Breakfast Television's Frank Ferragine calls it quits, jokes 'Toronto traffic has a lot to do with it'

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Breakfast Television personality Frank Ferragine has announced he is leaving the program at the end of the month.

Ferragine, who is BT’s weather specialist and gardening expert and goes by the nickname “Frankie Flowers,” dropped the surprising news during Wednesday morning’s broadcast.

“I’ve made the decision to step away from Breakfast Television and early mornings,” Ferragine told co-hosts Dina Pugliese and Tim Bolen. “This is going to be my final month … I want to take some time and go back to the things that ground me most which is my boys, my family, my garden — spend some time with the amazing community that has supported me.”

Ferragine added that he wants to “continue to grow in other ways.”

“This experience I’ve had, it started in February of 2005, right here in the early mornings,” he said. “The experience I’ve had over these two decades  are so wonderful that I think it’s important for someone else to shine in this spotlight.”

Ferragine thanked the team at BT and Rogers, as well as the morning program’s legions of fans.

“It’s been a wonderful journey,” he said. “So the time now is for me to sleep in, but also grow in other ways and that’s what I want to do.”

“Twenty years is unbelievable,” Pugliese said. “To get up at these hours and drive in from Bradford.”

Pugliese hinted that Ferragine had been talking about stepping away for some time. The TV vet joked that Toronto traffic played a part in his decision.

“Toronto traffic has a lot to do with it,” he said.

Pugliese called Ferragine “Canada’s Al Roker” and praised him for wanting to focus on his family business, Bradford Greenhouses.

“You are that staple, that icon, we wake and (wonder), ‘What’s Frankie got to say today?’ Everybody adores you,” Pugliese said.

Ferragine promised to return for segments on gardening. “I want to teach people how to grow things. I want people to feel good,” he said.

“Like a perennial he’s always going to come back,” Pugliese promised, saying he is “exactly” the same person he is on air, off camera.

“You come back as soon as you’re ready,” she said.

Pugliese, who left the morning show in 2023, returned to BT in March alongside Bolen after the program parted ways with Meredith Shaw and Sid Seixeiro.

“I was so burnt out,” Pugliese previously said, addressing her decision to leave two years ago. “I had a lot of lonely moments, in the last two years; a lot of scary moments. I got to be there for family, in big ways and small … I was grateful that I had that time to rest.”

Following Seixeiro and Shaw’s ouster, a spokesperson for Rogers Sports & Media called their exit part of the show’s necessary “evolution.”

“We’re invested in Breakfast Television’s success and leadership in Canadian morning television,” a spokesperson wrote in an email to Postmedia. “As part of this evolution, we have parted ways with Sid Seixeiro and Meredith Shaw. We thank them for sharing their passion and energy with audiences every morning and wish them both the very best.”

On social media, news of Ferragine’s departure was greeted with a mix of appreciation and sadness with many BT viewers calling his exit “the end of an era.”

“This made me sad this morning, but wish you the best and hope you have lots of fun spending more time with your family. Your replacement will have big shoes to fill!” one fan wrote, with another adding, “Made me want to cry. But good for you. You still have flowers to keep you busy. Will really miss you Frankie for the weather your garden knowledge and just you being you!”

mdaniell@postmedia.com