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Ex-Today star calls Deb Knight and Georgie Gardner's axing a 'shame'

A photo of Richard Reid wearing a burgundy jacket on the Stan blue carpet.
Richard Reid has shared his hot take on Today's latest shake up. Photo: Getty Images.

Former Today entertainment reporter Richard Reid has weighed in on the beleaguered morning TV show’s disastrous year that saw ratings plummet and the mass exodus of four hosts.

Amongst the departing talent are existing hosting duo Deb Knight and Georgie Gardner, who have been ousted to make way for returning star ‘King of TV’ Karl Stefanovic and Allison Langdon in 2020.

The Australian-based American presenter, who spent seven years on the Channel Nine program, told Yahoo Lifestyle in an exclusive chat on Tuesday night that it was ‘a shame’ to see the female hosts go.

A photo of Richard Reid wearing a burgundy jacket and David Campbell in a blue shirt on the Stan blue carpet.
Richard Reid and Weekend Today co-host David Campbell on the Stan blue carpet. Photo: Stan (supplied).

“I think the Australian public has yet to decide, it’s a shame it didn’t work out with Georgie and Deb, I know they gave it a red hot go,” he said from the blue carpet at the Stan Originals event at the Sydney Opera House.

“Hopefully Karl and Ally will be able to give Sunrise a run for their money,” he added with a smile.

The Channel 7 morning show is, of course, the one to beat when it comes to ratings, since reaching a year high of 329,000 earlier this month.

A photo of Deb Knight and Georgie Garner on set of the today show.
Deb Knight and Georgie Garner have been given the boot to make way for Karl's return. Photo: Channel Nine.

Richard’s savage swipe

It’s not the first time Richard, who is now a regular on Today rival Studio 10, has shared his frank opinion on the show and Karl.

“Deb Knight is delightful,” he told Yahoo Lifestyle back in February when she was announced as Karl’s replacement following his axing in late 2018.

“Let’s just say when Richard Wilkins and I were together, we were on fire and the ratings were good,” he quipped. “That’s all I’ll say”.

The outspoken ‘gossip guru’ landed himself in a bit of hot water while appearing on I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! when he dropped a bombshell about his ex-coworker Karl’s hair.

While chatting with fellow campmate and recent Bachelorette star Angie Kent, Richard claimed that the 45-year-old has used spray-on hair to cover a thinning spot, and later underwent a hair transplant.

A photo of Karl Stefanovic and Allison Langdon.
Karl and Allison will take up hosting duties in 2020. Photo: Channel Nine.

Richard for MAFS 2020?

Next year is shaping up to be a busy one for Richard, with a top-secret ‘fashion related’ TV show and a potential stint on Married At First Sight on the cards.

“I’m just finishing up a television pilot which I’m very excited about, it’s fashion related that’s all I can say, so hopefully, someone will buy it,” he tells Yahoo Lifestyle.

“I’m like a cat, I always land on my feet so who knows. I landed in the jungle [in 2019], maybe I’ll land on MAFS!” he laughed.

While he may be joking about the dating show, Richard is no stranger to reality TV having appeared on Nine's reality show, Celebrity Apprentice back in 2015, however, he wasn’t among the singletons announced as the cast for MAFS 2020.

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