The Today show host Georgie Gardner was noticeably absent from the desk on Monday morning – and after the weekend she’s had, who could hardly blame her?
Addressing the disappearance, her co-host for the last ten months, Deb Knight, awkwardly “acknowledged” that Georgie would not be returning.
“We wanted to acknowledge our colleague and friend Georgie Gardner,” she said sombrely.
“You might have read over the weekend that Georgie has left The Today Show. After a really challenging year we want to wish Georgie all the very best.”
Sitting in Georgie’s chair was co-host Tom Steinfort, who also added to the sentiment.
“She has been a committed and passionate member of the team here. I think particularly when she’s been sharing the stories of every day Australians who are doing it tough; these are issues that she wanted to focus on.
Deb Knight and Tom Steinfort on The Today Show on Monday.
(Image: Nine Network)“She has always been a woman of strength here, a woman of class, and also who could forget very wicked sense of humour that would just pop up from time to time as well.”
Summing up Gardner’s time on the show, Deb added: “She gave it a red hot go.”
“For now though, Georgie is enjoying the time with her family, friends, taking Wilbur the dog (for a walk) and we look forward to seeing you on our screens again very soon.
“Enjoy the sleep ins,” Tom added.
WATCH NEXT: Karl Stefanovic and Georgie Gardner’s awkward reunion.Story continues…
Over the weekend it was confirmed that popular television personality, Karl Stefanovic, would return to the breakfast program in 2020 alongside Allison Langdon – with Georgie’s departure effective immediately.
In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Gardner, 49, revealed that she had been consulted “two weeks ago” and was “disappointed with the outcome”.
“I have no regrets, even though the scrutiny and public discourse has been daunting and disproportionate. It’s also at times been cruel,” she told the outlet.
According to reports, Georgie will return to Nine News and Tom will be heading to 60 Minutes.
Georgie Gardner will return to hosting Nine News.
(Source: Getty Images)Last week, it was revealed that Karl would make a grand comeback to TV following his shock departure from The Today show almost a year ago.
Since his departure, the show has seen a slump in ratings as Georgie and Deb took the helm, and according to the Daily Mail, it saw an all-time low in ratings on Friday last week, drawing in only 155,000 viewers.
Interestingly, there is a catch if Karl is to return, according to reports.
The Australian reported that Karl would need to take a large pay cut to host.
