Sunrise, Today and Studio 10: The hosts behind Australia's morning TV shows

The morning wars are real in Australia as the commercial TV breakfast shows have often gotten into a war of words over their popularity and rumours circulating.

However, with the focus now on world events and pulling together as a nation, the competitive nature between the hosts of these news and current affairs shows has taken a back seat.

That's not to say their competitive natures have changed, most are still judged on their rating success, but rather, they are currently simmering in the background. Or maybe Anchorman style, they are planning on taking their brawl to a back alley of Melbourne or Sydney post-Covid restrictions – well that's what they're planning in my imagination anyway.

But just who are the people behind the polished morning personas that perk up our mornings while we're still waiting for our morning coffee to kick in?

Today

Having launched on the Nine Network in June 1982, Today is now the longest-running breakfast show in the country. The current hosts of the show are Karl Stefanovic and Allison Langdon.

Karl, 47, studied journalism at Queensland University of Technology but upon graduation struggled to get a cadetship. The following year, 1995, he got a job at WIN television Rockhampton as a cub reporter. It was that year that he met his first wife, fellow journalist Cassandra Thorburn at a party.

She was working for ABC radio Rockhampton and straight away took the piss out of Karl, something he found attractive. "She told me I look like a preppy," he recalled to the Sydney Morning Herald. "She said, 'I suppose that's how you got your job in television, because of your pretty-boy looks'." They married later that same year.

It was in 2000 that Karl's career really took off after he joined Channel Nine, first in the Brisbane newsroom and then once the couple moved to NSW, in Sydney. His meteoric rise led to hosting roles on Today, 60 Minutes, A Current Affair and at Nine's annual Christmas event Carols by Candlelight.

Not only was he popular as a serious TV host but also as a family man and all-round nice guy. However, some of the gloss started to rub off when rumours that his marriage was not as solid as once believed started to circulate. Despite being a dad to Jackson, now 21, (Ava) Willow, now 16, and River, now 14, the rumours were true and his marriage to Cassandra was over. He experienced a barrage of publicity and questions about his burgeoning romance with shoe designer Jasmine Yarbrough.

When his co-host Lisa Wilkinson left the show after the network allegedly failed to match Karl's pay package and his private life was more in the papers than the stories he was telling, it seemed like it was the beginning of the end for Karl's professional career.

"Ratings for Today have been trailing [Seven Network's] Sunrise across the year and even, on occasion, hit 12-year lows," said TV Tonight's David Knox told the ABC. "He had become a liability for Today."

In 2018, just after he and Jasmine were married, it was announced he would be leaving Today.

But when ratings didn't improve, Nine announced they were bringing Karl back. With his career back on track and now a baby daughter Harper, 15 months, with wife Jasmine, life looks pretty rosy for the comeback anchor.

Allison Langdon also studied journalism and having done community radio at school and contributed to the National Radio News at university, she was quickly picked up Channel Nine when she completed her degree.

She began her career as a producer for the late-night news programme Nightline before moving across to the National News. She made a name for herself by making sure she had news from the scene reporting from China and East Timor and was one of the first Aussie journalists on the scene of the 2004 Australian Embassy bombing in Jakarta.

Her private life also revolves around the newsroom as she is married to fellow journalist Mike Willessee Jr, the son of respected A Current Affair anchor Mike Willessee. The couple has two children – son Mack, four and daughter Scout, two.

Sunrise

Seven's breakfast news show Sunrise was launched in 1996 and has seen many of Channel 7's top current affairs personalities in the co-host chair. It is now fronted by David Koch and Natalie Barr.

David Koch, affectionately known as Kochie, originally trained as an accountant going into journalism as a financial journalist. He built up quite a portfolio in that area but at the same time, he was developing a following as a TV host which was recognised when he was nominated for a silver Logie for Best TV Presenter both in 2004 and 2005.

But he hasn't been without his controversy for making inappropriate comments or jokes as a quip to a story.

