Hosting Carols In The Domain is the tinsel on top of another spectacularly successful year for Sunrise’s Natalie Barr and Matt “Shirvo” Shirvington.
Another joy (to the world) is that the beloved Christmas tradition will be broadcast live this year after a few years of pre-recorded events, and the pair laugh as they hint they may just go rogue.
“Well, you never really know,” Shirvo, 46, tells TV WEEK. “I mean, Nat and I are pretty comfortable working alongside each other these days and do tend to go a little sideways on the show here and there, and so you just never know what could be around the corner.”
“And then we’ll be on holidays,” Nat adds.
“Yeah, we’ve got a month off afterwards,” Shirvo says, “so people will forget, and we can come back and start afresh.”
It’s Nat’s 12th year hosting the annual concert, which notches up 41 years this year and will see a standout list of performers including perennial favourites The Wiggles, Samantha Jade, Rhonda Burchmore, and Hugh Sheridan take to the stage. She still gets goosebumps.
“I love Christmas – but even if you don’t, even the most cynical person could not watch that broadcast and not be moved by it and not feel a sense of joy and belonging and happiness,” Nat, 56, says.
“It is a beautiful night. A unique night, and to be front and centre is just so special for us.”
Shirvo is hyped for his second turn as host, especially because there’ll be a huge contingent of his family cheering him on from the crowd.
“We’re very limited in having our family interact with us on [Sunrise] – you head off in the middle of the night and you do your thing and you come back home,” he shares. “It will be so lovely to know there’ll be so many of my family out there.”
While the popular presenters love a singalong with their festive favourites (Shirvo’s is Jingle Bells because he can remember all the words, and Nat loves a stirring traditional carol such as Song Of Joy), they do ask production to turn their microphones off.
“We don’t want to inflict too much pain on the audience,” Shirvo says. “There are professional singers on stage for a reason. That’s not our forte – we’re better at speaking.”
It’s also a chance to tie a bow on what has been another extraordinary year for the Channel Seven breakfast show.
“Our production team has worked tirelessly to put the show together this year, and there hasn’t been a week where we’ve thought, ‘Wow, that was a bit of a down week,’ or ‘That was a slow week,'” Shirvo shares.
“We are packed every week, every show. And we’re getting huge name guests on. I mean, we’ve had, we had the cast of Gladiator II on, the cast of Wicked. There’s been so many – it’s been brilliant.”
While Nat headed off to the US to cover the election, which saw Donald Trump again elected president, ever the consummate professional, she won’t be drawn on the result.
“There’s lots of people happy with the result – It was good to go there and feel the pulse of that nation,” she says.
“We do lots of political interviews, and I think, as a show, we take pride in not taking sides. Each and every day, we try and ask questions of both sides. And in an increasingly partisan media landscape, I think we really concentrate on not showing our politics, and we will continue to do that.”
The pair are chatting to TV WEEK on the last day of the ratings year. Shirvo jokes that they are in separate rooms because they don’t like to be with each other unless they are contractually obligated to do so. Nat clarifies quickly they are actually sitting side by side, and adds her highlight of 2024 is having a “great full first year” with her co-host (who took over from original host David “Kochie” Koch in mid-2023).
“And we’ve had another great year of ratings, and that shows you how much the viewers love him and how well he’s fitted in with the team,” Nat says.
“It is a big team, it’s way more than the four of us on the desk and Sam Mac. There’s a lot of people who put this together and we’re really proud of everyone of all the parts that make our show happen.
“We’ve just finished 40 weeks of ratings. And we’ve won them again. We’re really proud of that and so thankful for our viewers.”
They’re both looking forward to celebrating Christmas with their families – Nat in WA and Shirvo hosting at home. Neither will make a New Year’s resolution, except to switch off from the news cycle for some weeks and catch up on television watching. Shirvo’s recently discovered 7Plus has all seven seasons of the award-winning Sons of Anarchy.
“Everyone’s going to think I’m so lame,” Shirvo laughs. “I am so late to the party. But I never watched it the first time around. So I’ll be literally smashing it out.”
Nat also relishes the opportunity to have a big chunk of time off.
“We don’t take much time during the year – so, you know, it’s a long year when you’re doing shiftwork,” she says. “We’re really ready for a big break and thankful everyone can go and spend time with their family and our friends, and then come back refreshed.
“That’s how you get the work-life balance when you must be across so many things [for most of the year].
“All I want to worry about is what we’re putting on the barbecue.”
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