Sunrise's David 'Kochie' Koch announces his replacement: 'Worst kept secret'

One week after announcing his departure from Sunrise, David ‘Kochie’ Koch has officially revealed who will be replacing him on the Channel Seven breakfast show.

The 67-year-old and his co-host Nat Barr told viewers on Monday morning that former Olympian and regular fill-in co-host Matt Shirvington will take up Kochie’s seat from next week.

“Now, this time last week I announced I was walking out on Nat and stepping down as host of Sunrise for 21 years,” Kochie said.

“And now the time has come to share with Australia who will be taking your seat,” Nat added. “A very big welcome and congratulations to Matt Shirvington!”

The trio of hosts then joked that the announcement might be “a bit of a surprise” to viewers as “some people had guessed it”.

“Possibly the worst kept secret ever,” Matt laughed.

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Speaking about his new role, Matt admitted he had “mixed emotions” about stepping into the top job.

“Just amazing, daunted, so excited, happy,” he detailed. “Cannot tell you the honour and privilege this is, Kochie, particularly. A huge job and an exciting job.”

'The perfect fit'

Kochie gushed about his successor during the announcement and said Matt is “absolutely perfect” for the gig.

“You've been fantastic filling in every Friday, it’s been sensational. You are going to be the perfect fit,” he said. “What have you loved about doing Sunrise?”

“It’s such a family,” Matt replied. “It's a family show, it’s a mouthpiece for all Australians and their stories.

“And the thing I love the most is sitting on this couch and going from complete elation and excitement and happiness with some of the stories that you hear about to the heartbreak and the horror and the sadness and wiping a tear from your eye and moving on and it's just a phenomenal thing.”

In a statement from Seven, Matt acknowledged that this is “a huge life shift” that he couldn’t have done without the support of his wife Jess and their three children.

“To my new on-air family, particularly Nat, thanks for making me feel so welcome right from the start,” he added. “Brekky Central, my new home. I like the sound of that!”

Why is Kochie leaving Sunrise?

Kochie explained in a statement from Channel Seven last week that he believes it’s time to shake up his routine after spending over two decades waking up in the early morning.

“I know I'm going to miss it enormously, but it's time for me to work business hours, and for (his wife) Libby and I to have a bit more flexibility to enjoy our burgeoning family, to travel and focus on our family business interests in Pinstripe Media and the Ausbiz business channel,” he shared.

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“As everyone knows, I'm a finance nerd so you'll still see me pop up every so often on RBA board meeting days or covering other big financial news, but as a guest rather than host.

“Coming up to 20 consecutive years as Australia's most-watched breakfast show is a nice moment to exit stage left with an enormous sense of pride and gratitude. Thank you for the privilege.”

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