The replacement of David ‘Kochie’ Koch with Matt Shirvington on Sunrise may have dominated the TV industry headlines, but the real winner in the shake up has been the woman who sits beside them: Natalie Barr.
The 55-year-old has solidified her status as Australia’s queen of breakfast TV.
While Matt Shirvington learns the ropes, Barr has taken the lion’s share of hard-hitting interviews.
She’s also being trusted with big Seven exclusives, such as the upcoming interview on the show’s flagship current affairs show ‘Spotlight’ with Kathleen Folbigg. The network is believed to have paid about $400,000 for the exclusive.
Her efforts are clearly paying off, with Sunrise celebrated another ratings coup on Monday increasing its market share from 245,000 to 235,000 in just a week.
A Seven insider told Daily Mail Australia the secret behind Natalie’s success is not only her excellent journalism skills, but her kind and loyal demeanour.
‘Nat’s earned the respect of the audience because she’s proved time after time she sits in that chair to ask the questions they wanted answered – not matter how tough it might be to ask them,’ they said.
From a university drop-out to Channel Seven’s golden girl: How Natalie Barr, 55, (pictured) rose up the ranks to become the queen of Australian breakfast TV
‘There are lots of prickly people in Australian media, but Nat’s proved you can make it to the top by being kind and loyal. She cares about everyone she works with.
‘Nat’s secret? She doesn’t fake it. There are no games. She loves her family, her job and good journalism.’
Daily Mail Australia analytics also show that Australians, whether Sunrise viewers are not, are interested in what she has to say about issues as diverse as Titanic submarine disappearance, Medicare and the Brittany Higgins case.
So what path did Barr take to the top of Australia’s most-watched breakfast show?
For 25 years, Barr has climbed up the ladder at Channel Seven, reporting on everything from bushfires to political scandals.
She has also travelled the world to cover major stories out in the field, including attending the inauguration of Barrack Obama, and jetting to London to report on death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Barr has previously admitted she’s surprised at the success of her career, given that she dropped out of her journalism degree at Curtin University to jump straight into working at a local newspaper.
‘I hated uni and my parents said I could leave if I got a job and I sent letters to so many places,’ the Bunbury-born reporter told Perth Now last year.
Barr became Sunrise’s most experienced co-host this month following David Koch’s departure two weeks ago, and has since taken on the lion’s share of hard-hitting stories while Kochie’s replacement Matt Shirvington (right) learns the ropes
Natalie has being trusted with big Seven exclusives, such as the upcoming interview on the show’s flagship current affairs show ‘Spotlight’ with Kathleen Folbigg. The network is believed to have paid about $400,000 for the exclusive
She was seen in Nana Glen, NSW, earlier this month to interview Kathleen, pictured middle
Barr (pictured in the nineties) has previously admitted she’s surprised at the success of her career, given that she dropped out of her journalism degree at Curtin University to jump straight into working at a local newspaper
‘I just wanted to make it on TV one day. I couldn’t have dreamt I would end up in Sydney, let alone on a show like this. It is way beyond my wildest dreams growing up in Bunbury. ‘
Barr joined Sunrise as a newsreader in 2003, just a few months after Koch and Melissa Doyle started co-hosting the show.
Doyle was eventually replaced by Samantha Armytage, who passed the baton to Barr in March 2021.
Barr joined Sunrise as a newsreader in 2003, just a few months after Koch and Melissa Doyle started co-hosting the show. (Pictured: Doyle and Barr in 2007)
Doyle was eventually replaced by Samantha Armytage (left), who passed the baton to Barr in March 2021
Barr had previously served as a regular fill-in for Armytage, and was already popular with Sunrise viewers when she took the top job.
Indeed, Sunrise maintained its strong ratings after Barr took the helm, proving she was the right person for the job.
In March 2021, Barr told Stellar magazine that landing ‘the biggest job’ of her life the same week she turned 53 spoke volumes.
Sunrise maintained its strong ratings after Barr took the helm, proving she was the right person for the job. (Barr is pictured with former co-host David ‘Kochie’ Koch)
During her career Natalie has covered everything from bushfire disasters to terror attacks in Europe
Natalie was left in tears when she covered the Lindt Cafe Terror attacks in Martin Place, Sydney with David Koch (pictured) in December 2014
She explained she’d been warned in the past about women being overlooked by TV executives as they get older.
‘But I’ve just got the biggest job of my life the week I’ve turned 53. So I guess that’s not true, is it?’ she said.
Barr, a working mother to two teenage sons Lachlan and Hunter, then thanked Channel Seven for supporting her through her two pregnancies.
In March 2021, Barr told Stellar magazine that landing ‘the biggest job’ of her life the same week she turned 53 spoke volumes. (Pictured in 2012)
‘I think there’s a view that it’s a big bad TV station, it must be terrible for women. But I’ve had nothing but support from this company. I guess I’m living proof,’ she said.
Barr previously admitted it was extremely difficult to balance her TV career with raising her children.
‘I was barely keeping it together. I went back to work in three months [after giving birth] because I really struggled with motherhood at that stage and found it hard to be at home with young kids,’ Natalie told TV Week in 2021.
She went on to say she couldn’t have done it without her husband Andrew Thompson’s support.
‘He’s so much stronger than me. I might appear strong but I’m not really. I’ve learned to be a stronger person over the years and through my job,’ she said.
Outside of her roles on-screen, Natalie lives in Sydney with her Oscar-nominated film and TV editor husband Andrew (right). The couple married in 1995 and share sons Lachlan, born in 2001, and Hunter, born in 2005
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