One of the biggest risks in Australian breakfast TV history appears to have marginally paid off.
Today Show viewers this morning flocked to the show’s social media accounts praising Channel Nine’s decision to put Georgie Gardner in the hosting seat next to Karl Stefanovic.
‘It”s like she never left,’ wrote one viewer. ‘Great decision TODAY’.
Good move: Today Show viewers this morning flocked to the shows social media accounts praising Channel Nine’s decision to put Georgie Gardiner in the hosting seat next to Karl Stefanovic
While another wrote: ‘Love Georgie. Such a nice lady and to top it off a wonderful news presenter’.
Georgie stepped in to co-host the show three months after former host Lisa Wilkinson suddenly quit to join Channel Ten’s ‘The Project’.
Despite heaping praise on the network for Georgie’s placement, viewers were not so happy about the show’s decision to keep Karl Stefanovic.
‘Love Georgie, can’t stand Karl,’ wrote one viewer. ‘Hope Channel Nine wake up, he is not worth the $$. How many more times does he have to appear drunk or hung-over’.
While another wrote: ‘Don’t like Karl, get him off’.
‘Love Georgie’: Georgie stepped in to co-host the show three months after former host Lisa Wilkinson suddenly quit to join Channel Ten’s ‘The Project’
Georgie made her highly-anticipated return to the Today show on Monday, four years after she quit as news anchor.
And on the debut episode, Karl took a tongue-in-cheek dig at his new co-host.
‘You haven’t made any significant errors yet,’ the 43-year-old playfully directed at the mother-of-two.
An hour after making her debut as co-host on breakfast television, Karl quipped lightheartedly on-air: ‘Now into your first comeback show Georgie and you haven’t made any significant errors yet.’
Smooth start: On her debut episode, Karl took a tongue-in-cheek dig at his new co-host. ‘You haven’t made any significant errors yet,’ the 43-year-old playfully directed at the mother-of-two
Caught slightly off-guard by his playful remark, Georgie responded: ‘Oh, you reckon? What about the off-air stuff?’ referring to their antics off camera.
‘That’s being recorded too,’ Karl responded in a tongue-in-cheek fashion.
The remarks come shortly after Georgie revealed concerns about potentially losing herself in her new hosting role.
‘Ditch him’: Viewers appeared to have turned on Karl Stefanovic urging Channel Nine to dump him
Antics: Caught off-guard by his playful remark, Georgie responded slightly awkwardly: ‘Oh, you reckon? What about the off-air stuff?’ referring to their antics off camera
Georgie told The Daily Telegraph on Sunday that the pressures of live television in conjunction with the social media age have made her nervous about intense ‘scrutiny.’
‘There’s a part of me that feels wary because we live in a time now where there is just so much scrutiny, we live in this very weird era of clickbait and I just hope with that I don’t lose my spontaneity,’ she said.
‘I figure we’re all at risk of saying something that we might… regret or feel ‘oh gosh I wish I didn’t say that.’ But I hope that doesn’t override the genuine side of me and my authenticity.’
Concerns: Georgie revealed concerns about potentially losing herself in her new Today show hosting role, in an interview with The Daily Telegraph
When asked about rumours of a feud with her co-host Karl, Georgie dismissed it as gossip, saying it’s been ‘hyped up a fair bit.’
It comes after an insider claimed the Perth-native will face a pressure test in her new role.
The breakfast TV host will be getting the ‘hard-hitting interviews’ on the show to make her mark, while it’s been claimed that her and Karl’s rumoured tension has been ‘overplayed.’
Scrutiny: ‘There’s a part of me that feels wary because we live in a time now where there is just so much scrutiny, we live in this very weird era of clickbait and I just hope with that I don’t lose my spontaneity,’ she said
‘I’d be giving her the main interviews of the day for the first few weeks to stamp her authority,’ an insider told News.com.au.
‘She can’t be seen as Karl’s offsider. Given his strong personality, it’s vital she’s given space to show that it’s now just as much her show as his.’
On Geogie and Karl’s rumoured tension, the insider said: ‘If she didn’t like the guy, she wouldn’t have taken the job.’
Standing her ground: Veteran journalist Lisa Wilkinson, 58, walked away from Nine in October last year after they failed to give her the same salary as Karl