[B&T has updated this article.] David Koch sort of shocked Australia’s entire media industry this morning when he announced he’d be stepping away from his Sunrise hosting duties in a mere two weeks.
Much like the Queen’s death, everybody saw it coming but no one wanted to speak about it.
At 67, ‘Kochie’ has manned Seven’s brekkie show for an incredible 21 years that has seen him beat his rivals over at Today on every single ratings occasion and, not to mention, seen off a fair few co-hosts in that time too.
And no sooner had the press been alerted of Kochie’s imminent departure that media scribes began speculating who would replace him on the Sunrise couch.
And there does appear to be a couple of clear favourites, one of which is Seven’s recently recruited vet and heartthrob, Dr Chris Brown!
Brown, of course, was snared away from rival 10 in February for a rumoured seven-figure-a-year salary. Brown was reportedly frustrated by a lack of opportunities at 10, particularly after The Living Room got canned.
So far the only role touted for the 44-year-old TV veteran was as host of Seven’s new (Block busting?) reno show, Dream Home, due on-air in early 2024.
However, with Koch’s departure, Brown could quickly find himself anchoring Sunrise after he signs on at the network in July.
Seven chiefs will no doubt go with a male presenter, meaning another real contender is former athlete Matt Shirvington who joined the network in 2020 as a sport presenter for Seven News in Sydney.
He has since segued from hard news to lighter entertainment with the former Olympian regularly stepping in as fill-in host and sports presenter for Sunrise through the week and on weekends, as well as Seven’s mid-morning The Morning Show.
Shirvington, a dad to three kids, has also been the go-to fill in for Kochies alongside co-host Natalie Barr.
News’ Daily Tele has reported that “Seven has been grooming Shirvington for the role since he started with the network in 2021”. However, that has to be said that was before Brown’s name got thrown in the mix this year.
Another contender, albeit a roughie, would be Seven journalist Matt Doran who currently co-hosts Weekend Sunrise.
And, of course, there’s the ever-reliable Larry Emdur who probably looks too comfortable entrenched hosting The Morning Show.
Andrew O’Keefe would’ve been high on the list too had it not been for his stunning fall from grace and subsequent imprisonment.
Alternatively, Seven chiefs may groom another up-and-comer or poach from a rival network (hello, the ABC’s Tony Armstong???) as it did when it poached the prized scalp of Sonia Kruger from Nine back in 2019.