Luckily his private life has been much less controversial. Kochie, 65, has been married to wife Libby, 64, for over 40 years.

"It was definitely love at first sight. Lib was a 20-year-old nurse. Our friend Judy decided to have a party, and that’s where we met back in 1977," Kochie told New Idea.

Libby also confirmed to the magazine that she felt there was an instant attraction too. "I was very interested in this tall, dark and handsome fellow," she said. "We started dating, and it wasn’t too long after that when we realised it was something serious."

The couple have four children - Samantha, Brianna, Alexander and Georgie - and six grandchildren. And while fame may have come late to Kochie, he was already in his 40s when he became a co-host of Sunrise, his fortune is sure to be set given his background.

Natalie, 53, has managed to remain fairly low-key despite her years as a prominent newsreader for Channel 7. It was only after taking over as the co-host of Sunrise from Samantha Armytage in March this year that people suddenly became more interested in her private life.

"I may have this amazing career, but Andrew and the boys come first," she said of her husband of 26 years, film editor Andrew Thompson and sons 19-year-old Lachlan and 16-year-old Hunter in Woman's Weekly. "My sons and my husband are my life."

And even though she had been filling in for Samantha over her 17 years on Sunrise, Natalie was still nervous about sitting in her seat permanently.

"My husband said to me, 'You can't sit there and watch someone else do that job. You'll regret it. Don't do that,'" Natalie told TV Week. "Before, it was all care and no responsibility. Now, it's all responsibility," she added.

And despite the gossip that Natalie and Samantha didn't get on, Natalie confirmed that Samantha was rooting for her to take over as co-host.

"When it was announced Sam was going, she texted and said, 'I really hope they give you this job,'" Natalie told Now To Love. "It was really nice. She's really generous."

"Sam's [Armytage] happy she's not doing the hours and is happy living a quieter life, definitely."

Studio 10

Network 10's Studio 10 is the new kid on the block, waking up, like a teen, a little later than the others, starting at 8am. With the added element of a panel chat towards the end of the show, it is hosted by Sarah Harris and Tristan MacManus.

Sarah Harris is one of the few TV journalists in morning TV to have moved across networks. After studying journalism and international business at Queensland University of Technology, Sarah, 40, first joined Channel 7 in Brisbane before moving to Nine and becoming a reporter on Today. Then, in 2013, she was poached by Network 10 to become a member of their new morning show.

Most recently Sarah has been in the press after announcing that she and husband of seven years Tom Ward had split. "Tom and I are taking time apart however we remain good friends and deeply committed to co-parenting our two beautiful boys,' she said at the time to the Sydney Morning Herald.

"Tom and I adore our kids, we just love them and they come first," she told the Daily Telegraph. "'I am not the first woman to do this and I certainly won't be the last. You just have to be organised and everything has to run with military-like precision."

Not unlike morning TV, I imagine!

He is best known as a professional dancer and Dancing With The Stars judge but Tristan MacManus obviously has the luck of the Irish as he is now co-hosting Studio 10 with Sarah Harris.

"I’m absolutely buzzing with the opportunity I’ve been given to join the team and work with Sarah," Tristan said at the time.

But it was meeting his wife that would eventually lead to a career and life in Australia. Tristan, 39, who is originally from County Wicklow in Ireland, met wife Tahyna Tozzi in 2011 through mutual friends at a Thai restaurant in LA. Tahyna is an actor, producer and director and the sister of Aussie model Cheyenne Tozzi. They enjoyed life between Ireland and Hollywood before they decided to settle down and have children.

"Before we had the kids, I thought we lived a very exciting Hollywood life," Tahyna told Woman’s Day last year. "But now we want to stay put. We have everything we need in the Shire," Tristan added referring to the Sutherland Shire in Sydney's south.

The couple now has three kids, daughter Echo, five, son Oisín, two and three-month-old son Tadhg.

So now you know a bit about the hosts of the main morning show – who are you going to tune in to?

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