TV’s ‘full of sociopaths’: Sam Armytage pulls no punches in new interview

Samantha Armytage has opened up about her career plans and feelings about the television industry, saying it can be a “dangerous environment”.

The 44-year-old, who married retired farmer Richard Lavender, 61, on New Year’s Eve, shared her thoughts with The Daily Telegraph’s Stellar magazine recently, in a candid and wide-ranging interview.

Asked about her role as co-host of Channel Seven’s breakfast show Sunrise since 2013, alongside David Koch, Sam said, “I don’t think any of us want to do the same thing forever. There’s a lot about television that’s all about you and that’s an awful way to live your life. TV isn’t a place that’s necessarily very healthy. It’s full of sociopaths and narcissists – it can be a dangerous environment, let me tell you.”

Rumours that Sam and Kochie, 64, might step down from their roles in the near future first appeared publicly in early February, with Woman’s Day claiming that Weekend Sunrise hosts Matt Doran, 37, and Monique Wright, 47, would be next in line for the jobs.

Soon after, a representative for Channel Seven rubbished the talk of a “succession plan”, saying to Daily Mail Australia that “David, Sam and the team are in fine form. Sunrise is flying.”

But the rumours have persisted, with the news Sam is now splitting her time between Sydney and her husband’s property 90 minutes south of the city, in the New South Wales Southern Highlands, only adding to the speculation that she may be ready to move on from the Sydney-based breakfast show.

In other news, Sam revealed that she’s recently launched a weekly podcast for Stellar magazine called Something To Talk About with Samantha Armytage. “The podcast came to me at a fantastic time and it’s a wonderful, wonderful vehicle for storytelling, which is why I got into journalism,” she said. “I’m not in it for the selfies and make-up.”

Sam is looking forward to delving into a range of topics in the podcast, including resilience, grief and feminism, as well as more controversial subjects, with new episodes released every Sunday.

“We’re getting to the point in the media where you can’t say a lot,” Sam added. “It’s not as much fun as it used to be because there’s so much outrage. Everyone is so woke and no-one is saying what they actually think because they’re frightened. If you say what the average Australian is thinking on air, you get hammered for it by the vocal minority.”