Kochie reveals the very surprising ‘typical Sunrise viewer’

She’s a fan favourite on Channel Seven’s Home and Away, known for keeping the peace and always doing the right thing by her family.

And now David Koch has revealed that Irene, a fictional character played by actress Lynne McGranger in the hit soapie, was the role model for the Sunrise team’s ‘ideal viewer’.

Koch, 67, who is set to retire from the Channel Seven breakfast show on Friday, says that even after 21 years doing Sunrise, he stills calls the audience ‘Irene’.

‘Very early on we talked about who our viewer was, the most important viewer that we were going to build the show around,’ Koch explained in an interview with TV Tonight on Thursday.

‘Funnily enough, she’s still there today: we came up with Irene from Home and Away. Even now, we still refer colloquially and lovingly to our viewers as ‘Irene’. 

Koch said the Sunrise team referred to the breakfast show’s audience as Irene, a fictional character played by actress Lynne McGranger (pictured) in the hit soapie

Mum’s control the remote control in the family, Koch told TV Tonight on Thursday Pictured: Lynne MacGranger as Irene in Home and Away. The character is known as a ‘peace keeper’ who always makes the best decision for her family

‘Because mums control the zapper of a morning,’ he continues. ‘You’ve got to get mums to turn you on, but that can’t spark an argument with the rest of the family. 

It’s got to be a good decision that mum can live with…We have the sport for Dad and a bit of news, but primarily, we had to get Irene to turn us on and make that a good decision for the family.’

The approach certainly paid off, with the team taking Sunrise to the top of the TV ratings ahead of rival Today. 

Elsewhere in the chat, Koch, who is widely known by his nickname, ‘Kochie’, talked about the highlight’s of his 21-year-long career on the high-rating breakfast show.

The veteran included his broadcast from Antartica, an Anzac Day special from the Kokoda trail and coverage of the devastating cyclone in Far North Queensland in 2006 as major milestone’s.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday Koch revealed his new career move on Wednesday.

The Australian television juggernaut said he would be is publishing a finance advice newsletter called Your Money & Your Life. 

Announcing the news to his Instagram followers, he said the bulletin will ‘filter’ all the financial news into an ‘easy to understand’ publication. 

David Koch (second-from-right) is set to make an emotional exit from Sunrise on Friday after co-hosting the high-rating breakfast show for 21-years

‘Every Friday, I publish a newsletter. It’s called Your Money & Your Life,’ he said in the video post. 

‘I filter all the important money news that I think you should know about into one easy to understand newsletter that could actually change your life.’

In the caption of the post, Kochie suggested his newsletter could help readers make ‘smarter money moves’ as they ‘build a prosperous financial future’. 

It appeared the publication will be an aspect of the finance news reporter role he will move into for the final 18 months of his Channel Seven contract.