Former ‘Saturday Disney’ Host Jeniene Mapp-Testa Has Passed Away at 49
Australian television host Jeniene Mapp-Testa has passed away after ongoing dialysis treatment. She was 49.
Mapp-Testa was perhaps best known as the former host of Saturday Disney, a long-running children’s television program.
When Saturday Disney debuted in 1990, Jenine Mapp-Testa was one of the show’s original presenters. She would continue hosting the show until January 27, 1996, when she exited alongside fellow presenters James Sherry and Sofie Formica.
Following her time on Saturday Disney, Mapp-Testa helped launch the Disney Channel in Australia, hosting Playhouse Disney and Studio D from 1997 to 2003.
In her waning days, Mapp-Testa documented her dialysis treatment on social media. Her final Instagram post thanked hospital staff for “making her birthday special.”
Shelly Craft Pays Tribute
Following the news of Mapp-Testa’s passing, fellow television host Shelley Craft took to social media to pay tribute to the woman she succeded on Saturday Disney in 1996.
“This week saw the passing of Jeniene Mapp Testa. One of the OG Disney hosts in Australia,” she began.
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“An incredible bright light and a young girl that gave her all, entertaining kids every Saturday Morning for many many years. I did my best to step in Jeniene’s shoes in my first TV job on Saturday Disney but I knew it was going to be a mammoth task,” she continued.
“Jeniene supported me so kindly and helped me navigate the world of Aussie showbiz. Our paths have crossed over the last 20 odd years, we always felt like we were Disney family forever,” she continued.
Lisa Barry Remembers Mapp-Testa
Lisa Cakar (nee Barry) another former Saturday Disney host also paid tribute to Mapp-Testa.
“I said goodbye to you this week, said all the things I wanted to say … I hope you heard me,’ she wrote to Instagram on Saturday,” she wrote.
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“I hope you heard me say ‘Thank you for the friendship, memories, and lessons you shared with me. I wish I had seen you more. I hope you know how loved you are and the impact your passing has had on so many…. It’s not goodbye it’s…..until our souls reconnect again.'”
Mapp-Testa is survived by her husband Lincoln, and her son Benjamin. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family at this time.
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