The Daily Telegraph has issued an apology to Today co-anchor Georgie Gardner after publishing an article that Today claimed was “deliberate bullying”.

The apology, issued on Saturday 23 February said: “The article “Frosty morning” (page 7, 21/02/2019) contained various claims about audience responses to Georgie Gardner’s role as co-host of Today.

“The Daily Telegraph withdraws the claims, which we accept were wrong.

“The Telegraph has a commitment to accurate journalism and in this case we have let our readers and Ms Gardner down.

“We apologise to our readers and to Ms Gardner for the hurt and embarrassment the article caused to both her and her family”.

The apology follows an attack on the Daily Telegraph from Nine’s director of current affairs, Darren Wick, who issued a statement lambasting the media coverage of the network’s flailing brekky program, Today.

Wick said: “I don’t shy away from the weaker numbers the Today show has recorded in 2019. But just five weeks into a new team on-air, we’re not about to hit the panic button.

“We’ve been through this battle before with other programs, where a section of the media is quick to write us off. We’re in for the long haul”.