs. I'm sure we'll find that! — Channel Seven, Today Tonight, 29th January, 2014

TT's source, on which the entire program relied, was a retired Northern Territory crime writer, Paul Jackson.

He had got the story from an unnamed truck driver who claimed to have seen a white ute like Murdoch's parked near the well on that dark and fateful night.

The anonymous truckie had only made the claim four years after the murder.

But Frank Pangallo was eager to believe ...

FRANK PANGALLO: It makes a lot of sense. The killer would have been panicked by the escape of Joanne Lees into the bush and would have had no time to dig a grave — Channel Seven, Today Tonight, 29th January, 2014

So to the well they went.

And with a team of abseilers and a forensic specialist, they set out to find what Jackson just knew would be there.

But all they found was water, silt and not a bone in sight.

And before they could start digging a flood forced them to abandon the search ...

PAUL JACKSON: It's belted down with rain, we copped six inches of rain in two days and we're stuffed! So all I can say, Frank, is let it dry out, and we're back. NICK ETCHELLS: A very untimely downpour indeed, and of course when conditions are right we will return to Neutral Junction Station to complete that search. — Channel Seven, Today Tonight, 29th January, 2014

In fact TT had already waited a remarkably long time to finish that search.

What they hadn't told the audience was that they'd filmed their world exclusive in 2011, and kept it on the shelf for almost three years.

Not surprisingly, their rivals had a field day, with Ten's Ita Buttrose calling it 'shameful journalism" and Nine's David Hurley-formerly boss of A Current Affair-chortling ...

Only two acts can set this latest Today Tonight travesty right. First, the show must apologise unreservedly for the deliberate fraud it has perpetrated on its viewers. And second, fearless reporter Frank Pangallo must be lowered into the well to complete his so-called investigation. — TV Tonight, 31st January, 2014

Fearless Frank was outraged by this criticism and threatened to sue.

Pangallo maintained they went back to the well several times but the water levels were just too high.

And his boss Graham Archer also sprang to his defence

There is NOTHING wrong with the story ... all the material was FRESH and the lead is as strong as ever. — Graham Archer, Producer, Today Tonight, 6th February, 2014

Archer also told Media Watch ...

We expect such rubbish from our "TV rivals" for obvious reasons. We hope we don't get the same rubbish from you. — Graham Archer, Producer, Today Tonight, 6th February, 2014

Well Graham I hate to disappoint you.

But we also think the story was ridiculous.

It's a second-hand report of an anonymous source claiming a night-time sighting of a white ute years after the event.

It's hardly decent evidence, and you've had three years to put it to the test.

But the Falconio beat up is in the great tradition of Today Tonight stories.

And with last Monday's announcement that the show has been axed in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, we thought we'd celebrate some of their greatest hits.

Starting with that famous encounter on the island of Mallorca between TT's Dave 'Sluggo' Richardson and Christopher Skase

DAVID RICHARDSON: For most our confrontation with Skase he was smiling - we soon found out why. Roadblocks. Roadblocks. Within minutes Skase had police roadblocks in place. Every car coming from his village to the capital was searched. Get out of here. Get out of here Get out of here — Channel Seven, Today Tonight, 12th November, 1996

As Media Watch revealed, there were no roadblocks.

Nor was Richardson in Mallorca.

The car chase was mocked up in Barcelona, on the mainland 200 kms away.

And who could forget the shocking story of the Granny in Chains?

GRANNY: 'Don't let them do this to you.' ANNA COREN: As we go to air tonight this 84 year old grandmother remains locked up in her nursing home room chained to a cupboard. So what has she done to deserve this? — Channel Seven, Today Tonight, 20th February, 2007

Well, she'd gone on Today Tonight that's what she'd done.

Reporter Nicholas Boot had brought the chains along himself and locked her up, making the nursing home look cruel.

Soon Seven was soon paying $1/4 million to settle a defamation suit.

But special mention must be made of long-time host Naomi Robson.

Seen here kitted out in safari suit and lizard to cover Steve Irwin's death

And caught here off her guard in some famous outtakes.

Hello, I am Naomi Robson and you are not. Up your arse. Oh pain. Mrs Jarson and their son Hugh. Boy was it an arse. Jesus. Blocked out the sun it did. I couldn't stop laughing. Ha ha ha ha. Enough. — You Tube, 24th August, 2006

Ah, where will we go for fun now that Today Tonight is gone?

The good news is the program will still go out in Perth and Adelaide, and viewers in the other capitals should be able to settle into more serious fare, with Seven's new one-hour news at 6pm.

We'll be checking on that in due course.

And you can check on all our stories on the website or catch up with the program on iview

And in the meantime we also have to say farewell to two of our team.

Amy Donaldson our fabulous supervising producer is moving to another job inside the ABC and Lin Buckfield our Executive Producer who's been a friend and colleague of mine for years on Four Corners, Witness and The Times is off to New York.

We wish them well and we'll miss them both enormously.

But we will be back next week. And we'll see you then. Good bye.